Pelican captured on Dutch golf course after Belgian zoo escape

A pink-backed pelican bird that escaped from a zoo in Belgium was captured after taking up residence at a golf course in the Netherlands.

As per the Den Bosch Animal Ambulance, the pelican had been spotted in various locations throughout the country in the week before it was spotted at the golf course in Vught, a town in the southern Netherlands.

 

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Animal expert Jan Harteman was able to examine a ring around the bird’s leg and used the information to determine it was both in Lithuania and lived in a Dutch zoo before being moved to a Belgian facility in 2019.

The pelican escaped from the zoo about two weeks ago and made its way to the Netherlands.

Animal Ambulance shared photos and video from the capture on Facebook.

The pelican will be returned to the zoo, which was not identified by officials.

“He has already eaten plenty of fish,” officials wrote.