12 flamingos found frozen to death in central Anatolia
A total of 12 flamingos were found frozen to death in Ivriz Reservoir in the Halkapınar district of the central Anatolian town of Konya. Mayor Mehmet Bakkal said that around 300 flamingos take refuge in the reservoir due to the cold weather, and that the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry will determine an official cause of death for the 12 that seem to have succumbed to the cold.
Duvar English
Twelve flamingos were found frozen to death on Feb. 8 in the İvriz Reservoir in the central Anatolian town of Konya.
Some 300 flamingos are thought to take refuge in the reservoir during the rough winter conditions in the area, said Mayor Mehmet Bakkal of Konya's Halkapınar district.
Bakkal said that temperatures drop as low as -17 Celsius at night in the region, which is why he thinks the flamingos died.
"My guess is they were weakened because of hunger and they weren't able to endure the freezing winter conditions," Bakkal said.
Adding that they've never observed a mass death like this among the local flamingos, Bakkal noted that the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry would be releasing the official cause of the animals' death.
"I think those who are still alive will try to get through the winter here until it gets warmer and they'll go somewhere they can feed as soon as possible," Bakkal said.