Flamingo escapes British zoo, flies over nearby farm

The bird, a Chilean flamingo, was safely recaptured about 20 minutes later.

LONDON (Web Desk) - A flamingo escaped from a small zoo in Britain and was recaptured after spending some time flying over a nearby field.

Daniel Wright, who works at Berwick Court Farm, near Alfriston, England, said he looked out the window of his office Wednesday and saw a van from the nearby Drusillas Animal Park in the parking lot.

"I looked out the window to see a member of staff from Drusillas in our car park in a branded Drusillas car," Wright told The Argus newspaper. "She looked flustered, we joked about how she d be on the hunt for an escaped animal."

Wright said he discovered minutes later that an escaped flamingo was indeed flying over a field on the farm.

"It was a beautiful sight seeing the bird fly overhead, but not something you expect to see on a Tuesday afternoon outside your office," he said.

The bird, a Chilean flamingo, was safely recaptured about 20 minutes later and returned to the facility.

"Our flamingo was only out for a very short period of time and was caught calmly and safely, and returned to the enclosure," a spokeswoman for the zoo said. "We are of course very pleased the animal has been returned unharmed and safe."

The zoo s website describes Chilean flamingos as "one of the larger flamingo species," growing to heights of up to 5 feet.