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Camargue: the threatened paradise of pink flamingos
Camargue: the threatened paradise of pink flamingos
(France 2)
The only breeding site for pink flamingos in France is in Occitane. The preservation of the species is now necessary and urgent.
Along the Occitan coast, plains and lagoons seem to stretch as far as the eye can see. Inseparable from the postcard, the silhouettes of pink flamingos enhance the landscape. There are nearly 5,000 of them who have taken up residence on the salt marshes near Gruissan (Aude). An ideal habitat, yet very fragile. Here, the rising waters are worrying. With global warming, the basins could be submerged, and the birds would no longer be able to stay there.
“If the lagoon disappears, there will no longer be a habitat for these species. This is what we call an umbrella species in ecology: from the moment we want to protect the flamingos, we are obliged to protect their environment.”explains Benoît Sauphanor, a naturalist guide at the League for the Protection of Birds (LOP). The territory is maintained by salt workers, such as in Aigues-Mortes (Gard), in Camargue.
Every day, Valentin Fangier crisscrosses the salt flats to regulate the level of the ponds, which form the only breeding site for the species in France. This is a valuable aid for scientists, who coordinate to count the population.
