Every once in a while, an exotic animal gets blown way off course and winds up in New York, where confused locals point quizzically at the nature before them and wonder what the hell to do with it. Fortunately for the pink flamingo that wound up in Westchester, an actual wildlife expert was on hand to save the day.
Wildlife educational organization Animal Embassy director Chris Evers was canoeing in Lake Kitchawan near his home when he came across a scared pink Lesser Flamingo, which normally live in Africa. Seeing an ID band on the bird's leg and fearing that the tropical animal wouldn't make it through the cold night, Evers carefully looped his fishing line around the bird's legs and reeled it back to the boat. He took the flamingo home and let it splash around in his bathtub, as flamingos are wont to do.
Within hours, the ID band lead Evers and the Animal Embassy staff to the bird's worried owner, who runs a private zoo and lived barely 15 miles from Evers. As the group put it on their website: "Animal Embassy was thrilled to have helped. All in a day’s work!"
