Photo: Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
Tragedy struck the Smithsonian National Zoo this week.
On Tuesday, the Washington D.C. zoo announced ina statementthat its staff is “devastated and mourning” after a wild fox got into a zoo enclosure and killed 25 American flamingos and one northern pintail duck in the early hours of May 2.
After zoo staff members discovered the tragedy, “the remaining flamingos were moved indoors to their barn and the ducks to a covered, secure outdoor space.” Before the incident, the flock of American flamingos contained 74 members.
According to the zoo, around 80,000-90,000 American flamingos remain in the wild, split into four main breeding colonies.
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Though American flamingos and Northern pintail ducks are both considered species of “least concern” for endangerment and extinction, the zoo shared that flamingos have faced habitat loss due to mineral mining and human disturbances.
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This is not the first wild fox to cause havoc in the D.C. area in recent weeks. On April 3, awild mother fox was capturedafter running amok at the U.S. Capitol and nipping several people, including California Representative Ami Bera.
source: people.com
