Authorities adding water to Türkiye's largest saline lake to prevent baby flamingo deaths

Photo: AA

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The Ministry of Environment and the Konya Metropolitan Municipality are adding water to Lake Tuz, the world's second-largest saline lake in central Türkiye, to prevent the repetition of last year's massive baby flamingo deaths.

Lake Tuz is an important wetland where migratory flamingos from around the world incubate. It is also a natural protected area that is home to a variety of plants and birds, as well as insects and mammals.

According to data by the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, the flamingo population breeding in Turkey constitutes nearly 34 percent of the entire flamingo population in Europe.

Farmers' embankment of the water channels flowing to the lake due to increased drought in the region was cited as the main reason for the drying of the lake and the deaths of flamingo hatchlings.

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Abdullah Uçan, the head of the General Directorate for Protection of Natural Assets, told the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) that the purpose of adding water to the lake is to support the flamingo hatchlings until they can fly.

"Flamingos arriving in March spend their incubation period here until mid-June. Afterwards, they feed their hatchlings here until they reach flight puberty.

"They migrate at the end of August. During this period, we are faced with the threat of climate change, which is also discussed at the international level. Groundwater in Salt Lake and Konya basin fell to 300 meters in some places.

"Last year, we encountered serious flamingo hatchling deaths, especially due to the period of drought. These deaths prompted us to work more seriously and meticulously this year." (TY/VK)