Escaped pink flamingo from Cornwall zoo sighted in Brittany
Four-month old flamingo managed to fly over her walled enclosure at start of month
Paradise Park believes the flamingo (above) is Frankie due to her wings being clipped
Paradise Park /
A runaway pink flamingo is thought to have been sighted in Brittany after escaping from a zoo鈥� 160km away in England.
Frankie, a four-month old female Caribbean flamingo, took flight from Paradise Park in Cornwall on November 2, despite having her wings clipped. She managed to fly over her walled enclosure and leave the park.
Briefly spotted in nearby Hayle, her whereabouts remained unknown until yesterday (November 10) when park managers believed she was spotted in coastal Brittany.
鈥淲e are letting you know that there have been sightings of a flamingo on the coast of Brittany in France,鈥� said Paradise Park in a statement on social media.
鈥淭here is a population of Greater Flamingos in southern France, and the young birds look very similar to Frankie, but we believe we can see the feathers on the right wing have been clipped. We are awaiting more photos to help confirm if it is Frankie,鈥� it adds.
A flamingo population does exist in the Camargue area, but they are not native to the Breton peninsula and not known to frequent the cooler north.
These French-based flamingoes tend to fly south towards Spain, Tunisia, or Turkey during the colder winter months, and it is unlikely that Frankie would connect with the group from so far away.
鈥淔lamingos are capable of flying [160km] but we still feel amazed to see she has travelled so far and are also relieved to see her looking so fit. She has found a wonderful, protected estuary system and should be able to feed,鈥� Paradise Park adds.
The zoo will investigate the sighting further and aims to bring the bird back to Cornwall.
Anyone who believes they have spotted Frankie is urged to contact the zoo via (0044) 1736 753365 or to email info@paradisepark.org.uk.
