Posted on 05/03/2022 12:49:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The incident is the first time a predator has broken into the exhibit in its 50 year history
A wild fox snuck into the outdoor flamingo habitat at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Sunday night and killed 25 of its American flamingos—about a third of the 74-bird flock, per a zoo statement. A Northern pintail duck was also found dead, and three additional flamingos were injured.
“This is a heartbreaking loss for us and everyone who cares about our animals,” Brandie Smith, director of the zoo, says in the statement. “The barrier we used passed inspection and is used by other accredited zoos across the country. Our focus now is on the well-being of the remaining flock and fortifying our habitats.”
Report ad Zoo staff discovered the bodies early yesterday morning, along with a fox, which escaped the yard. They moved the remaining flamingos indoors and the ducks to a “covered, secure outdoor space,” per the statement. Veterinarians are treating the injuries of the three wounded birds.
The zoo’s flamingos live primarily in a 9,750-square-foot yard surrounded by heavy-duty metal mesh. The mesh was replaced in 2017 and passed an accredation inspection by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Staff regularly conduct exhibit-integrity inspections, and found nothing of concern during the last inspection at 2:30 p.m. on May 1, per the statement.
The next morning, workers found the dead birds and a new, softball-sized hole in the mesh. This incident is the first time a predator has broken through the barrier since the exhibit was installed over 50 years ago, the zoo says.
Following the attack, workers fortified the metal mesh, set up live traps and installed digital, motion-sensor cameras to monitor activity overnight.
Both American flamingos and Northern pintail ducks are listed as species of “least concern” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. Though flamingos face threats such as habitat loss and nest disturbance, the IUCN states their population trends are increasing. Northern pintail duck populations are decreasing because of wetland habitat loss, predation disease and petroleum pollution, per the IUCN.
Foxes are omnivores, normally feeding on small rodents, fish, birds or fish. Smith told the Washington Post's Dana Hedgepeth that the incident was "normal" fox behavior and she does not expect the animal has rabies.
Foxes have killed captive flamingos in zoos before. In 2014, a fox decapitated 15 Chilean flamingos at the Frankfurt Zoo in Germany, per the Associated Press. In 1996, six flamingos owned by Queen Elizabeth II were slaughtered by a fox, and a seventh died later, reported the Associated Press.
Foxes are frequently spotted in Washington, D.C. Last month, officials euthanized a rabid fox responsible for biting nine people on Capitol Hill.
The National Zoo's oldest flamingo Betty, a 67-year-old Carribean flamingo, died of natural causes in January this year. Flamingos in human care usually live an average of 26 years.
Margaret Osborne is a freelance journalist based in the southwestern U.S. Her work has appeared in the Sag Harbor Express and has aired on WSHU Public Radio.
That's outrageous! I don't know about flamingos, but duck lives matter.
At least all 25 of the flamingos are reported to be fully vaxxed.
Nature is red, in tooth, in claw.
Craig Ferguson applauds…
Demonstrating again the importance of a good barrier to protect the rightful inhabitants.
At least it wasn’t 25 wild flamingos kill a fox and duck.
Keep the doors CLOSED!
Now they are fully vulped.
I think they sell Flamingos at Lowes.
That fox was like a fat kid in a candy store.
I have built some Zoo exhibits. The ability of animals to defeat barriers is really hard to design around. Head Keeper in the Lion exhibit was very very much involved in barrier installation.
Flamingos have their wings clipped so they won’t fly off. They were sitting ducks so to speak.
Canto 56, "In Memoriam A.H.H." - [1850] Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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Though the trope of "Nature, red in tooth and claw" was hardly new, Tennyson gave it more impact than others!
Still it is a fact that is apparently lost on many nature lovers, that not all predators are 'mere' subsistent hunters, that there is, as shown here, an attack frenzy. If the fox was sentient, what justification would be offered for this excess? Likely, it would be with so much confined prey, why stop?
NB: Anyone care to extrapolate to behavior of human predators? Singly and those that lead nations?
Have to wonder at how long it took to make the hole?
It’s the south...Had to kill at least one quacker.
That’s a lot of killing for apparently one night.
The fox on the Hill turned out to be rabid; I wonder if this one is.
What does the fox say?
Duck, duck, flamingo 🦩
Impossible, animals don’t kill for sport. Must be one of those conservstive NRA affiliated foxes.
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