Greater, also known as Flamingo One and Flamingo 1, (died January 30, 2014) was the world's oldest

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

(''Phoenicopterus roseus''), residing at the

Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo (after Melbourne Zoo), and it is operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is administered by the Royal Zoologic ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was at least 83 years old, having arrived at the zoo from either

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

(records are unclear) in either 1933, 1930, 1925, or 1919 (the dates of the last four importations of greater flamingos to the Adelaide Zoo)Adelaide Zoo -- Our Animals -- Animals -- Greater Flamingo
, at the

; published no later than September 16, 2009 (date of earliest version on archive.org); retrieved February 1, 2014 at which point it was already a full-grown adult. Greater's

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

was never determined.World's oldest flamingo dies aged 83 at Adelaide Zoo
at ''

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''; by the

Australian Associated Press Australian Associated Press (AAP) is an Australian news agency. It was established by Keith Murdoch in 1935. AAP employs around 80 journalists who work in bureaus in all states and territories of Australia except the Northern Territory. It al ...

; published 31 January 2014; retrieved 1 February 2014 On October 29, 2008, Greater was attacked and beaten by four teenagers. The almost blind bird was badly injured, but soon recovered. Its assailants were arrested, and initially charged with ill-treatment of an animal; however, all charges were later dropped and nobody was prosecuted. In April 2013, zoo personnel noticed that Greater was beginning to show signs of

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

, which they attempted to treat with medication.Adelaide Zoo Celebrates Life of Iconic Flamingo
, by Alison Hassel; at Conservation Ark / Zoos South Australia; published January 30, 2014; retrieved February 1, 2014 However, in late January 2014, Greater's health deteriorated even further, and the decision was made to

euthanize Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eutha ...

Greater. At the time of its death, Greater was the only greater flamingo in captivity in Australia; there is a moratorium on the importation of flamingos into Australia. Greater's remains were subsequently donated to the

South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultu ...

to be

taxidermied Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

; however, due to the technical challenges of preserving the physical traits of such an old flamingo, and a shortage of sufficiently flamingo-like birds on which to practice new techniques, this was not accomplished for several years.Famous flamingo on hold in freezer
by Tim Williams; in '' The Advertiser'' (via

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

); published January 10, 2016; retrieved November 13, 2021 Greater finally went on display at the Museum in 2021, alongside the remains of "Chile", the oldest

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was sometimes considered conspecific. The species is listed as near threatened ...

on record, who had lived alongside Greater at the Adelaide Zoo for over thirty years.Strike me pink: Australia's last two flamingos resurrected as gay emblems
by Tory Shepherd, at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''; published November 12, 2021; retrieved November 13, 2021The last flamingo
at the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

; published November 12, 2018; retrieved November 13, 2021

References

{{Reflist Animal deaths by euthanasia Individual birds Flamingos 2014 animal deaths Year of birth uncertain Adelaide Zoo Deaths from arthritis

See also

References