Three Chilean flamingo chicks recently made their first public appearance at the Woodland Park Zoo. Hatched last August and September, the chicks marked the first successful hatching of this species in the zoo’s 110-year history.

In another chick sighting, a 1-month-old red-crowned crane is under the watchful care of its 18-year-old parents, which have contributed more than a dozen successful hatchings of this critically endangered species to zoos around the country.

Red-crowned cranes are renowned for their spectacular and elaborate courtship dances and are known as important symbols of long life, peace, happiness and fidelity for many Asian cultures.

After a 10-year absence from Woodland Park Zoo, hooded cranes have returned. The new male and female are designated to breed under the Association of Zoos & Aquarium’s Population Management Plan to help sustain a healthy and genetically diverse population of the species.

The zoo currently teams with the Muraviovka Park for Sustainable Land Use in the Amur River region of Russia, which works to protect cranes and their nesting areas in the park and work with local farmers to promote sustainable farming practices, instead of the slash-and-burn techniques that have traditionally been used.

The flamingo chicks can be seen in the flamingo exhibit with the adults during zoo hours, and the cranes can be seen in the Temperate Forest exhibit.