Auckland Zoo has appealed to Aucklanders for help locating a red-tail cockatoo Mabo who escaped from his enclosure yesterday afternoon.
The young male was doing a free-flight training session with his keepers when he got spooked by a group of gulls that mobbed him, the Zoo wrote in a Facebook post.
A frightened Mabo flew up into the trees and despite the best attempts of his keepers, who are very close to Mabo, they couldn’t quite get him down.
Keepers stayed with Mabo, who hasn’t mastered the ability to fly low just yet, until it was dark and he had fallen asleep.
He was gone at first light this morning and despite a sighting of him in Birkdale on the North Shore, he is still on the loose.
"Mabo will be missing his mate and keepers and we would love to bring him home as soon as we can. Red-tail black cockatoo males are known for the large scarlet bands on their tails, which can be seen clearly in this video," the zoo wrote on Facebook.
If you see Mabo, the zookeepers ask that you keep sight of him and phone, 027 209 8560.
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