Flamingos depend on highly specific alkaline and saline wetland habitats that are under increasing threat from water extraction and climate change.
Flamingo chicks stranded on exposed mudflats after water level drops die from exposure, predation, and starvation as parents cannot feed them in dried conditions. Colony breeding means welfare failures affect thousands of chicks simultaneously. Oil spills in coastal habitats coat plumage, impairing waterproofing and feeding. Flamingos feeding in polluted saline lakes accumulate heavy metals causing chronic health problems. Disturbance from low-flying aircraft and tourist boats disrupts breeding activity causing mass colony abandonment.