KYLE'S KRITTERS: American Flamingo training

VIEW SLIDESHOW
DENVER - In this week's Kyle's Kritters, 9NEWS checks in on the progress of 19 American Flamingo chicks that came from Florida last summer. The birds were brought to the Denver Zoo for breeding purposes and to add to the numbers in the Birdworld exhibit.

These 19 chicks have been hand-raised by zoo staff since they were hatched in late June and are now taking care of themselves. These birds still isolate themselves from the rest of the adult flamingos in their winter enclosure, but keepers hope they will get together with the rest of the flock as they get older.

American Flamingos-also called Caribbean Flamingos, are native to coastal areas of Central and South America. In the wild, flamingos are common and are not threatened.

This particular species is known for its striking, deep pink feathers and long life span. In captivity these birds can live up to 50 years. These are very social birds and gather in large flocks.

For the next few weeks, keepers will try to interact with the chicks through a training program aimed at helping the birds become more comfortable with their human handlers. This process, which uses food treats that are set out, will help keepers take better care of these flamingos in the future.

Bird keepers tell us this bonding - or imprinting with these birds is not guaranteed to last.

When the birds become adults, they may pair off with other birds and the training process sometimes is forgotten. The zoo hopes this training program will lead to an occasional "flamingo walk" with keepers in public areas which will allow visitors to get even closer to these magnificent birds.