17 baby flamingos have hatched at the Fort Worth Zoo ahead of Valentine’s Day.

Fort Worth, Texas. The Fort Worth Zoo turns pink just in time for Valentine’s Day! They celebrate the hatching of 17 lesser flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor) chicks.

According to zoo officials, these fluffy valentines were born last month, and there will be more of them soon.

They are born white or gray and eventually acquire pink plumage by 3 or 4 years of age due to pigments or carotenoids in their diet.

According to the zoo, lesser flamingos are extremely difficult to breed under human care, and they breed less than any other flamingo species found in US zoos.

The zoo says that after making changes to the bird habitat, adding heat lamps, a small pool and mirrors to give the illusion of more birds, they saw more results. Their flamingo love shack has now become the most successful breeding site in the world. Since the start of the breeding program in 2002, they have celebrated the hatching of 382 chicks.

“The zoo’s efforts to breed lesser flamingos are incredibly important in creating a long-term, self-sustaining population of these birds in US zoos – lesser flamingos are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, primarily due to habitat change,” reads the statement. zoo message.

The new chicks are now being fed and cared for around the clock by zookeepers and their parents.

In recent years, the Fort Worth Zoo has been ranked the Best Zoo in North America by USA Today, one of the “Greatest in the World” by Bloomberg TV, the Best Zoo by Yahoo Travel, and the #1 Family Attraction in DFW Subway by USA Today. Zagat poll.

It houses 7,000 animals and is currently in the third of four phases of a $130 million renovation plan. The third phase includes the Predators of Asia and Africa exhibition, which is under construction and due to open later this year.