I’ve seen my share of trained animals over the years. Lions, tigers, bears and elephants at the circus. Dolphins, whales, sea lions and otters at Sea World. Birds at Busch Gardens. But this week at the Ardastra Gardens Zoo and Conservation Center in Nassau, Bahamas, I saw a group of trained animals that I’ve never seen before: Flamingos.
Ardastra Gardens was designed by a Jamaican horticulturalist in 1937 and was originally developed as a nature preserve. In the 1950s, the first Caribbean flamingos were brought to Ardastra from the island of Inagua. At that time, the Caribbean flamingo was endangered, and the intention was to develop a breeding program. Fortunately, they were quite successful and helped increase the numbers of the Caribbean flamingo, and today it is no longer an endangered species. To draw attention to this beautiful bird and help demonstrate some of the flamingo’s natural behaviors to the public, a group of flamingos was trained to march in formation. These marching flamingos were featured in National Geographic in 1957 and even today, over 60 years later, they continue their daily shows.
They march in formation and listen to commands from their drill sergeant. They can right face, left face and about face with military precision. OK maybe they weren’t quite that precise, but they did march around the little arena area and turn to face the audience as they made their way around. Probably the best part of the show, though, was when they allowed a few volunteers to come out and be flamingos. Abby and Maddy were all too glad to join in, and they were pretty good at balancing on one leg, just like a flamingo. Seeing the group of trained flamingos was definitely a unique experience.
Being in such an amazing tropical place and seeing these bright colorful birds has tropical plants on my mind now. The summer is a perfect time for turning your landscape into your own personal paradise. Everywhere we turned in the Bahamas, there were crotons, ixora and bougainvillea, but the most beautiful tree was the royal poinciana. It was in bloom with fiery red-orange flowers all over the island. I’ve been inspired to add a little tropical fun to my own landscape and below I’ve given you some of our tips for tropical landscaping. It’s so fun playing with the variety of foliage and flowers that are the hallmark of tropical plants. Find your favorite combination and transform your backyard into your personal paradise. Flamingos optional.
