Zoo Issues APB on Missing Stork

Written by City News Service and Patch staff, posted by Roy Rivenburg

San Diego Zoo Safari Park officials were searching Wednesday for an exotic young bird that got caught in a wind gust and flew away Monday afternoon.

Animal-care staffers initially looked for the painted stork near the park, but now have no idea where the bird is, according to the zoo's Christina Simmons.

As the hunt continues, officials have alerted the Audubon Society and other experts to keep an eye out. The female stork, which was hatched at Safari Park and has no name, is a little less than a year old, Simmons said.

A website called The Big Zoo describes the species as 3 feet tall, slender and mostly white in color, with black and white markings on its wing and chest feathers, and light pink on its lower back and legs. The bird's bill is long, yellowish and slightly curved toward the end.

According to Bird Life International, painted storks are frequently found in India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia, but are disappearing from other southern Asian countries because of hunting, wetland drainage and pollution. The organization said the species is classified as near-threatened.

Painted storks feed on fish and, sometimes, frogs, in shallow waters.

Simmons said it's uncertain how far the AWOL bird could have flown because its usual range might not apply outside its normal habitat.