Animals
Flamingo Ingo – the oldest resident of the Berlin Zoo is dead
The flamingo Ingo has lived in Berlin since 1955. photo
© Gregor Fischer/dpa
The average age of flamingos is 30 years. The Berlin flamingo Ingo even reached 70. Now the oldest resident of the Berlin Zoo has died.
Probably the oldest resident of Berlin Zoo’s Ingo the Flamingo is dead. “Ingo the Flamingo passed away due to old age at the impressive age of 75,” the zoo announced on Instagram. “The Pink Flamingo has lived in Berlin since 1955 – truly a legend!”. Numerous people on Instagram were saddened by the news and posted crying emoticons and condolences under the zoo’s post.
According to the inscription on the ring on Ingo’s leg, the animal was born in Cairo on June 23, 1948, according to the zoo. The inscription was only discovered a few years ago. As a result, gorilla Fatou had to give up her title as the oldest zoo resident. What exactly the date is about and whether Ingo actually hatched on that day cannot be clarified with any certainty. The zoo, however, viewed it as proof of his minimum age. Flamingos live on average around 30 years in the wild.
According to its own information, the Berlin Zoo was the first in Germany to obtain broods of Chilean flamingos and greater flamingos in the early to mid-1960s. According to the zoo, Ingo also fathered offspring, but no record was kept of the flamingo offspring.
How has Ingo survived the long time since then? On the one hand, there is a lack of natural enemies in the zoo, as zookeeper Thomas Lenzner once explained. There is also all-round care and optimized feed. It contains certain pigments (carotenoids) that are responsible for the delicate pink color of the plumage. Due to his age, Ingo sometimes needed peace and quiet from his peers. He was no longer the fastest and, according to Lenzner, was limping a little. But at 75 at the time, that was hardly surprising.