Two critically endangered parrots have been returned to London Zoo six days after they escaped, following tip-offs from residents 60 miles away in Cambridgeshire.
Lily and Margot, two blue-throated macaws, flew away on October 21 while flying freely as part of their daily routine sparking an urgent search operation.
After several tip-offs from Cambridgeshire residents, however, the zoo was alerted by a family in Buckden who had spotted the birds in the trees behind their garden.
The parrots fled the scene before London Zoo’s birdkeepers arrived, but were tracked to a field and public footpath in nearby Brampton, where zookeepers confirmed the birds to be missing Lily and Margot.
A London Zoo spokesperson said: “Upon seeing the zookeepers, the two macaws immediately flew down from a tree onto their arms and were given plenty of their favourite foods: pumpkin seeds, pecans and walnuts.
“The macaws were put safely in their travel case and brought back to the Zoo. Lily and Margot are both in good condition and their usual loud, chirpy selves, although a little tired from their long flight from London to Cambridgeshire.”
The macaws are now in quarantine - a standard process for all animals brought into the zoo - at its on-site animal hospital before they will rejoin their parents, Popeye and Ollie.
“During this time, they are getting plenty of attention and food from our vets and zookeepers,” said the London Zoo spokesperson.
“Our thanks go to those across the country whose assistance proved vital in the safe return of Lily and Margot to London Zoo.”
Blue-throated macaws are deemed “critically endangered” and is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
The IUCN estimates there are between around 200 and 300 mature blue-throated macaws alive today. The elusive birds are believed to live in two groups, in northern Bolivia.
Lil and Margot are both two years, three months old, and were born at London Zoo. They, along with their parents Popeye and Olly, make up the zoo’s population of four blue-throated macaws.
