How come some zoos never built a ceiling for greater flamingo enclosures?
April 11, 2010 - 9:08 am
Some greater flamingo enclosures in zoos never had a ceiling built. How about if the flamingos fly out and escape from the zoo? Are they trained not to escape as there are free food in zoos?
They have clipped wings. The wings are surgically cut to prevent flight. We used to do the same thing with ducks and geese on farms.
April 11th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
They have clipped wings. The wings are surgically cut to prevent flight. We used to do the same thing with ducks and geese on farms.
References :
April 11th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Although most of them have clipped wings, there are occasional escapees. Pink Floyd lived quite happily for years along the shores of the Great Salt Lake in Utah after escaping the Tracy Aviary in 1985 because his wings grew back in and they failed to clip them again in time. He was last seen in 2005.
Most zoos prefer to clip the wings rather than cover the enclosure because it is much less expensive, the flamingo pens are usually large ponds. It also increases the aesthetic look if there isn’t a big net system over the water.
References :
http://www.utahbirds.org/featarts/2004/UtahsPinkFloyd.htm