Pink flamingo visiting Texas again 14 years after escaping from Kansas zoo

LAVACA BAY, Texas — A pink African flamingo that escaped from a Kansas zoo almost 14 years ago was photographed near Lavaca Bay, Texas, over the Memorial Day holiday.

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“The flamingo is back!” officials with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Fisheries division posted on social media.

The bird, nicknamed No. 492, makes an appearance every few years in Texas -- this year hanging out in Lavaca Bay again, which is about halfway between Houston and Corpus Christie, where it was spotted last year, too.

The colorful, lanky flamingo escaped from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita in 2005 shortly after the zoo acquired it, fleeing its confines before zoo workers had a chance to clip its feathers, according to KWCH-TV.

The bird has been spotted around the Gulf Coast and as far north as Wisconsin in the years since.

It has also been seen with a Caribbean flamingo in the past, but officials haven’t been able to determine if the two flamingos are friends or mates.

With some six species of flamingos, the famous pink birds are found in countries around the world in warm, watery regions and especially on mud flats, according to National Geographic. The birds generally live 20 to 30 years but can live up to 60 years in captivity.

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