Episode 16: Flamingos with Anne Heitman

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INTRO (00:00)

*Music- you and me the adventure me and you to the zoo*

EMILY BISHOP: Hello and welcome to the Sedgwick County ZooCast, where we are inspiring respect and conservation for wildlife and wild places through caring, connecting and conserving.

I’m your host, Emily Bishop, and today on the ZooCast, we’ll be sitting down with Curator of Birds Anne Heitman to talk about flamingos.

Keep listening to learn how many flamingos call SCZ home, what “crop milk” is, and how you can help care for flamingos at Sedgwick County Zoo and in the wild.

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INTERVIEW WITH CURATOR OF BIRDS ANNE HEITMAN // LEARN ABOUT FLAMINGOS (00:44)

BISHOP: Thank you so much for joining us today on the ZooCast.

ANNE HEITMAN: Yeah, of course.

BISHOP: So, if just to get started, you could give an introduction, talk about who you are and what you do at Sedgwick County Zoo.

HEITMAN: Yeah, my name is Anne Heitman, and I am the Curator of Birds here at the Zoo. My job is to oversee the entire bird department. And that includes the birds themselves, but also all of the staff in the bird department. So, my focus is split between the animals and the people.

BISHOP: So, how did you get started working with birds?

HEITMAN: I honestly kind of fell into birds. Growing up, you know, it’s the typical zoo story of I loved animals. And you know, I was always interested in animals. But as I got closer to graduating college, I was really interested in behavior, and specifically big cats. When I started volunteering at the zoo, that’s where my focus was.

But you know, I needed to earn money and not just work for free. And an opening in the bird department came up. And I knew just from interactions with the bird department, outside of you know, the animal- direct animal care that they were a really fun group of people. And so, I got it- got a job in the bird department just to get my foot in the door and fell in love with the birds, and fell in love with the work, fell in love with the people, and I’ve been here ever since.

BISHOP: Can you walk us through what your average day looks like?

HEITMAN: There isn’t an average day. And that’s… that’s a lot of the fun of working at the Zoo. Nowadays, a lot of my- my day is emails, and computer work, and meetings, and then going into the animal areas, and meeting with the staff, and helping them work through issues that they may be having. Consulting on mechanical issues or work orders that need to be done. So, it’s definitely a step away from working directly with the animals. So not the same as a zookeeper in that aspect, but it’s a lot of face-to-face time with- with people at the Zoo.

BISHOP: So, for people who aren’t familiar with flamingos outside of like, “Alice in Wonderland” or “Fantasia 2000,” how do flamingos in real life differ from flamingos in fiction?

HEITMAN: Yeah, so I think the biggest thing that I would notice when I see flamingos represented in media is they’re a lot more pink than they are in real life, across all the species. The Caribbean or the American Flamingo is certainly the most vibrantly colored flamingo, but most flamingo species are a lot more of a pale pink, with flashes of bright pink color.

Also, in general, they seem to be characterized as being very either graceful or clumsy. And they’re kind of somewhere in between. They also contort their legs into some kind of crazy positions when they’re in cartoons and things like that. And they just, they’re not quite that flexible.

BISHOP: We have two species of flamingo here at SCZ- the Greater Flamingo and the Caribbean Flamingo. Can you talk about how they differ from each other and also how they’re similar?

HEITMAN: Oh, sure. So, we have the… the Greaters and the Caribbeans are two of the largest species of Flamingo. The Caribbean, like I mentioned, is a much more vibrant kind of coral pink color. And they, as the name suggests, they are found in the Caribbean region of the Americas. The Greater Flamingo has a much larger range, they are a paler pink, with… their bright pink is kind of hidden on their wings when they’re tucked. They’re found in kind of the Mediterranean region. So, they can be found in Africa and they can be found in parts of Europe and Asia. But physically they’re about the same size and they’re in the same genus so they share a lot of similar physical characteristics. When it comes to beak shape and size.

BISHOP: Can you talk about “Old World Flamingos” versus “New World Flamingos?”

HEITMAN: There are kind of three different geniuses of flamingos. So, when we’re talking about a genus So we’re talking about their scientific name. When we talk about a species, we use their… their genus and their specific species name. So, Phoenicopteriformes, not to get too far into the weeds, is the- the order. So, even though Caribbeans and Greaters are found on different sides of the world, the New World and the Old World, if you will, they’re in the same genus.

Then we have the South American species. And then we have some truly African species that are slightly different when it comes to beak shape and feeding habits and also their habitat range when it comes to elevation. But the interesting thing is, is that there’s species from each group in both of these habitat types. So, although we have flamingos found in the Americas, and we have flamingos found in Africa and Europe, we have flamingos from each genus represented on those continents.

BISHOP: So, there are quite a few flamingos here at Sedgwick County Zoo. Can you tell us about them?

HEITMAN: Yeah, so we currently have 51 greater flamingos and 36 Caribbean flamingos. We try to keep our group between 75 and 100 flamingos. People are usually generally shocked when I tell them how many flamingos we actually have. Because as a flocking species, they like to be closely packed. It’s- it’s how they live. It’s kind of a safety in numbers type situation. And so, we… they feel safe when they’re in big groups.

In fact, we would never house a group smaller than- than 10 birds is kind of the minimum, but we try to keep our groups about 30, is the lowest I would want to go on to species. They are housed together most of the year, but we do separate them out during breeding season being that they are closely related to each other, they could hybridize. So, we don’t want that to happen. So, we will separate each species out for breeding. And that’s just to move them to a more protected location in the Zoo so that the eggs and the chicks are protected.

BISHOP: How old is the oldest flamingo we have?

HEITMAN: So right now, our oldest birds are around 25 to 30 years old, and we don’t have exact hatched dates for them. But we estimate they’re around 25 to 30. Flamingos can live to be up to 60 years old, though. The oldest bird we’ve ever had here at Sedgwick County was 57 when he passed away, and we do know his exact age because he was hatched in a zoo, so…

BISHOP: How young is the youngest flamingo we have?

HEITMAN: Our youngest birds right now are about six months and they hatched last summer. Those are greater flamingos- not even a year old yet.

BISHOP: Yeah, so quite a… quite a range in the age groups in the in the flock.

Can you talk about any like quirks or specific behaviors or personalities you see within the birds?

HEITMAN: Yeah, so having, you know, close to 100 birds, it’s hard to pick out individuals. There certainly are individuals- personalities, though that we know in the flock, but we also kind of just think about them as one big group at the same time.

So, for instance, during the winter, if we get a beautiful day, we know that the birds are going to be really excited and happy to be outside in the sunshine. So, it’s fun to watch them enjoying that. But we also know that we have certain individuals that will, you know, be a little more excited to have time with the keepers versus you know, the flock. They’re not friendly by any means, but they’re a lot more comfortable around the keepers. So, we do have birds that we can pick out individually.

We have one bird that has always been a staff favorite since she arrived in 2003. She’s 20 years old… that has always just been a little more people oriented than the other birds. She’s always been a really good companion bird when we needed to isolate a bird down at the hospital. She’s always been really good doing that up until recently, and she’s decided that she no longer wants to be our hospital companion bird and so we joke about that, that she’s, she’s over that. So yeah…

BISHOP: She’s done with that part of her career.

HEITMAN: Yeah, she’s tired of being the traveling nurse.

BISHOP: So, flamingos are the first animal you see when you visit Sedgwick County Zoo, they’re right near the entrance. But what is a flamingos habitat like in the wild?

HEITMAN: Yeah, so even though we have different species of flamingos and they’re found around the globe, there are a lot of similarities to flamingo habitat depending- or, regardless of where they are. Flamingos are incredibly tough birds and they like to habitate the more intense environments around the globe, and that is for protection. You know, if it’s not as hospitable there is going to be less predators in those areas, so you can typically find them in alkaline waters, you can find them in mudflat areas, some species are mountain, they live in high alpine lakes. Again, just areas where a lot of other animals don’t go. So, they’re able to utilize those unique habitats. It’s also… they are found where water is more likely to encourage the growth of the zooplankton and the algae that they eat.

BISHOP: What ecological niche are they fulfilling within their environment? Like what is their role?

HEITMAN: I don’t know if they have a specific role other than that- I mean, they are a prey animal, the Caribbean flamingos for example, are predated upon by jaguars. They, they do take advantage of those more inhospitable environments, and they’re able to, you know, utilize those… those alkaline lakes. So, I think they’re less of fulfilling a role in, in the larger food web and more of a… they’re very opportunistic, very well adapted at making the most of the kind of the least.

BISHOP: Can you talk about how their diet affects their coloration?

HEITMAN: Yeah, so people always say, “Oh, they’re pink because they eat shrimp.” And that’s marginally true. Each species will get the carotenoids in their diet from different food items. So, some of them get it from blue green algae, some of them get it from diatoms, and zooplankton. And when people talk about flamingos eating shrimp, it’s more like zooplankton type. Think like sea monkey, almost brine shrimp but smaller than that even. But yeah, all of the birds do eat foods that contain a carotenoid, which allows them to create that pink pigment in their feathers.

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LEARN ABOUT WINTER WEDNESDAYS (11:50)

BISHOP: We’ll be back in a moment to learn more about flamingos. But first, let’s hear about how you can save money when you visit the Zoo.

Every Wednesday from November through February enjoy Winter Wednesdays at the Zoo. Admission is discounted all day.

Maybe watch your favorite animals frolic in the snow, step into the Tropics Building to warm up, or sip on a cup of cocoa from the Beastro. Additional information can be found at scz.org.

Bundle up and come on down to the Sedgwick County Zoo for a wild Winter Wednesday.

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ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE (12:30)

BISHOP: Now, we have some questions from the audience. And these questions were all submitted to us through our Instagram- @SedgwickCountyZoo.

@Sierra_Irene 13 wants to know, “do they mate for life like some other bird species?”

HEITMAN: Yes and no. We have birds that have been very loyal to each other. We know they’re going to pair up every season. And then we also have birds that re-pair every season and they’ll have a new mate. Or they’re together for a few seasons and then… and then they break apart.

So, I think it’s less about… it’s more I guess more about individuals and less about the species behavior when it comes to that.

BISHOP: So just- just depends on the bird.

HEITMAN: Yeah.

BISHOP: @RosaPatton asks, “other than shrimp, what do flamingos eat?”

HEITMAN: Yeah, we already… we already kind of touched on that.

But yeah, it again, it depends on the species as to what they’re utilizing. But they are filter feeders. So, everything they’re eating is something that is within the water column that they can filter out through their beak.

So, if you open a flamingo’s beak, they have structures inside called lamella, which look kind of similar to baleen on like a humpback whale. And it just allows them to capture the diatoms and the zooplankton and algae from the water and push the water back out.

BISHOP: What do we feed them here? Like how do we feed the flamingos?

HEITMAN: So yeah, how do you feed something that filters things out of the water column? We feed them a pelleted flamingo diet that is specifically made to be fed to flamingos to provide them with a full nutritional content that they need to produce those pink pigments. And there’s different ways that zoos will present that… that flamingo pellet.

Here at Sedgwick County, we put it in tubs that are sitting above the water and the birds will pick up the pellets and then drop them into the water and then eat them out of the water that way. They do just- they don’t have any problems swallowing the pellet hole. We like to do that because we don’t have as much waste. Some zoos you’ll see have a feeding pool, which is a separate pool from where the birds are. And they will put the pellets in there with water and allow those pellets to break down into more of a slurry and the flamingos will eat it that way. Both ways work just fine. It’s just whatever works for your zoo and your birds.

BISHOP: @MegChapman 18 asks, “do they have names?”

HEITMAN: Not very many of them. So, the bird I was talking about earlier, she has a house name. Some of our birds that came in when we first built the exhibit in 2003- given names by donors. We have I think like… like six or seven of those birds still with us, and they do have names, but I’ll tell you, we don’t really use them very much. We more refer to them by their bands on their legs. So, we’ll call them, you know, yellow 391 or green 42.

BISHOP: What are some of the- the names that the named ones have?

HEITMAN: Oh, gosh, there was Floyd… Sabin… Annie, Jordan, Carter. Those are the ones I remember.

BISHOP: They’ve got- they’ve got people names.

HEITMAN: Yeah, they have people names. Yeah.

BISHOP: More… more common, just identified through their tag number.

HEITMAN: Yeah. And oddly enough, several of those flamingo people names were shared by members of the bird staff. So, we always thought that was really funny that we each had our own flamingo.

BISHOP: Yeah, you’ve got like, bird Annie and people Annie.

HEITMAN: Yeah, exactly.

BISHOP: @LaBarnes867 asks, “how fast are they?”

HEITMAN: Oh, I don’t know, off the top of my head like, number wise. They are going to be faster while they’re flying than they are while they’re running. But they… they can… They can get away, they you know, they’re built to get away from things like jaguars and other predators, so…

BISHOP: Pretty, pretty quick. Yeah.

HEITMAN: So yeah, they’ll run and then take off and they can get airborne within, you know, a few strides.

BISHOP: @Ms.KelliJ wants to know, “do they like the cold?”

HEITMAN: So, they like being outside and they like… they like the sunshine. They like being in their pool. And they are incredibly hardy birds. So, I know people sometimes, you know, if you come here in the winter, and we’ve had snowfall, but it’s one of those days where like it’s around freezing, we will let the birds out as long as it’s safe for them to do so, it’s not icy or slick. And they- they love it. There is nothing greater to me than seeing you know, those pink birds standing with snow covered hills behind their exhibit. I think it’s wonderful.

Yeah, we will let them outside in temps down to like 28 degrees Fahrenheit for up to four hours. We wouldn’t… We wouldn’t leave them out if it was going to be colder than that or for longer than that. But- But yeah, they’re they have, like I said, they live in the extreme environments so they can handle the heat. They can handle the cold. They’re really, really tough birds.

BISHOP: Rain or shine, those birds want to be outside.

HEITMAN: Oh, yeah.

BISHOP: And finally, @ABellaPoe asks, “how many offspring does a single flamingo have in its lifetime?”

HEITMAN: So, that’s hard to answer. But it’s going to be different in a zoo, probably than it is in the wild. In a zoo, we can provide them with the right conditions every year. They have plenty of food, we can provide them with the right substrate to build their nests, protection, all those things. And so, they could have one chick every season. They’ll only have one chick at a time. If, depending on your climate and your setup, they could do two breeding seasons in a year. But even then, you’re only going to have one chick per pair of birds, because they put so much nutritionally into that chick.

They are one of the few birds that feeds their chicks a substance that they make with their own body. They don’t regurgitate food to them. So, flamingos, and then pigeons and doves, feed their chicks something called “crop milk,” which is a bit of a misnomer. It’s not like mammalian milk; it’s a secretion from the lining of their crop, which is part of their digestive system. So, because of that, it’s- it’s very taxing on them to raise young.

Very physically taxing, and in fact, adult birds that have been feeding a chick will actually lose the pink color in their feathers when they molt after they have raised a chick because they don’t have the nutritional status to create the pigment in those feathers. So, they might have a mottled appearance or just an overall duller, less pink appearance. So maximum one per year.

But in the wild, the conditions have to be just right. So, it’s not uncommon for species to breed only, you know, every two, three years. Some species, the lesser flamingo, might only breed every seven, nine… 10 to 11 years, which is why it’s so important to protect their- their breeding grounds. The conditions have to be just right, and they have to- they nest in in flocks. So, if the flock isn’t nesting, then no one’s nesting. So that’s why having those sites preserved is so important to preserve the species.

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LEARN ABOUT HOW YOU CAN HELP FLAMINGOS AT HOME AND IN THE WILD (19:28)

BISHOP: Before Anne and I finish our conversation about flamingos, let’s learn about how you can help with their conservation and care.

If you’ve enjoyed learning all about Flamingos in today’s episode, consider adopting one and becoming a ZooPal.

Starting at just $25, as a ZooPal, your donation goes directly towards the care of Sedgwick County Zoo animals. We also have some great perks for ZooPals, including recognition in the Zoo, a certificate of adoption, a plush animal, and more.

Adopt a Flamingo and become a ZooPal today. Just visit scz.org for more information.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS ON FLAMINGOS (20:15)

BISHOP: So, as an ending note, I just have a few more questions.

HEITMAN: Sure.

BISHOP: What question are you asked the most by guests about the flamingos?

HEITMAN: Probably most often it’s questions about how do they get their color, or what kind of shrimp do you feed them- that kind of thing. And so, we explained about, you know, not the kind of shrimp you eat sort of thing.

BISHOP: They’re not getting cocktail shrimp.

HEITMAN: Yeah, we also get questions about you know, the- when they’re out in the cold. If they like that we could, you know, a lot of the questions that people already- already asked.

BISHOP: What is your favorite thing about the flamingos?

HEITMAN: Yeah, so I get asked a lot what my favorite bird is. And for the record, I do not have a favorite bird species. It’s, it’s too tough. There’s too many of them. There’s like over 10,000 species of birds. But flamingos are definitely in my top five.

And you know, it’s not because they’re, they’re beautiful. It’s because they are so interesting and so unique. They are kind of anomalies in the bird world in a lot of ways- their unique nesting, their unique feeding habits, their unique use of habitat. But then also working with them. It is… it’s their big personalities, even for birds that we don’t think of as individuals all the time. They’re just, they’re fun to work around. They’re incredibly protective parents. So, it’s always really… it’s really fun when you have species that are a challenge to work with too. And they do, they present us a lot of challenges. In a good way, though.

BISHOP: And what is your favorite thing about working with flamingos?

HEITMAN: I think my favorite part about working with the flamingos is that they are very fierce birds. And people don’t think they’re fierce birds. It’s that I know that they’re going to stick up for their chicks. They’re going to stick up for their mate. That they are just very interesting behaviorally. I love watching when the flock starts to do their breeding behaviors. They- they perform mutual courtship displays as a group. I really like watching that. I like seeing them go through their yearly cycles. They’re just… they’re sassy birds and I love the sassy ones.

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OUTRO (22:33)

BISHOP: Thanks for listening to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

This podcast is recorded on the traditional land of the Kiowa, Osage, Wichita, and Ute people, who have been stewards of the land since time immemorial.

This episode was researched, written, and produced by me, Emily Bishop.

We’d like to give a special thank you to Anne Heitman, for sitting down and talking with us about flamingos.

Thank you to the Sedgwick County Zoo’s, Marketing and Communication team.

And a special thank you to our Zoo Members, whose support makes this podcast possible. If you’re interested in becoming a Zoo Member, visit scz.org/membership.

Be sure to give us a follow so you never miss when we upload new episodes.

Thanks again for listening. Until next time, I’m Emily Bishop and this has been the Sedgwick County ZooCast.