In a delightful display of love and dedication, Curtis and Arthur, a gay pair of Chilean flamingos at Paignton Zoo in Devon, England have successfully hatched a chick. This remarkable event marks the first successful hatching of Chilean flamingo chicks at the zoo since 2018.
Pete Smallbones, the zoo’s bird curator, shared his excitement, saying, “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.”
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Curtis and Arthur are part of an initiative called Love Lagoon — inspired by the reality TV series Love Island — which aims to better document and engage the public with social media updates of the flamingo couples.
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Earlier this year, Paignton Zoo launched a special Valentine’s Day campaign encouraging the public to name their flamingos. The “Name a Flamingo” initiative was a hit, with names being suggested and voted on through the zoo’s Instagram channel. Among the other flamingo couples who have successfully hatched chicks are Florence and Flame, Frenchie and Del, and Flossie and Lando.
Paignton Zoo’s breeding program really shows the bird team’s dedication in fighting these issues and making sure the species survive. Chilean flamingos, native to South America, face several threats in the wild, including egg-harvesting, tourism disturbance, and habitat degradation due to industrial mining operations.
“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,” Smallbones added.
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Can flamingos be gay?
Call it ironic that a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance, but this isn’t the first time same-sex bird pairs have become parents. In 2022, two gay flamingo dads adopted a chick that was previously abandoned by its biological parents at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in England.
Same-sex behavior isn’t unique to flamingos; many bird species, including penguins (like Sphen and Magic), and swans (like Billy and Elliot) also display homosexual behavior. These observations highlight the diversity of animal behaviors and challenge the notion that heterosexuality is the only natural sexual orientation in the animal kingdom.
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