Two homeless fugitives, partners in crime, tracked down in Texas. Sounds like the gangster duo Bonnie and Clyde who were killed in 1934 with 167 bullets. But this is about two other strange birds: On July 4, 2005, of course on Independence Day, two African flamingos, marked with the numbers 492 and 347, managed to escape from a zoo in Kansas. The first flew south, the second north – and was never seen again. It is believed that he did not survive the winter.
No. 492 from Tanzania moved to the warmer climate and settled on the Texas Gulf Coast. There he met a companion from the Caribbean who had apparently been blown by a tropical storm. The two flamingos were inseparable, it is said, they were last seen together in 2013. No. 492, which the officials meanwhile Pink Floyd name, appeared again in 2019, in March he was sighted again, writes the New York Times: This time by David Foreman, of all people, a fishing guide who until then thought he knew there were no flamingos in Texas, which is basically true – except for the zoo escapee. For years, then, Foreman had explained to his clients that the flamingoes they thought they were seeing were actually the smaller, duck-billed roseate spoonbill be. Because there are no flamingos in Texas, there can’t be, that’s that.
Regardless, enjoy Pink Floyd his pink, iridescent life in the Texas wilderness for 17 years. Because No. 492 doesn’t give a damn whether there are flamingos in Texas. As long as he can find enough food or stand on one leg when he feels like it.
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