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Extremely Rare Black Flamingo Spotted At Limassol Salt Lake In Cyprus

Black Flamingo Salt Lake

An extremely rare black flamingo, which very few people have ever laid eyes on, has been spotted at Limassol Salt Lake on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the British bases indicated in a statement.

The statement indicated that experts believe the bird to suffer “from a highly rare condition known as ‘melanism,’ a genetic irregularity” which causes the rare bird to generate more melanin than normal, subsequently “turning them a dark brown, or black,” Cyprus Mail reported.

Limassol Salt Lake, also known as Akrotiri Salt Lake, where the sighting took place lies southwest of the coastal city of Lemesos, also known as Limassol. The lake is considered to be amongst the most important wetlands in the eastern Mediterranean and it also marks the largest inland body of water on the island of Cyprus.

The aforementioned Cyprus Mail report quoted Sovereign Base Area Administration’s Assistant Environment Officer Alexia Perdiou as having said that the sighting was “an exciting time” for all of those associated with the Ramsar protected lake.

Of course we are all very excited because we believe it could be the only Flamingo of its kind in the world and very little is known about it […] We are expecting a lot of visitors over the next few days and I would urge people to be very sensible about coming to see it.

The head of the environmental department of the British Sovereign Bases, Pantelis Charilaou, was quoted by the Daily Mail as having said that it appears as if there has been “only one other sighting” which took place in Israel, making this the second black flamingo sighting thus far; their research was conducted via Internet search queries.

For those who do intend on trying to catch a glimpse of the bird in real life, Perdiou indicates that the “best possible viewpoint” is “through the bran new Akrotiri Environmental and Education Centre where we have a special are designed with incredible views of the salt lake.”

For those who intend to walk out onto the lake, the assistant environment officer advises otherwise as she indicated that people walking onto the lake itself “could disrupt the birds’ habitat and we absolutely do not want that.”

Early last month, we reported here on Immortal News that authorities in Burma had captured an albino elephant, marking the country’s ninth white elephant in captivity. Some believe the rare elephants to be a sign of good luck. They’re also perceived as a symbol of royal power and prosperity.

What are your thoughts on this recent sighting of the rare black flamingo?

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