Cartagena, Colombia, May 14 (EFE). After two years of careful preparation of a suitable habitat, the Port Oasis environmental organization, a unit of the Port of Cartagena Group, witnessed the reproduction in captivity of the third American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) in Colombia.
The chick of the American flamingo species, also known as the Caribbean flamingo, broke out of its shell last Monday, May 7, after 31 days of natural incubation that was watched and attended at all times by the team of avian experts that the port has at the service of the Port Oasis, authorities at the terminal said.
This is the second chick hatched here at the cruise ship terminal, but the first to survive, since the other died of problems which, according to the avian experts at the port, were related to feeding problems.
The Port Oasis, where the American flamingo was hatched, is located at the cruise ship terminal that welcomes all the tourists who come to Cartagena by sea.
For two years the port has been working with professional environmentalists on the construction of a space that meets international standards for the conservation and maintenance of exotic fauna.
Though many of the animals exhibited at the port to please the tourists move freely all around the terminal, a special space has been prepared for the flamingos with a pool and a muddy place where they can make their nests.
The 1,000 sq. meters (10,800 sq. feet) of the Port Oasis is currently home to such fauna as monkeys, squirrels, parrots, toucans, storks, owls, deer and anteaters, as well as rich in flora that includes rubber trees, palms, oaks, almond trees and mango trees.
The Port Oasis has a license from the Public Environmental Establishment (EPA) of Cartagena for the keeping and protection of animals.