Young flamingos are born with a pinkish-grey plume down. The plumes of an adult flamingo vary from very light pink to red. They get the color from bacteria and beta-carotene that they get from their food. A brightly coloured flamingo may be healthier than a greyish species. Flamingos in captivity are an exception to this: they often become pinkish in captivity due to a shortage of carotene in their food. Nowadays, more and more zoos give an adapted diet so that the flamingos keep their natural colour. The lump in the middle of the leg of the flamingo is not the knee, but the ankle.
Photographed in Ouwehands Dierenpark
We are Loek and Karin Lobel, and our passion is animal photography, both in the wild and in zoos.
We are loek en Karin Lobel and we love to take pictures in the wild but also in the Zoo...
Read more…