The concept

The Tour du Valat has been conducting a study programme on Pink Flamingos since its founding in 1977, when it started its Greater Flamingo research and ringing activities.

To find out more about the origins of the Greater Flamingo research and ringing programme at the Tour du Valat: Flamingos success story.

To find out more on the project that monitors Greater Flamingo population dynamics at the Tour du Valat.

To find out more on Flamingo : About Greater flamingos.

Why Adopt a Greater Flamingo?

With your adoption, you are directly involved in the study and protection of Greater Flamingos by financing, among other things, population monitoring activities as well as the purchase of the equipment required for observers in North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East.

It’s not easy to read the rings attached to the legs of a Greater Flamingo, and errors are sometimes made due to poor quality equipment. A pair of binoculars can only read a ring if the Greater Flamingo is at a distance of less than 50 meters, which is very rare. Meanwhile, with a telescope, observation and reading can be performed at a distance of up to 300 meters!

A few numbers

• Over 900,000 ring readings since 1977 (record of 44,000 readings for the year 2009) performed by 5,900 different people.
• Almost 72,000 flamingos ringed since 1977 (over 30,000 in the Camargue).
• Price of a telescope: €1,500.

We have three different Greater Flamingo adoption plans:

• Adopt our mascots (25 €/year)
• Adopt our families (50 €/year)
• Adopt the ideal flamingo (100 €/year)

If you’re a company, you can purchase a suitable offer on the page Pink Flamingo adoption programme for companies.

Whichever plan you choose, you’ll receive your Greater Flamingo’s life history and information in real time (one email every time it is observed). The other perks then depend on the plan purchased.

Details of the Adopt our Mascots plan

It costs €25 per year to adopt Pat (male) or Popit (female) (or €8.5 after tax deduction if you are eligible*). These individuals are jointly adopted by all the sponsors who subscribe to the €25 plan.

By helping us protect these animals, you will receive:

• An e-mail alert every time your Flamingo is observed;
• An adoption certificate;
• The « Greater Flamingo Gazette », our electronic newsletter (3 to 4 per year);
• An electronic fact sheet on the species.

Details of the Adopt our Families plan

It costs €50 per year to adopt a member of our families (or €17 after tax deduction if you are eligible*). This plan allows you to choose a flamingo that’s just like you! Four families with very distinct characteristics are available: the Adventurers, the Camargue family, the Lovey-Doveys, or the Expats. You’ll also have to choose which family member you want to sponsor. Each family has a grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, son, and daughter, each with their own stories to tell.

By helping us protect these animals, you will receive:

• An e-mail alert every time your Flamingo is observed;
• An adoption certificate;
• The « Greater Flamingo Gazette », our electronic newsletter (3 to 4 per year);
• An electronic fact sheet on the species;***
• A comic poster on the life of a flamingo;***
• A booklet on the Greater Flamingo published by the Tour du Valat.

Details of the Adopt the ideal Flamingo plan

It costs €100 per year to adopt an ideal Flamingo (or €34 after tax deduction if you are eligible*). It allows you to select a Greater Flamingo “à la carte” by choosing its sex, age (depending on the years available in our database), and to give it the name you prefer. You will then be the only one to follow this flamingo.

By helping us protect these animals, you will receive:

• An e-mail alert every time your Flamingo is observed;
• An adoption certificate;
• The « Greater Flamingo Gazette », our electronic newsletter (3 to 4 per year);
• An electronic fact sheet on the species;***
• A comic poster on the life of a flamingo;***
• A booklet on the Greater Flamingo published by the Tour du Valat;
• An invitation to our flamingo sponsors day event;
• Participation in a drawing to take part in a flamingo ringing event.**

You can also adopt one or more Greater Flamingos for somebody else. All these plans are available as gifts. The person for whom you adopt a Greater Flamingo will receive the perks related to the selected plan.

 

Find our more: Adopt a Flamingo for a loved one.

If you would like to make a donation to the Tour du Valat, please click here: Make a donation.

* Fiscal deduction :

• A fiscal deduction of 66% of the amount of your sponsorship, not to exceed 20% of your total net taxable income (article 200 of French tax law);
• These tax benefits apply to French taxpayers.
  

** The Greater Flamingos you adopt are wild animals whose breeding success fluctuates. The Tour du Valat reserves the right to modify or cancel this event without engaging its liability, if the ringing conditions are not satisfactory.

***In the case of a renewal, a key ring will be sent instead of these benefits.