Born-again flamingo's two loving daddies

A pair of male flamingos have become foster parents after adopting an abandoned chick in Gloucestershire.

Carlos and Fernando had tried to start their own family by stealing eggs from other flamingos at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Slimbridge.

But their sitting and hatching skills impressed staff so much, that when a nest was abandoned last week, they were chosen to "adopt" the chick.



The egg had been whisked off to an incubator where it was warmed up and monitored.

Hours later the healthy chick hatched, but staff were concerned the duo would not bond with the newborn because the process normally begins when the chicks are "calling" them from inside the egg.

So the chick was carefully placed in an old eggshell, which was taped up and returned to the unsuspecting couple's empty nest.



WWT spokeswoman Jane Waghorn said that flamingo same sex couples were not particularly rare.

"If there aren't enough females or they don't hit it off with them, they will pair off with other males," she said.

The pair, who have been together for about six years, can feed their chick without any female help - by producing milk in their throat.