Greater flamingos breed in large colonies at hypersaline lagoons in southern Europe and Africa, with welfare challenges from water level fluctuation, colony disturbance, and chick survival in extreme conditions.
Chicks stranded on drying mud flats as water recedes cannot walk long distances to find water and die from dehydration and heat stress. Colony disturbance by aircraft or boats causes mass adult flushing, leaving eggs and chicks exposed to heat or cold depending on season. Water management at managed wetlands can artificially cause nest flooding — a welfare harm and breeding failure attributable to management decisions. Flamingo chicks that survive to fledging face long overland movements to wintering areas with inherent mortality risks.