Flamingos shake a tail feather at Denver Zoo Flock Party
The flamingos are about to take center stage at the Denver Zoo, for the annual Flock Party.
"We let our ambassador flock…we let them come out and kind of play in the sun and, and we noticed that they really enjoyed it," said Gianna Catanzaro, Animal Care Specialist at the Denver Zoo.
Now zoo goers can see a parade of pink as the flamingos go on their daily walk.
"It's really good enrichment for them. It's something that's different for their environment," Catanzaro explained.
The ambassador flock are the flamingos that don't mind being near humans.
"It's different daily, so it's really good for them for mental stimulation as well as exercise," Catanzaro said.
The walks are a chance to stretch their long legs, and shake out their feathers. The bright pink flamingos are American, the paler ones are Chilean.
"Even though I take care of 74 individuals, I can actually tell them a part based off their personality," Catanzaro told CBS News Colorado.
These tall, elegant birds weigh only five pounds fully grown, and their long legs and beaks are built for feeding.
"They've got that really long curved bill that's really important for what's called filter feeding. So flamingos, they put their head fully upside down. They filter water through what looks like little tiny teeth, but they're not actually teeth," she said.
They use their webbed feet to stir up the water and get the most amount of food.
"It takes a lot to care for the animals here and we do an amazing job at it," said Bert Vescolani, President & CEO of the Denver Zoo.
The flamingos will be out walking around during flock party, a big fundraising party for the Denver Zoo, giving donors an up close and personal experience with zoo life.
"Enjoying what we do, which is saving animals, and saving habitat, and preserving world for these animals to thrive. That's important to us," Vescolani added.
What's important to the flamingos is a new habitat, which is under construction thanks to money raised from Flock Party.
LINK: Denver Zoo's Flock Party
Denver Zoo's Flock Party is Saturday, September 9, 2023 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Denver Zoo.