The Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) is one of the larger and more charismatic flamingo species on earth. Unfortunately, the colorfully plumaged bird and its Andean and Puna (James's) flamingo brethren face significant conservation challenges from mining and unregulated tourism, which threaten the birds' feeding, breeding and nesting habitat in Chile's northern Andean highlands. Currently, all three Andean highland flamingo species are categorized as vulnerable by Chile's Ministry of the Environment and as vulnerable (VU) or near threatened (NT) by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In an effort to support flamingo recovery and conservation in Chile's Andean highlands, ZCOG has partnered with the Zoológico Nacional de Chile and Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) to conduct research on the movement patterns and habitat use of Andean, Chilean, and Puna (James's) flamingos. Thanks to the support of program donors, ZCOG has funded transportation costs for field capture and tagging campaigns and purchased solar GPS satellite transmitters that are being used to monitor the birds' movement patterns.  ZCOG also manages and finances the project's satellite data account, which allows our Chilean program partners to download and analyze important flamingo movement data--critical information that is allowing us to better understand the challenges the three species are facing and how to protect them from extinction.  The project is a core component of the Association of Zoos & Aquarium's (AZA) Andean Highland Flamingo SAFE species program.