Pelican which went missing from zoo found more than 70 miles away in Yorkshire

The unnamed bird - which is just 17 weeks old - flew away from Blackpool Zoo in Lancashire on August 4 after being scared by a flock of squawking seagulls. Staff had been frantically searching day and night for the bird, which has five foot wingspan, ever since but every time they attended a sighting, it flew off.

But the pelican was captured on Wednesday (Aug 23) by keepers, after it was spotted in Knaresborough - 73.5 miles away from the zoo. The pelican, which is four foot tall, was rescued by keepers, Jason, Brendan, Khaled and Dan, who used a kayak to get to the bird which was in the middle of a lake.

A zoo spokesperson said they were 'delighted' the bird had been found and could return to its home.

They said: "We are delighted that the Eastern white pelican has been found safe and well. Our dedicated keepers have worked incredibly hard and were thrilled to bring the pelican home to Blackpool Zoo on Wednesday evening. It was extremely important for us to rescue this pelican and return it to its flock as they are very social birds. As a non-native species, it needed to be back with its own kind."

The pelican had been spotted in Morecambe and Heysham, which are both in Lancashire, before it was found by keepers. They have now been taken back to the zoo and are in their animal hospital, where it has been given a full health check and will be quarantined.

A spokesperson said: "The pelican is now in our animal hospital where it has been given a full health check and had its wings clipped. It will be quarantined before being returned to the flock in the near future.

"Pelicans are beautiful, docile creatures and there was never any threat to the public. Blackpool Zoo has housed this magnificent species for many year. We are the only collection in the UK to have successfully bred them, which makes the youngster's return even more special."

The docile bird hasn't been given a name yet - as the zoo normally names them once tests have been carried out to determine the bird's gender.