Baby flamingo wears handmade booties in Singapore zoo 

A baby flamingo fashionista has had a suave pair of blue shoes made for it to protect its feet from hot concrete in a zoo in Singapore.

Squish, the Greater Flamingo born two and a half months ago at Singapore’s Jurong Bird Park, was spotted showing off his booties as he strolled through the complex on Thursday.

The park says the handmade booties are to protect Squish’s feet from the hot concrete surfaces outside the centre – a far cry from the cool, wet mudflats of his native South Africa.

Daily walks are needed for exercise and exposure to daylight to help strengthen the long-legged bird’s bones.

Gerard Wan, an animal care officer at the bird park, which is managed by Wildlife Reserves Singapore, said: ‘When his feet are okay, we will send him back into the flock and hopefully he will be able to integrate with them.’

The now 1.6-kg bird was born after keepers found and incubated an abandoned egg at the park’s Breeding and Research Centre. 

These boots are made to squawk in: The booties protect Squish (pictured) from the hot concrete outside the centre – a far cry from the cool, wet mudflats of his native South Africa

Flamingos are currently classed as ‘relatively low risk of extinction’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

It takes two years for young flamingos like Squish to lose their grey and white colour and take on the distinctive pink hue their species are famous for and which comes from the shrimp-like crustaceans in their diet.

The birds are famous for standing on one leg, which experts believe is done to conserve body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time in cold water.

Flamin-GO: Daily walks are needed to help strengthen the long-legged bird’s bones