With Help From A Gust of Wind, Pelican Escapes Zoo

Edinburgh, Scotland — When Laura Howarth was walking with her 15-year-old son at Corstorphine Hill, they spotted a pelican wandering the area.

"We didn't know who you're supposed to call when you find a pelican," she told the Edinburgh Evening News.

And so she just decided to call the police to inform them about the exotic bird.

Howarth said the bird seemed friendly and calm.

Apparently, the bird was from the Edinburgh Zoo, and it managed to escape last Saturday through the help of a gust of wind, says Darren McGarry, head of living collections at the zoo.

"One of our pelicans managed to fly over a fence and wall on Saturday evening," he said. "She was returned safely from our car park by one of our keepers within thirty minutes, having also made her way to the hospital car park next door."

"It is rare for this to happen and would have been an unusual sight for anyone who saw her," McGarry said. "Pelicans are calm birds so she would not have been a danger to the public."

What a very lucky bird.

(Image Credit: Augustus Binu/ WIkimedia Commons)