Two adorable same-sex flamingos have hatched an egg at a UK zoo, staff have revealed.

Chilean flamingos Curtis and Arthur successfully hatched the egg at Paignton Zoo, in Devon.

Zoo staff said the couple, both male, did their part in hatching the zoo’s first round of flamingo chicks since 2018. It is not known how Curtis and Arthur acquired the egg, but birds curator Pete Smallbones theorised that it was likely to have been abandoned by another couple.

Chilean flamingo eggs typically take around 28 days to hatch after they are incubated and cared for by both parents.

“We aren’t entirely sure how this has come about, although it is a known phenomenon in Chilean flamingos, as well as other bird flocks,” Smallbones told the BBC. “The most likely scenario is that the egg was abandoned by another couple, so this pair have adopted it.

“[The breeding programme] is a testament to the skill and hard work put in by the bird team, and we are hopeful that we may see more eggs hatch over the coming days and weeks.”

Paignton Zoo’s breeding programme, called Love Lagoon, has a social media account that pays homage to the reality TV series Love Island and gives regular updates on each couple in the zoo. Flamingos are named by a public vote as a way to better document each couple’s journey.

The initiative is part of an effort to combat the species’ decline in the wild, which has been exacerbated by egg-harvesting, tourism disturbance and habitat degradation caused by industrial mining operations.

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