Flamingo that escaped from Kansas zoo 17 years ago is spotted on Texas coast

www.nbcnews.com...

Such a fun story. I thought I had posted it but coldn't find it. Either that or I'm blind or stupid.

This dudes been out there in the wild for now 19 years. Cool thing is there is another flamingo, not the same type, who somehow end up there - probably got blown here form foreign lands located abroad. The are BFF's now, so all is well for these two outliers. Also, the other escaped flamingo was sighted after it's jailbreak, up north and then never again. So, one went one way and the other, the other and it only worked out for one, seemingly.

WICHITA, Kan. — One of two flamingos that escaped from a Kansas zoo during a storm 17 years ago has been spotted on the coast of Texas, wildlife officials said.

The Coastal Fisheries division of Texas Parks and Wildlife confirmed Tuesday that the African flamingo — known as No. 492 because of the number on its leg band — was captured on video shot March 10 by an environmental activist near Port Lavaca, Texas, at Rhodes Point in Cox Bay. Officials were able to make out the bird’s leg band on the video.

The bird and another flamingo escaped from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita on a stormy night in June 2005. Employees had not yet clipped the birds’ wings to prevent them from flying, which facilitated their escape.

While the other flamingo was never seen again, No. 492 has been spotted several times in Wisconsin, Louisiana and Texas, sometimes with other wild flamingos. Officials said it had been a year or two since the bird was last seen in Texas.

Zoo officials have never made plans to recapture No. 492, despite the sightings, saying there is no easy way to do so without disturbing other wildlife.

The escaped flamingos, known for their distinctive pink feathers and long legs and necks, were born in Africa then shipped to the Kansas zoo in 2004 with 39 other flamingo

Sorry, there's more info if you look it up but my computer is Windows 7 and is in dire need of a new OS as 7 doesn't work very well these days. Lots of crashed tabs so I took what source I could get.

I have heard of this story too. But I live in KC, so it's sort of in my neck of the woods. It's a bit like our version of Migaloo, only with an escaped flamingo.

a reply to: ketsuko

Thanks for Migaloo. I hadn't heard of the white whale. Nature, gotta love it. So bloody fascinating.

i didnt realize they live that long. had to look it up. says they can live to 50 years old. i am sure he is happier free!

Good for him, hope they let him stay free if he is healthy