Same-sex flamingo couple 'adopt' baby chick at Paignton Zoo

Watch the same-sex parents caring for their adopted chick. Credit: Wild Planet Trust

A same-sex flamingo couple has adopted a baby chick at Paignton Zoo - though staff are not entirely sure how it happened.

Curtis and Arthur were named by the public earlier this year, as part of an initiative dubbed 'Love Lagoon' - in homage to ITV's Love Island.

Several of the pairs of Chilean flamingos have laid eggs, including Florence and Flame, Frenchie and Del, and Flossie and Lando. But staff said they are unsure of where Curtis and Arthur's new-found chick has come from.

One of the newest arrivals at Paignton Zoo - a Chilean flamingo chick that is only a few days old. Credit: Wild Planet Trust.

Curator of birds at Paignton Zoo Pete Smallbones said: "Regarding the same-sex parenting, we aren’t entirely sure how this has come about, although it is a known phenomenon in Chilean flamingos as well as other bird flocks.

"The most likely scenario is that the egg was abandoned by another couple, so this pair have adopted it.”

It is the first time since 2018 that the zoo has welcomed new Chilean flamingo chicks. So far, four chicks have hatched - but there are several other eggs still being incubated.

Flamingo eggs typically hatch after around 28 days, after being incubated on mud pile nests by both parents. When they are born, the chicks are usually covered in grey, downy feathers and look quite different to their parents.

The same-sex couple tending to their new chick at Paignton Zoo. Credit: Wild Planet Trust.

Pete added: “We are pleased at the success of this year’s breeding programme so far. It’s a testament to the skill and hard work put in by the Bird Team and we are hopeful that we may see more eggs hatch over the coming days and weeks.”

Chilean flamingos are native to South America and live in brackish or alkaline shallow lakes in several countries. But the species is in decline due to a number of factors, including egg-harvesting, being disturbed by tourists and habitat degradation caused by mining.

It makes Chilean flamingos a 'Near Threatened' species by the International Union for the Conservation of Species (IUCN), meaning it is thought they are close to becoming endangered in the future.