Chilean flamingoes Curtis and Arthur are proving to be perfect parents.
The male flamingos, a same-sex couple, successfully hatched an egg at the Paignton Zoo in Devon, U.K., and are now rearing the baby bird together.
A recent video from the U.K. zoo shows the two dads devotedly tending to their new chick. In the clip, Curtis and Arthur’s flamingo chick, covered in gray feathers, stands up and attempts to walk while the baby bird’s parents watch on. The video also shows the chick receiving food and cuddles from Curtis and Arthur.
According to the Associated Press, the zoo cannot confirm how Curtis and Arthur obtained an egg of their own, but it believes the same-sex couple adopted an egg abandoned by other flamingoes.
“The most likely scenario is that the egg was abandoned by another couple, so this pair have adopted it. We have had several all-male pairings over the years, but this is the first season that an egg has been successfully hatched by a same-sex pair,” Pete Smallbones, a bird curator at Paignton Zoo, told The Guardian.
He added that numerous bird species have same-sex couplings and that the zoo’s bird curators weren’t surprised to see Curtis and Arthur take up parenting.
Paignton Zoo
“The bird department aren’t surprised that the same-sex pair have successfully hatched an egg and are now rearing a chick, but for other departments it has been a bit of a surprise,” Smallbones said.
The couple’s chick is one of several Chilean flamingoes to hatch at the zoo this season. AP noted that this is the first time Paignton Zoo has successfully hatched Chilean flamingo chicks through its breeding program for the declining species since 2018.
Curtis and Arthur are part of a group of Chilean flamingos who arrived at the zoo earlier this year. The zoo created the Love Lagoon initiative, designed as a fun tribute to the reality show Love Island, to help name the new flamingos. For Love Lagoon, the public named the new adult birds and then watched the flamingos pair off as they settled in at Paignton Zoo.
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Other flamingo couples named by the public earlier in 2024 include Florence and Flame, Frenchie and Del, and Flossie and Lando.
According to AP, several other flamingo pairs at the zoo still have eggs incubating, so keepers are expecting more baby birds to hatch soon.
“The whole zoo is pleased to have flamingo chicks back on the lagoon. They can’t fail to brighten up your day when you catch a glimpse of them.” Smallbones add The Guardian.
