A baby flamingo strolls on hot concrete, wearing fetching blue booties to protect his feet

A baby flamingo strolls on hot concrete, wearing fetching blue booties to protect his feet.

The ten-week-old bird, born from an abandoned egg and named Squish by keepers.

Reuters

The staff at Singapore’s Jurong Bird Park made the boots for Squish

Daily walks are needed for exercise and exposure to daylight to help strengthen the long-legged bird’s bones.

But the surface is far from the cool, wet wading grounds of his native South Africa. So staff at Singapore’s Jurong Bird Park hand-made the footwear to help out.

Boss Gerard Wan said they expect to send him to integrate with a flock when his feet are fully formed.

It takes two years for young flamingos like Squish to lose their grey and white colour and take on the distinctive pink hue their species are famous for and which comes from the shrimp-like crustaceans in their diet.

Flamingos are currently classed as “relatively low risk of extinction” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Reuters

Caring for Squish include daily walks, exercise and exposure to daylight to help strengthen his leg muscles