@dlowan,
Seems not a bad thing to revive this thread.
Here, we are (or our paper is) alight with the love of a flamingo...to the exclusion of war, depression and stockbrokers faslling like Autumn leaves, while the world falls apart.
We have (but only just, now) in our Zoo an extremely old (in its seventies, one reads) half-blind and very friendly Greater flamingo. It has lived for many years with a somewhat younger Chilean flamingo..
(Who knew flamingoes could live so long?)
Sadly, a few nights ago, a group of young men bashed the poor thing half to death.
They have been caught and charged...some are under, and some a tad over, 18 (adulthood here).
The flamingo is, so far, doing well, and is back in his exhibit with his friend (the zoo's vets thought his accustomed routine would be goof for him.)
He has been the recipient of an outpouring of love, cards, letters, flowers.
His attackers have caused a mighty storm...with great debate about painting them pink and throwing them in the lions' den, the stocks, the kids being tried as adults, and other revenge fantasies.
The kids I see have been aghast and aglow with fantasy punishments.
We are aflame with a flamingo!
Bashed flamingo back with mate in Adelaide zoo
Jamie Walker | November 01, 2008
THE flamingo that was bashed at Adelaide Zoo returned to its enclosure yesterday, still unsteady on its legs but otherwise on the way to recovery.
The half-blind greater flamingo, one of the oldest in the world at over 70 years of age, was beaten around the head and beak during an attack on Wednesday that provoked public outrage. Four youths, aged 17 to 19, have been charged by police with animal cruelty.
Greater, as the injured flamingo is known, was welcomed back by its "other half", a Chilean flamingo that has been its constant companion for the past half-century. The birds' handlers feared the Chilean would have gone into decline without its friend.
"I think it's very important they are back together. You can hear them calling to each other and that just shows that the bond is still there," senior birdkeeper Brett Backhouse said. "They feed off each other a lot. Yesterday, we were saying that they were very quiet, but they are talking to each other now and you could probably call that happiness."
Family First state MP Dennis Hood said juveniles accused of violent crimes should be "named and shamed" rather than have their identities shielded by the courts.
The flamingos are so docile they linger at the edge of their open enclosure, where they can be photographed.
Their handlers say they do not know whether the bashing of Greater will cause the birds to keep their distance from visitors.
Greater arrived at the zoo in the 1930s, followed by the Chilean a decade later, and they are among the zoo's top drawcards.
