Here are five facts you maybe didn't know about flamingos: 1) Flamingos weren't considered native to Florida until a few years ago For decades, controversy stirred about whether flamingos were native to Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission considered them a visitor to the Sunshine State that didn't have a natural historical presence here. But an exhaustive 2018 report that looked at historical information from early naturalists and museum records proved that native flocks of flamingos that numbered in the hundreds to thousands once roamed Florida. 2.) Flamingos in Florida were hunted to extinction or near extinction Before Floridians realized that they needed to protect the Everglades, the River of Grass and its flora and fauna were exploited, molested and often destroyed.