flamingos

12 Stories

Flamingos Show Up Way North for First Time Ever

Five of them appear in Wisconsin, along a Lake Michigan beach

(Newser) - Five flamingos that showed up in Wisconsin to wade along a Lake Michigan beach attracted a big crowd of onlookers eager to see the unusual visitors venturing far from their usual tropical setting. The American flamingos spotted Friday in Port Washington, about 25 miles north of Milwaukee, marked the first...

Fox Kills 25 Flamingos at Smithsonian Zoo

(Newser) - The Smithsonian National Zoo says it is "devastated" after a fox made its way into the outdoor flamingo habitat and killed 26 birds—25 flamingos and one pintail duck. Zoo officials say workers spotted the dead birds Monday morning and saw a wild fox in the enclosure, the Washington ...

17 Years After Fleeing Zoo, Flamingo Still Out There

No. 492 again sighted in Texas after escaping Kansas zoo in 2005

(Newser) - One of two flamingos that escaped from a Kansas zoo during a storm 17 years ago has been spotted on the coast of Texas, wildlife officials said. The Coastal Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife confirmed Tuesday to the AP that the African flamingo—known as No. 492 because...

He Was Accused of Killing Pinky. Now He's Dead

Joseph Anthony Corrao, set to stand trial in death of flamingo, was fatally struck by pickup truck

(Newser) - The man accused of causing the death of a beloved flamingo at Busch Gardens Tampa was himself killed this month. Joseph Anthony Corrao was struck by a pickup truck while crossing a busy road in Orlando before 6am on June 5 and died at a hospital, reports the Tampa Bay ...

Kid's Rock-Throwing Leads to Zoo Flamingo's Death

Bird in Illinois zoo had to be euthanized after 'truly unfortunate accident'

(Newser) - A young guest at an Illinois zoo apparently didn't mean any harm, but what a Bloomington city official is calling a "truly unfortunate accident" has resulted in one of the center's flamingos being put down. The Pantagraph reports the bird was hit by a rock that the...

Flamingo's One-Legged Mystery, (Somewhat) Solved
Flamingo's One-Legged
Mystery, (Somewhat) Solved
NEW STUDY

Flamingo's One-Legged Mystery, (Somewhat) Solved

Scientists say the birds expend less energy on a single leg than on 2

(Newser) - Ever wonder why flamingos stand on one leg? So did two Georgia scientists, and their research has found the birds appear to expend less energy when they do so, the BBC reports. A study published in the Biology Letters journal examined both live and dead flamingos and explains how living...

Busch Gardens' Flamingo Dies After Alleged Attack by Park Visitor

45-year-old man accused of flinging Pinky to the ground in Tampa

(Newser) - Sad news for fans of Pinky the flamingo, one of Busch Gardens Tampa's "animal ambassadors," per a park statement. The 19-year-old bird, who performed dance routines at the park and loved to "get her groove on," per the park's blog , was euthanized Tuesday evening...

The Man We Have to Thank for This Is Dead

Pink plastic lawn flamingo creator Donald Featherstone died yesterday

(Newser) - The creator of the pink plastic lawn flamingo, the ultimate symbol of American lawn kitsch, has died. Donald Featherstone was 79. Featherstone's wife, Nancy, today told the AP that her husband died yesterday at an elder care facility in Fitchburg, Mass., after a long battle with Lewy body dementia....

Rare Black Flamingo Seen in Cyprus

It's hard to miss among its peers

(Newser) - Bird watchers in Cyprus were doing double-takes this week at the sight of a black flamingo feeding at a salt lake. The bird was impossible to miss among its peers, and one conservation expert tells the Telegraph that it's the first one to visit the Mediterranean island in, well,...

Flamingo Massacre Mystifies Zoo
 Flamingo Massacre 
 Mystery Solved 
UPDATED

Flamingo Massacre Mystery Solved

Not raccoons or Satanists but foxes to blame

(Newser) - Something or somebody has got it in for the rapidly dwindling flamingo population at the Frankfurt Zoo, and after foxes, raccoons, and Satanists were floated as potential culprits, the killer has been identified. The zoo director today said that tests show the villain was a fox, reports the AP . Some...

Factory, Flamingos Go on Strike
Factory, Flamingos Go on Strike

Factory, Flamingos Go on Strike

With no runoff from saltworks filling their lagoon, flamingos didn't lay eggs

(Newser) - In a bizarre ecological twist, flamingos in a French lagoon were imperiled by a nearby salt factory—not by the saline runoff when the factory was operating, but the lack of runoff when it stopped. It seems that workers went on strike, the saltworks closed, and the wetlands dried up....

Don't Think Pink: Factory Threatens Flamingo Species

Endangered lesser flamingos breed in only one lake in eastern Africa

(Newser) - An Indian company's plans to build a plant to harvest soda ash, or sodium carbonate, from Lake Natron in northern Tanzania could spell the end for the endangered lesser flamingo, the smallest of the six flamingo species. The lake is the only major breeding site, and half a million of...

12 Stories