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Italian farmers have a new enemy in addition to drought and heavy rainfall: the flamingo.
Italian farmers are facing a new enemy alongside drought and heavy rain: the flamingo. In their search for food, they are devastating rice fields.
The rice fields in Ferrara, Italy (Emilia-Romagna), are currently suffering from the consequences of a flamingo invasion. The pink birds are causing crop losses of up to 80 percent, even though rice is not even on their menu. "Here, we are the ones threatened with extinction," says Giampaolo Cenacchi, a rice farmer and vice president of the protection consortium "Riso del Delta del Po." In addition to drought and heavy rain, flamingos are now threatening the rice fields.
In May, the rice begins to sprout, entering a critical phase of its development. It is at this time that flocks of birds have descended on the fields of the region, causing significant damage in their search for food. The waterfowl typically feed on small organisms such as crustaceans, insects, or water snails and forage in the water with their beaks. They usually move slowly forward. However, they also employ another technique called "stamping," where the bird whirls up prey buried in the mud with rapid, stamping movements - but at the same time destroys the soil structure and damages the seedlings.
As a result, affected farmers now patrol their fields at night to protect them from the birds. Some farmers have even used small cannons, but they have been criticized by residents for the noise. Life in Italy is currently not all rosy.
