WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wildlife officials say one of two African flamingos that escaped from a Wichita zoo during a storm 17 years ago has been spotted on the coast of Texas.
Texas Parks and Wildlife officials confirmed Tuesday that the African flamingo, known as No. 492 because of the identification number on its leg band, was seen near Port Lavaca, Texas. An environmental activist shot video on March 10 that featured the bird with its leg band visible. An article from the Wichita Eagle reflected a flurry of excitement after Texas Parks and Wildlife published a photo of No. 492 from a local photographer in May 2019.
No. 492 and another flamingo of the same species had not yet had their wings clipped when they escaped from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita on June 27, 2005. Both were factors that aided in the birds' ability to get away. The pair was spotted later in the summer of 2005 together before the other was never seen again, but No. 492 has been spotted in Wisconsin, Louisiana and now Texas.
The Sedgwick County Zoo has clarified that the gender of the still-fugitive flamingo was never determined, because it didn't retain the bird long enough to undergo a blood test. However, the zoo has responded to past sightings to say that it has no plans to recapture the flamingo.
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