A group of 20 Greater Flamingo chicks flew 11,000 miles to New Zealand packed in hessian-lined compartments in an aircraft hold.

The 60-day-old chicks from the Wildlife and Wetlands Centre in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire have been hand-reared in isolation to form the first colony in the country.

The chicks, which are only around 1ft tall and still have their grey downy feathers, will form a purpose-built African Exhibit at Auckland Zoo.

They have been cared for by senior keeper Mike Batty, who travelled in the aircraft hold with them, and will continue to carry out the role of parent to the flamingos.

As part of the role he will handfeed each chick up to eight times a day with a concoction of herring, krill, baby cereal, boiled egg yolk and vitamin and mineral supplements, blended to a syrupy consistency.

The mixture, used instead of crop milk, is fed to the young birds from a syringe.

The chicks were hatched and bred in isolation at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Slimbridge, which contains all six of the world's flamingo species, as New Zealand has strict regulations on importing livestock to prevent the spread of new diseases.

It comes after three years of work by Slimbridge staff and Mike Batty.

The flamingos, whose native habitats are under serious threat, will join other vulnerable species in New Zealand, including Blue Ducks and Brown Teal.

The birds were transported up the M6 to Glasgow, while being kept cool with water sprays, before being flown by cargo plane for the 40 hour journey from Prestwick airport to New Zealand.

Source: Ananova