Snapping turtle attacks flamingo displaced by hurricanes. Birder steps in, reports say
Displaced by recent hurricanes, a pair of flamingos took refuge at a Pennsylvania pond — where danger lurked, according to state wildlife authorities.
Birdwatchers flocked to Franklin County for a chance to see the two pink birds, as it’s quite unusual for flamingos to be found that far north.
And one of those birders would end up saving a flamingo mate during a brutal attack, according to local news reports.
“An onlooker, while enjoying watching the pair, noticed the one bird struggling for a period of time,” the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s south-central region said on Facebook. “It then became apparent that a snapping turtle had a hold of the bird’s leg!”
The birdwatcher, who had been taking photos of the flamingos on Monday, Sept. 11, responded by jumping into the water, Lancaster Online reported.
Then they grabbed the bird, freeing it from the snapping turtle’s jaws, and held the flamingo until game wardens could respond, Amy Nabozny, information education supervisor for the south-central region, told PennLive.
A responding game warden took the bird to Raven Ridge Wildlife Center, officials said.
The wildlife center was shocked to get the call.
“We were not sure if we heard him correctly... a flamingo? Yes... a flamingo!” the center said on Facebook.
Once the flamingo arrived, the rescue center said it got an emergency appointment at Companion Animal Hospital.
“The good news is the X-rays show no breaks or fractures to the leg, but there is tissue, muscle and some tendon damage from the snapping turtles attack,” according to the Facebook post. “Dr. Libby was able to clean the leg and put in several sutures and repair the torn skin and tendons.”
Unfortunately, though, the flamingo will have a long rehabilitation as it needs continued wound treatments, antibiotics and monitoring, the rescuers said.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is hopeful the flamingo can eventually be reunited with its mate.
“When birds pair for life, they will do so until the mate is killed or goes missing for an extended period of time, and they will move on or try to find another mate,” Nabozny told PennLive. “We’re working as quickly as possible with the rehab, and doing our best to get it fixed up and back out there. So hopefully, they’ll pair back up.”
Flamingos likely caught in Hurricane Idalia have also been found in at least 10 states, including Ohio, Texas and Florida, WHYY reported.
“We’re seeing flamingos all over the place,” Nate Swick, a spokesperson for the American Birding Association, told the outlet. “We’re seeing them in places that we didn’t expect them.”
He expects the flamingos, who mostly came from the Yucatan Peninsula, to head back toward the coast soon, according to WHYY.
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