This is the moment five fluffy flamingos chicks explore their surroundings with their parents after hatching at a Russian zoo.

The five chicks hatched at Moscow Zoo in the Russian capital after a period of incubation to protect them from being damaged by the flock that can often be somewhat boisterous.

The zoo explained that fights between flamingos often occur during the nesting process and eggs can sometimes be damaged or knocked out of the nest.

Moscow Zoo general director Svetlana Akulova said: “Our zoologists keep a close eye on the flamingos during the entire nesting process. They place the laid eggs in incubators, and in the aviary replace them with dummy eggs filled with sand. After hatching, the mother begins to feed the young. Both parents take care of their offspring equally.”

The zoo said flamingos start breeding almost as soon as they arrive in the outdoor enclosure and mates build a nest together, however, fights often break out, sometimes because “they like a neighbour’s nest better”.

Moscow Zoo also said the chicks won’t resemble the pink adults in their ‘flamboyance of flamingos’ until much later, and appear as “little grey lumps with thin legs”, adding: “Their pink pigment won’t appear anytime soon. In a few months, it will start to show but they will have grey plumage for a year or so.

“The chicks are a little older now and no longer just sit in the nest. They are now walking around the enclosure behind their parents.”