Franklin Co. flamingo dies while recovering from snapping turtle attack

July 13, 2024

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — A flamingo that was injured in Franklin County after being attacked by a snapping turtle earlier this month has died after a long battle in recovery.

The flamingos first arrived in the area after they were thrown off course by strong hurricane winds in early September.

The flamingo was one of two that was found in Pennsylvania. As far as it has been reported, that flamingo is still at Long Lane Pond in St. Thomas Township.

The bird was in the care of the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in Washington Boro. The center released the following statement Saturday evening:

"This has been by far one of the most unique and stressful cases we have ever seen at our center, and the hardest news we have to share. The outpouring of support has been amazing as well as working with an amazing team of experts. When we admitted the flamingo, we immediately reached out to our veterinarians, to get this bird into surgery and for a wound evaluation. We immediately reached out to our friends at a Zoo that currently has flamingos. We were in continuous contact with the two head Veterinarians on an everyday basis, sending photos, weights, updates and any questions or concerns. The team at the Zoo was amazing at getting us all the needed information and resources needed to get this bird stabilized and create an environment that was conducive to his/her needs.

Every patient that we admit receives top of the line care, as we are focused on quality not quantity. Obviously, these birds are not native to Pa, and we relied heavily on our team for guidance and support. It was a very humbling experience for our team here at RRWC to help with the rehabilitation of this beautiful animal and share with our supporters and followers the journey and progress of the flamingo. We understand the excitement and curiosity for so many, as we were having a continuous flow of people show up with cameras trying to capture a glimpse of the flamingo. The phone calls, messages and emails regarding the flamingo were overwhelming. Our focus was always the care, privacy and rehabilitation of this beautiful bird, and doing everything we could do to hopefully return him/her home to Florida.

We have received several inquiries about an article that was posted that we were “dumping” the flamingo at a zoo. We have not seen this article, nor did we give permission, were interviewed or responded in any way indicating permanently putting the flamingo in a zoo. We have no idea where this information came from, but it was erroneous. Working side by side with the zoo experts has helped us tremendously, and guided us on a continuing rehabilitation plan for the flamingo.

Our entire team, as with any of our patients, went above and beyond to ensure a healthy rehabilitation. We have worked diligently with professionals to guide us in the rehabilitation of the flamingo. We had reached a point where the bird was able to stand, walk and eat on its own, and now was the time to transport the flamingo to the next stages of rehabilitation, and to be with other flamingos.

This is the hardest news to have to share with our supporters. The flamingo was being transported to its new location, and by the time the flamingo had arrived it had passed. The Rehabilitator, the RRWC team and the professional zoo team are devastated by the loss. There is a lot of pain and tears shed, we are all heartbroken. We understand there will be some individuals that will not agree, mad, opinions or will unfollow us or lose their support. We have and will continue to always be honest, trustworthy and open with our supporters, as wildlife rehabilitation doesn’t always end the way we hoped."

The center also provided answers to a few pressing questions on their Facebook page.

Why didn’t you just release it to fly back with the mate?

The team we were working with have many years of experience, felt that this was not a mated pair. This was a juvenile and an adult, not positive it was a parent/sibling situation. The amount of exposed bone, tendons and possible nerve damage meant that putting the flamingo back into the pond would have been horrible with no pain medications, antibiotics and consistent monitoring.

Why are you dumping this bird into a zoo?

There was never any plan to “dump” the flamingo at the zoo. The plan was to continue to work with the zoo whose team deals with flamingos on a daily basis which would be in the best interest of this bird, getting with other flamingos making it possible to assess his/her actions, the ability to be with others, monitor feedings, socialization, physical capabilities and potential issues that needed to be addressed.

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