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Hurricane Idalia’s Category 3 landfall brought rain, wind and, unexpectedly, flamingos to Florida. American Flamingos were more common in Florida before they were hunted to extirpation around 1900.
“Peaches” was rescued while floating in the Gulf off St. Pete Beach. After rehabilitation, plans were made to release Peaches back into the wild. Recognizing this was a unique opportunity, approvals were fast tracked for the flamingo to be tagged with a satellite transmitter before its return to the wild.
The flamingo will now be part of a unique study of flamingo movements between breeding grounds and Florida.
– Marie Gabrielle Patasin, C2 Communications
