A flamingo has broken its leg on Monday at an Indiana zoo after an elementary school student threw a rock at it. Sadly, zoo administrators could do nothing else, but to euthanize the animal.
According to a report by TIME, the student was simply visiting the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Indiana, when the child suddenly threw rocks at the poor animal and eventually broke its leg.
“Unfortunately, staff determined the best course of action given the animal’s injuries was to euthanize the bird,” Jay Tetzloff, the zoo superintendent, explained in an email to The Pantagraph, a Bloomington news outlet.
Flamingo expert Dr. Felicity Aregno says flamingo’s legs would be very easy to injure.
“Their legs are extremely thin and they are not covered by muscle,” she told TIME in an interview.
She added that unlike other animals, flamingos actually do well in zoos. It would also be worthwhile to have them in captivity because “zoos have great educational purpose” and it would also be easier for the people to see them up-close.
The zoo is currently working with the child’s family to settle the incident and they claimed they will not be changing the layout or design structure of the flamingo enclosure.
This is the latest incident from zoo visitors in the United States. Most recently, a woman was attacked by a jaguar when she tried to take a selfie with it in an Arizona zoo. Then a teenager stole a lemur from the Santa Ana Zoo and left it somewhere with a note asking for anyone to return it back.
In China, zoo-goers also threw rocks at a crocodile to prove whether it was real. The poor animal was left bleeding after the incident.
Related stories:
– Crocodile left bleeding after zoo visitors threw rocks at him
– Canada closes down zoo and charges owner with cruelty, after finding two dead tigers
– Rare baby rhino born by artificial insemination at Miami zoo
