Hooray! First Ever Flamingo Eggs At The Zoo

The Flamingo Habitat at Lincoln Park Zoo has seen some major changes lately. To spur reproduction, renovations to the habitat have included denser vegetation (which flamingos prefer) and a flatter, muddier mix of soil (easing the building of nest mounds). And it worked: the zoo has flamingos laying eggs for the first time in its 140-year history. The first flamingo egg was spotted in late June, cracking soon after, and nine more eggs have appeared since. As of July 14, the eggs are still safe, but keepers at the zoo don’t know if they will survive through the 30-day incubation period, nor if the eggs are even fertile. Offspring are expected to start hatching in about two weeks.

Also, this week is National Zookeeper Week, celebrating zookeepers’ hard work and devotion to their animals. (No, really: a Lincoln Park Zoo keeper once talked to us for 45 minutes about fruit bats. Fruit. Bats.) Lincoln Park Zoo holds daily “Keeper Chats” at different locations throughout the zoo, providing zoo-goers a chance to meet keepers and learn about the animals they care for.

Keeper Chats occur daily between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at various zoo locations

Photo credit Greg Neise, Lincoln Park Zoo