Direct Variation Word Problem

To estimate the number of flamingos in the Lake Manyara flock, the Kenyan Wildlife Service banded 600 birds. At a later time, they caught 1000 birds and found that 48 were banded. About how large is the entire flock?

I have no clue how to approach this problem. How do I identify x and y?? What's the setup of the equation?? Please Help!! Thanks!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EyesThatSparkle02

To estimate the number of flamingos in the Lake Manyara flock, the Kenyan Wildlife Service banded 600 birds. At a later time, they caught 1000 birds and found that 48 were banded. About how large is the entire flock?

I have no clue how to approach this problem. How do I identify x and y?? What's the setup of the equation?? Please Help!! Thanks!

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Let N be the size of the entire flock. Solve for N:

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If you'd posted in the Probability and Statistics subforum with a title like "Find the Best Estimate" I'd probably give a justification as to why (after making some assumptions) equating the ratios leads to the best estimate.