After the massive arrival of thousands of Pink Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) to Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, a Protected Natural Area located in the Northwest of the Yucatan Peninsula, where the egg hatching season has begun and the first 2018 Flamingo chicks start being born, from the 21 thousand 960 recorded nests, which is a historical record within this reserve.
Pink Flamingo or Caribe Pink, is one of the six species of such bird in the world and they are that color because they feed on small crustaceous called “artemias” and lay only one egg every year, which have a hatching period of 28-30 days.
The adults weigh between 5 and 6.5 pounds and they reach a 4 feet height with a 5 feet wingspan, and they require shallow waters featuring diverse saline concentration.
Depending on the season they arrive to Ría Lagartos and the Yum Balam Protected Area, as well as to the Ría Celestun and Los Petenes Biosphere Reserves, but Ría Lagartos is the biggest and most important Pink Flamingo colony in the world.
The large population of Pink Flamingos in the mangroves is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem, which hosts hundreds of species of fishes, mollusks and crustaceans and they are home for crocodiles, jaguars and more than 395 bird species, resident and migrant as well as a wide array of fish and reptile varieties.
Pink Flamingos travel and breed between Mexico and Cuba so there is an international agreement to take care and protect this unique species.
Source: www.thebajapost.com
