An Alaska Airlines flight attendant is being praised for helping rescue some rare creatures during a flight in August.
Amber May recalled a passenger pressed the call button during the journey from Atlanta to Seattle and asked her if she could help keep a few eggs warm, Alaska Airlines said in a press release on February 5.
American Airlines flight attendant meets rare baby flamingos who hatched from eggs she helped save midflight https://t.co/sXEO2v9wT3 pic.twitter.com/CeopzkHJTw
— New York Post (@nypost) February 7, 2024
Turns out, the passenger was a zoo worker who was carrying rare Chilean flamingo eggs from Zoo Atlanta to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.
“I’d never been asked something like that before, so at first, I thought she wanted me to heat up some breakfast,” May said of the incident, according to the Washington Post:
Flight attendant saves six imperiled flamingo eggs, later meets chicks
“I’d never been asked something like that before, so at first, I thought she wanted me to heat up some breakfast,” Alaska Airlines flight attendant Amber May said. https://t.co/KFVj4eOSCN
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 15, 2024
However, the situation was serious because the worker’s incubator had abruptly quit. May knew it was time to take swift action in order to save the tiny creatures.
She filled rubber gloves with warm water and handed them off to the zoo worker to create a nest for the eggs in hopes they would stay warm for the duration of the flight.
Other passengers also tried to help by offering their coats and scarves to make sure the eggs were safe and secure. As the journey progressed, May and other flight attendants replaced the gloves numerous times to maintain their warmth.
Following the in-flight rescue, the zoo decided to do something special for May who helped save the rare flamingos. Zoo workers called her with an invitation to meet the six babies who were growing up fast after hatching.
May took her granddaughter for the special excursion where they got to spend quality time with the chicks.
An image shows May with her granddaughter while they visited the flamingos whose feathers will turn pink when they reach adulthood:
Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo honors Alaska Airlines flight attendant who saved rare flamingo eggs midflight. https://t.co/nDAhbSaFCe
— KOMO News (@komonews) February 10, 2024
When speaking of the flight attendant, Gigi Allianic of Woodland Park Zoo said, “We are forever grateful for the heroic measures Amber took to help keep our precious flamingo eggs warm and viable. This means the world to our zoo family. They would have been lost if you hadn’t gone above and beyond for us.”
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