CHILEAN flamingo chicks have been fostered by their Andean near-relatives at Slimbridge Wetland Centre.

Three pairs of the Andean birds at the Slimbridge reserve were given eggs of Chilean flamingos to nest.

The record-breaking temperatures sparked six of the exotic birds to lay nine eggs, but as they were all infertile, the expectant mums and dads were left without chicks to rear.

So to fulfil their needs as expectant parents, experts at the WWT decided to give them Chilean flamingo eggs to hatch and look after as their own.

Aviculture manager at Slimbridge, Mark Roberts said: “It’s a wonderful and welcome surprise that the Andeans have started laying again after nearly two decades.

“Unfortunately none of the eggs were viable so, with the Andeans in full parenting mode, we gave them Chilean chicks to bring up as their own.

"It’s great motivation and enriching for the birds.”

Just a handful of Chilean eggs were passed on, so as to encourage the other birds to lay more eggs, in the hope one might be fertile.

The flock last successfully bred in 1999.

Chilean flamingos are relatively similar to the Andean. They live side-by-side in the wild, but survive on different diets.

The Andean flamingos are some of the oldest animals at WWT Slimbridge.

With some of the birds arriving in the 1960s as adults, they’ve been at the reserve longer than any of the staff. They are long-lived birds that are capable of breeding well into old age. However fertility does decline.

Slimbridge is the only place in the world where you can encounter all six species of flamingos.

Visitors to Slimbridge will be able to capture the amazing spectacle of the new parent flamingos with their fostered chicks up close.

To celebrate the news Slimbridge is running a competition to win a flamingo adoption pack.

All visitors need to do is upload a picture of the Andean flamingos and the chicks after their visit to their social media channels using the hashtag #SlimFlam.

A winner will be announced at the end of the summer.