An American Airlines flight attendant came across six rare baby flamingos that hatched from eggs he rescued on an unusual request. Among them was a chick named after the granddaughter of a heroic flight attendant.
American Airlines announced Monday that an airline employee named Amber was working on an August flight from Atlanta to Seattle when a passenger asked for help.
“A passenger pressed the call button and asked if I could help keep the eggs warm,” Amber said. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
The passengers were zoo employees who were transporting six rare Chilean flamingo eggs from the Atlanta Zoo to Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. The incubator that kept the eggs warm and the fluff lamlets inside were kept alive, but they stopped working during the flight.
Amber, who has worked as a flight attendant for 10 years, quickly grabbed a pair of rubber gloves and turned on some hot water to warm up the eggs, while other passengers sitting nearby offered her coats and other clothing.
Amber and the rest of the crew continually checked the eggs and changed their gloves regularly as the water inside them cooled during the flight.
Thanks to the flight attendants’ quick thinking and attentiveness, all the eggs survived and hatched into healthy, fluffy gray flaminglets.
A few months later, Amber received a surprise call from the Woodland Park Zoo, inviting her to meet the baby bird she had rescued.
“I was honored and so happy that all six chicks hatched!” she said.
But that wasn’t the only surprise. Zoo officials named one of the babies after Amber’s baby granddaughter, Sunny, in honor of the flight attendant who saved her life.
Amber and little Sunny get an exclusive tour of the Seattle Zoo and meet six flamingo chicks: Sunny, Amaya, Rosales, Gonzo, Bernardo, and Magdalena, whose name was chosen through a vote on the zoo’s social media. A “meet and greet” was also held. media followers.
“It was so wonderful to meet baby Sunny and flamingo Sunny,” Amber said. “I’m really looking forward to watching them grow.”
The feathered siblings (which turn a distinctive pink color with age) were the first to hatch at the zoo since 2016, and the new addition brings the zoo’s herd to 49 animals.
“We are forever grateful for the heroic steps Amber took to keep our precious flamingo eggs warm and viable,” said Gigi Arianic of the Woodland Park Zoo. “I’m doing it,” he said. “This means so much to our zoo family. If you hadn’t gone above and beyond for us, they would have been lost.”
