A flamingo living in the wild which has been missing from Kansas Zoo for 17 years has been spotted in Texas.
Due to the number on its leg band; prior to this recent sighting, the bird had last been glimpsed at in May 2019.
The Associated Press reported in 2005 that two flamingos escaped the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, due to a storm.
According to people.com, the escaped flamingo was found in video footage from March 10 around Rhodes Point in Cox Bay, Texas, according to the Coastal Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife.
The flamingo can be easily identified by its leg band, which has the number 492.
According to AP, the birds’ wings were not clipped when they escaped in 2005, which made it easier for them to flee the zoo.
The Associated Press report, while there have been no reports of flamingos not associated with No. 492, No. 492 has been spotted in Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Texas over the years.
The last time someone spotted flamingo No. 492 was over Memorial Day weekend in May 2019.
“Spotted once again during the Texas Colonial Waterbird Survey by Coastal Fisheries staff and volunteers, this escaped zoo flamingo has decided to spend Memorial Day weekend on the Texas coast,” Coastal Fisheries – Texas Parks and Wildlife posted on Facebook.
The two flamingos that escaped were transported from Africa to the zoo in 2004, along with almost 40 others.
An official from the Sedgwick County Zoo said that capturing the bird without disturbing other wildlife is difficult.
“There really isn’t an easy way to recapture the bird. It would only disturb wildlife where it’s been found and possibly could do more damage to the bird than just leaving him alone,” said Christan Baumer, a spokesperson for the zoo at the time, in 2007, per AP.