Kansas Zoo’s Fugitive Flamingo Has Been Noticed In Texas Little ones Information Article

A flamingo on the “operate” from a Wichita, Kansas, zoo for 17 a long time was lately spotted in Texas. No. 492 and its buddy, No. 347, escaped from the Sedgwick County Zoo in 2005. Even though No. 347 has disappeared considering that, No. 492, nicknamed Pink Floyd by Texas officials, has been a repeated customer to the Lone Star Condition. The well known fugitive’s most up-to-date sighting, posted on the web on March 28, 2022, by the Texas Coastal Fisheries Division, is producing headlines all over the world.

Jackson County resident David Foreman observed the classy, lengthy-legged chook though fishing around Port Lavaca on the Texas Gulf Coastline on March 10, 2022. “I was anticipating to see a bunch of white pelicans from the east coast, coming down below for the wintertime,” Foreman informed the Guardian. In its place, he was handled to one thing that appeared like a ” poof-ball sitting on a leg.”

Foreman became informed of Pink Floyd’s daring stunt soon after submitting the footage on social media. “That is when men and women began telling me, ‘Oh, that’s most likely that escaped flamingo,'” he explained. The hunch was confirmed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife officers. The authorities say that while Foreman could not see the flamingo’s tag, they are confident it was Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd was a single of 40 higher flamingos — the most popular and premier species of the flamingo family members — brought to the Kansas zoo from Tanzania in the early 2000s. The birds, which ranged between 3 and 5 yrs old, had been all adults. Consequently, the Sedgwick County Zoo workers resolved to trim their wings — similar to giving a haircut — alternatively than surgically getting rid of them as is done with newborns.

Nevertheless, in 2005, the officials have been a little late in clipping the wings, permitting No. 347 and No. 492 to just take flight and escape. No 347, who flew north towards Michigan, was only witnessed once and is believed to have perished in the wintertime. Pink Floyd, who headed south, has been observed in Wisconsin, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas on various situations. In 2006 and 2007, the escapee even uncovered a companion — a Caribbean “refugee” flamingo who most likely arrived in the US from Mexico throughout hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Nevertheless, the two appeared to have parted strategies given that.

Inspite of the recurrent sightings, the details of Pink Floyd’s journey to the West South Central States stay a mystery. Also unclear is its gender and age. While the zoo officials suspect Pink Floyd is a male in his 20s, neither point has been confirmed. The fantastic news is that they have no designs of bringing the runaway flamingo back to Kansas.

Jennica King, a spokesperson for the Sedwick County Zoo claims, “We determined incredibly early on, at the time he flew down to Texas, that we would not make any endeavours that could most likely harm him or hurt the wildlife close to him.”

Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, NPR.com, theguardian.com