A flamingo that escaped from a wildlife sanctuary in Cornwall more than a week ago appears to have been photographed in northern France.
Two images show a young flamingo on a beach in Tréflez, Finistère, on Sunday morning. The bird, named Frankie, slipped out of a walled garden at Paradise Park on 2 November despite having had some feathers clipped.
Paradise Park director Nick Reynolds said the photos likely show Frankie. “You can see the right wing has some feathers missing, which is where we would have cut her wings to keep her here,” he said. The team is awaiting clearer pictures for full confirmation.
Mr Reynolds said it had been a “really difficult” week but the new images were “lovely” to see. He added Frankie “looks fit and well, which is brilliant.”
He said it was within a flamingo’s capabilities to fly the distance to northern France, though it is “not a small feat.” Mr Reynolds noted bird-flu rules and paperwork would make bringing Frankie back to the UK complicated, and hoped she might join a colony of greater flamingos in southern France.
Frankie was born in July and was the first chick reared by her parents at the park. Paradise Park asked anyone who spots her to send photos and locations via their Facebook account. “She’s still our baby and we want to know what’s happening with her,” Mr Reynolds said.
