Life Triumphs: Over 1,000 Pink Flamingos Arrive in a National Nature Park in Odesa

In the picturesque "Tuzlivski Lymany" national park, situated along the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea, more than 1,000 pink flamingos have landed this weekend, as reported by Politico.

This occurrence can be seen as a pleasant change of scenery for Ukraine, a country that, for the past 18 months, has been gazing at Russian rockets, planes carrying bombs, and kamikaze drones looming overhead, as a full-scale Russian invasion into Ukraine threatens to extend into another winter, according to the publication.

"As per our scientist's report, 1,114 pink flamingos have arrived. Currently, this is the largest number of these birds ever documented within the park's territory. Almost all are adults, but this year, we also have some chicks," the "Tuzlivski Lymany" park shared on Facebook.

"Some of the birds have been ringed with white bands, and their origins could not be ascertained. However, one bird had a blue ring, indicating that this guest is Italian," the scientists added.

This year, a few flamingos migrated to Ukraine in the spring. About 570 of them decided to stay and nest in the region, despite the ongoing conflict, as Ivan Rusiev, the head of the research department and a Ph.D. in ecology at Tuzlivski Lymany, announced in September.

According to the scientists at "Tuzlivski Lymany," the flamingos that arrived in October are not the same birds that nested during the summer.

Rusiev wrote that in 2023, they successfully established a stable colony of flamingos in the Odesa region. Previously, in 2017, they attempted to settle in the Kherson region at Lake Churuk near Crimea, but only three chicks hatched, and their fate remains unknown.

During the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the occupation of the Kherson region, the birds temporarily left the occupied territories and chose "Tuzlivski Lymany" instead, Rusiev stated.

"Tuzlivski Lymany" is a nature reserve located in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district of the Odesa region in Ukraine, within the Tuzlivski group of lagoons. The park is home to nearly 300 bird species, with more than 40 of them being rare.

Previously, in 2020, a flock of pink flamingos was spotted at the Tiligulskyi Lagoon, located on the border of the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.

"The traditional habitat of these birds is much further south, with the nearest nesting areas being around the Turkish city of Izmir. Flamingos usually winter in Africa. The fact that they are appearing here more often, nesting, and some even staying for the winter, is likely due to overall warming," says Ivan Rusiev, a biologist and Ph.D. based in Odesa.

As previously reported by The Gaze, in Norway, the world's most decorated penguin is now Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Norwegian Army's Buvøy Islands.

A resident of Penguin's Rock in the Edinburgh Zoo, he was bestowed with the honorary title of Major General in the Royal Norwegian Guard as their official mascot.