Abstract

Due a severe drought, combined with long-term water supply issues, 1900 lesser flamingo chicks and eggs were rescued from the Kamfers Dam colony in Kimberley, South Africa. This is one of only 4 breeding colonies in Africa. On 28 January 2019 uShaka Sea World received 247 of these 3–4 day old chicks for hand-rearing and rehabilitation. We were part of a concerted national effort that involved other zoological institutions and rehabilitation centres.

We will report on the husbandry challenges as well as the medical issues encountered during this process. We will also report on release efforts, rehabilitation success, as well as mortalities and post mortem findings.

As far as the authors are aware, this is one of the largest flamingo chick rehabilitation efforts to date.

*Presenting author