"Blackpool"

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4th October 2004

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DATE:	ANIMAL:	LOCATION:
30th October 2002	IBIS	Promenade

 

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IBIS
Rare bald ibis bird found in Blackpool
One of the world's rarest birds has been found strutting along the promenade in Blackpool. The northern bald ibis was spotted by a couple on holiday. Experts are baffled how the bird, which it's 18inches high with a 3ft wingspan and a 7in bill, reached the seaside town. The Sun says the northern bald ibis once lived in the Alps, but disappeared 400 years ago.

It's now listed as "critically endangered" with only 220 left in the wild and all live on a reserve in Morocco. Most of those in captivity are in Britain, where they prefer the breeding conditions, but neither Blackpool Zoo nor Chester Zoo are missing any.

Chris Bowden, of the RSPB, said: "I suppose it could have flown from Morocco, which would explain why it was so tired." But Nigel Fowler, looking after it at the Three Owls Bird Sanctuary, in Rochdale, said: "We reckon it has either escaped from a private collector or was being smuggled in."

He joked: "Or perhaps it just wanted to see Blackpool's illuminations."

(Scource: Ananova)
30th October 2002

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