According to the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Andean Flamingo is included in the endangered species lists that are in danger of being extinct. Due to the rapid human development, the endangered species list are also extending day by day. The need of the day is that efforts should be made in order to protect the endangered species which other wise will demolish from the earth and disturbing the natural balance of ecosystem.
Andean Flamingo:
The Latin name of Andean Flamingo is Phoenicoparrus andinus and it is mostly found in the South America. Its color is pinkish white with a height about 100 to 140 cm and weight up to 8 pounds. The life is expected to be up to 40 years. Its wingspan is about 100 t0 170 cm. Its neck and legs are really very long. Andean Flamingo have a very loud honking call to communicate. Beside this, they also communicate using a wing salute by stretching their neck and flipping their tail. Mostly, they breed in colonies having thousands of individuals. One egg is laid by female which takes about 27 to 31 days to hatch. The young ones are fed on the substance called crop milk which comes from parent’s upper digestive tract. The characteristic pink color of Andean Flamingo is due to the carotene in their diet. Being filter feeders, they mostly they feed on diatoms and algae. It can normally travel very vast distances from 200 to 700 miles in a single day.
The major threats to Andean Flamingo are mineral extraction and water diversion for human use due to which it has gained status of endangered species being in danger from being extinct. The natural breeding of Andean Flamingo is high wetlands of Andean where commercially important minerals are also found. In order to fulfill their requirements of human population of mineral and water, these wetlands are being destroyed and thus creating problems for breeding of Andean Flamingo. The wetlands are being mined at uncontrolled rate and diversion of water to fulfill agriculture usage has created the potential threats to the population of Andean Flamingo.
Efforts should be made in order to protect the endangered species including Andean Flamingo from being extinct from the face of the earth by the proper management of their breeding places and by making efforts to increase their natural population.
0 Comments