Young pelican missing from Blackpool Zoo found 65 miles away

A young pelican who went missing from Blackpool Zoo after being spooked by a flock of seagulls has been found over 65 miles away.

The bird was found in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, just over 65 miles away from its home at Blackpool Zoo, where he went missing from, on August 4th.

The Eastern white pelican was spooked by a flock of seagulls and jumped onto the rooftop of the flamingo house when a gust of wind took it away.

Concerns grew for the pelican, who hadn’t had its wings clipped yet due to its young age, and was believed to be unable to feed itself properly. 

After weeks of searching to rescue the pelican, zookeepers found it at Hay-a-Park Gravel Pits waters, on Wednesday evening August 23rd, after setting up a 24-hour hotline to find it.

Blackpool Zoo, has said it wants to thank the public for providing ‘invaluable help’ during the search and reported various sightings .

Confirmed sightings have come from Lytham and Fleetwood and as far away as Harrogate.

Announcing the news, Blackpool Zoo said: “It was extremely important for us to rescue this pelican and return it to its flock as they are very social birds and, as a non-native species, it needed to be back with its own kind.

“Pelicans are beautiful, docile creatures, and there was never any threat to the public.

“We have housed this magnificent species for many years and we are the only collection in the UK to have successfully bred them, which makes the youngster’s return even more special.”

A spokesperson for Blackpool Zoo added: “Many went above and beyond to assist by sending pictures, videos and exact coordinates of sightings, going back to locations to keep watch for hours on end and even bringing food for keepers when they were responding to calls.

“Particular thanks goes to a wonderful family in Knaresborough who saw keepers trying to reach the pelican in the lake on Wednesday and brought a kayak for them to use – without their kind gesture and support, the rescue would not have been possible.”

The zoo added: ‘Although [its] suspected to be male, the pelican’s gender hasn’t officially been confirmed and therefore isn’t yet named”. It will update the public once it knows for sure.

Earlier this year, Blackpool Zoo listed a job vacancy for people to become a ‘seagull deterrent’ and dress up as inflatable birds.

The job role was aimed at keeping the gulls away from the main visitor dining areas with signs displayed warning people not to feed them. The zoo said over 200 applicants applied for the role.