The bird – who went by "Greater," on account of it being the last Greater Flamingo to reside in Australia – passed away Friday at Australia's Adelaide Zoo. The bird was eighty-three years old. EIGHTY-THREE.
Photo Credit: Nicole Miller / Adelaide Zoo via EPA
Greater, who – no joke – managed to live his/her entire life without anyone ever determining his/her sex, arrived at the zoo in 1933. The octogenarian last made headlines in 2008, when local youths attacked the senior-flamingo in an act of senseless violence.
Greater recovered, however, and appeared to be doing pretty well, all things considered, until April of last year, when it became clear the bird was struggling with arthritis. After nine months of anti-inflammatory treatment, Greater took a turn for the worst last week. "The difficult decision was made to humanely put the flamingo to sleep this morning," officials wrote on the zoo's blog earlier today, "as its quality of life had significantly deteriorated due to complications associated with old age."
[Adelaide Zoo via NBC via Jason Bittel]
onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The world's oldest known flamingo has died