Homestead mailing list

[bob ford <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

I was directed to this link of an australian newspaper.  The interest in the 
story to me is not the cruelty of the people involved (young humans also 
attack and sometimes kill aged humans), but the age of the bird.

I didn't know that many birds lived this long; or, if i once knew this fact, 
I have forgotten. I  remembered  that some south american parraots, maccaws, 
and such could be very old. 

 I once saw two Loisiana Brown Pelicans.  Lost after a hurricane blew them 
from their sanctuary.  I was told at the time that they were among the most 
endangered birds on earth.  I wonder what the oldest non-parrot type bird is 
from this continent.....bobford

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blind flamingo 'bashed' at zoo  October 30, 2008 12:00am

A BLIND flamingo believed to be one of the oldest in the world is in a 
critical condition after being bashed at Adelaide Zoo.

Four teenagers have been charged after visitors reported an incident to zoo 
staff that has left the unnamed male greater flamingo, aged about 78, 
"extremely stressed". 
Zoo staff said it appeared to have been beaten, AdelaideNow reports. 

It was taken to the zoo's animal hospital, where it remained under the close 
watch of keepers in a critical condition last night. The zoo has reported 
this morning that the bird is responding well to care and it is hoped he will 
pull through.

The animal, which arrived at zoo in the 1930s, shares its enclosure with a 
Chilean flamingo that arrived in the 1940s. 

The pair are one of the most popular and loved zoo exhibits and zoo 
communications manager Belinda Redman said there were concerns for the 
welfare of the second bird. 

"It's the first night it's spent alone since arriving at the zoo and keepers 
are very worried about how it will cope," she said. 

She described the injured bird as "tame and docile". 

"Because it had lived its entire life at the zoo, it wasn't afraid of the 
public," she said. 

Police yesterday arrested and charged four teenagers, aged between 17 and 19, 
from Broadview, Enfield, Payneham and Campbelltown with the aggravated 
ill-treatment of an animal. 

They will appear in the Adelaide Youth Magistrates Court at a later date.

The bird lives on a diet of hard-boiled eggs, whitebait, lettuce, duck 
pellets and bird seed. 

Find the full story at AdelaideNow

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24575343-5005941,00.html