- A rogue flamingo was spotted on the coast of Texas 17 years after it escaped from a Kansas zoo.
- The bird was one of two that fled the zoo during a storm on Independence Day in 2005.
- "There really isn't an easy way to recapture the bird," a zoo official said in 2007.
One of two flamingos that escaped from a zoo in Kansas during a storm on Independence Day in 2005 was spotted in Texas earlier this month, The New York Times reported.
The long-legged creature — known as No. 492 but nicknamed by locals as "Pink Floyd" — has been on the run for 17 years and has been seen on several occasions in Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Texas, according to The Associated Press.
The flamingo's fellow escapee, No. 3447, has yet to be seen since their escape from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, in 2005, the outlet reported.
The Coastal Fisheries division of Texas Parks and Wildlife confirmed the news to the AP on Tuesday, citing footage of the Tanzanian animal's leg band, which is labeled "No. 492."
—TX Parks & Wildlife (@TPWDnews) March 28, 2022
The birds were able to break out of the zoo that stormy evening because their wings had not yet been clipped, which would have inhibited their ability to fly.
"There really isn't an easy way to recapture the bird," the Kansas zoo spokeswoman Christan Baumer told the AP in 2007. "It would only disturb wildlife where it's been found and possibly could do more damage to the bird than just leaving him alone."
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyzu8aunGaenJa6qrrGqGSeq5OWvaawjKSYp6uRqHq7u85maWloZWLAsbvTrZydZZOkrrTAjK2csZmjYn9xfpFmag%3D%3D