Texas - March 10, 2022. Fishing Guide David Foreman is sailing at Rodes Point in Cox
Bay near Port Lavaca, and spots a rather strange sight: running back and forth near the shoreline
is a tall and slender pink flamingo. Stunned at seeing such an iconic bird so
far away from its natural habitat, Foreman pulls out his smartphone and begins recording. [beep]
The 25-second video is soon posted online and before long, spreads across social media.
For the next week, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division will find themselves caught in the
middle of a bizarre international affair. They discover that the flockless flamingo
isn’t just lost - he’s a fugitive. On the run for 17 years.
[thunder, wings flapping] It all began for our feathered
friend in February of 2003 when, as a wee lad of three years old, the pink African flamingo
found himself shoved unceremoniously into a transport vehicle outbound from Tanzania.
Ripped from his home and family, the bothered bird was sent to the United States and arrived
in a crate with 40 fellow flamingos to Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas.
There, he was christened Flamingo No.492 and sentenced to live the rest of his days
entertaining the human populace. Normally upon arrival, the Kansas
zoo amputates part of a bird’s wings to prevent any inmates from flying the coop - but staffers
decided the operation would be unethical in 492’s case, because he had already reached adulthood.
Instead, 492 would have his wings clipped yearly,
along with a few other adult birds at the facility. No different than an annual haircut.
Over the next two years, 492 would become friends with Flamingo 347. Details of their
bond remain murky, but suffice it to say, the two shared a common desire for freedom.
When 2005 rolled around, the pair hatched a daring escape plan.
Quietly regrowing their feathers and building up the stamina for a full-on flight,
the two eluded the eyes of zookeepers during yearly checkups, and managed to keep their wings.
Then, one morning in June, the birds saw their chance. After being let out
for their daily trot around the open-air exhibit, Flamingos 492 and 347 took off.
[music]
The flight was a rough one. Out of practice since their capture, the two flamingos
landed just a short distance away from the facility in a drainage canal, and there,
took shelter. For several days, they tended to each other and worked to regain their strength.
And on the 4th of July - Independence Day - the pair flew away from Wichita
for good. [music]
Once off the grid, the two birds mostly avoided the eyes of the general public - though, as they
traveled across the US of A, bird watchers managed to catch a few pictures, here and
there - spotting them in Wisconsin, and Louisiana. By the next year, it became apparent that 492
and 347 had (at some point) parted ways. Many speculate that 347 had not survived the
winter. But Flamingo 492 found a way. [music]
Toward the end of 2006, he crossed paths with a Carribean flamingo that had likely
been blown off course during a tropical storm. Flamingos are social creatures, and the two birds
became long-term companions, having been spotted together several times over the years until 2013.
The ultimate fate of 492’s Carribean friend remains unknown.
The Sedgwick County Zoo has made little effort to try to recapture Flamingo 492
(aka Pink Floyd) over the years - the bird lacks any geolocator devices, simply bearing an
inmate tag on his foot as an identifier. Tracking 492 has repeatedly proved incredibly difficult!
For the most part, 492 appears to distrust humans - regularly
keeping his distance and quickly disappearing from the scene before gathering heavy attention.
Until (of course) one fateful day in Port Lavaca, Texas.
[music] Seventeen years
after his initial escape, Flamingo 492 is caught on video.
Communication between Texas Parks and Wildlife Division and the Sedgwick County Zoo in Witchita,
confirm that the fugitive flamingo is alive and well,
and not heading back to Kansas, anytime soon. Over 700 miles away from Sedgwick County,
his new digs in Texas provide a satisfactory environment. High temperatures and
shallow wetlands give him plenty of food, and nearby Roseate Spoonbills likely make
him feel right at home. It’s not quite his native homeland... but for Flamingo, No. 492, it’ll do.
He’s led a life like none other! One of mystery and intrigue.
Taken from his home at an early age, escaped from captivity, enduring environmental hardship,
befriended on occasion by birds of a common ilk, and now - living
it up by himself in the Lone Star state. At 20 years of age, he’s halfway through
his life expectancy. So, what’s next for No. 492?
He doesn’t seem rattled - the future is wherever the winds and the waves take him.
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