THE latest new arrival in a rare bird breeding programme was unveiled yesterday.
Stevie Mal, a Chilean Flamingo, was born last week at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, in Washington, Wearside.
The chick was named after Steve Vint and Malcolm Robinson, two former school friends of trust warden Darren Grieves.
Mr Grieves is expecting another 12 flamingo chicks to arrive in the centre's hatchery this week.
All 13 will be kept on site, adding to the trust's flock of 45.
He said: "While the flamingo itself is not rare as such, there are only 24 breeding sites for all six species left in the world.
"It would only take one to be destroyed by pollution to have a massive impact on the species."
The flamingos will be the last eggs to hatch at the trust this year, in a successful programme in which the centre reared its first white winged duck.
It is the rarest wildfowl on the planet, and only 1,500 remain in the wild in its natural habitat in Sumatra, Indonesia.
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