Nature
PUBLISHED
After spending most of her life shying away from love, a 70-year-old flamingo called Gertrude has finally laid her first-ever egg.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.She’s part of a 62-strong flamboyance strutting around Pensthorpe Nature Reserve in Norfolk, England and unlike most of her fellow flamingos, hasn’t had much success when it comes to finding a partner – until recently.
"All throughout her life, she's been fairly subdued and been at the back of the group. But suddenly, this year she found a newfound confidence and was flirting with all the guys!” Ben Marshall, managing director of the reserve, told ITV News.
But after playing the field, Gertrude eventually settled down with Gil, who is 33 years her junior. Apparently age really is just a number when you’re a flamingo.
That also didn’t seem to get in the way of their relationship, as after a period of “flirting”, Gertrude laid her very first egg.
It’s something of a double achievement for the flamingo. In the wild, they generally only live for around 30 to 40 years and rarer still is laying an egg at such an advanced age.
"The average age of a flamingo is around 35 years, so it's incredible that she's still with us,” said Marshall. "It's testament to the hard work of the team that not only is Gertrude healthy and happy but is able to find love at her age."
However, whilst the rest of the flock are soon to see tiny flaminglets (yes, that’s what baby flamingos are called) hatch, Gertrude’s egg was not found to be fertile, meaning she won’t become a mother this year.
Having laid an egg is still “a remarkable achievement,” said Marshall. “Being able to display maternal instincts at her age is just amazing. I'm sure Gertrude will continue to be the fun auntie of the group!"
Gertrude isn’t the only bird who’s still keen on staying in the game well into old age.
Wisdom the Laysan albatross, believed to be the world’s oldest wild bird at 73 years old, welcomed a chick back in 2021 at the age of 70. Unfortunately, she was also hit by a bad stroke of luck when it came to love, after her long-term mate disappeared and was presumed dead.
Apparently not content with settling for loneliness in old age, Wisdom was recently spotted flirting with potential new mates at her home in Midway Atoll, though unlike Gertrude, she’s not expected to lay any eggs this year.
