Falcon Missing From Potter Park Zoo

LANSING, MI --- Potter Park Zoo is searching for a Peregrine Falcon that escaped from a handler late Friday afternoon and is thought to be in the vicinity surrounding the zoo.

Animal department staff at the zoo was alerted after the bird escaped from a handler as he was being placed back inside his enclosure. Staff immediately began searching the area inside the zoo and found that the bird’s brown leather handling bracelets had become entangled on a branch causing him to be caught up in a tree near the zoo’s Farmyard Edventures area. The Lansing Fire Department was called in to assist with his retrieval. Unfortunately the bird was able to untangle himself and escaped from rescuers.

Zoo staff and volunteers have been combing the areas within and adjacent to the zoo, searching for the falcon. The bird is slightly larger than a crow with medium to dark grew feathers on its back, dark feathers on the head and a light colored chest. He is wearing brown leather handling bracelets. The falcon should pose no threat to residents, however, residents are asked not to approach the bird for fear of scaring it away.  

Anyone spotting the falcon is asked to keep it in sight and immediately call the zoo at 517.342.2765 during business hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., or after hours at 517.242.5707 to make a report.

Potter Park Zoo is located at 1301 S. Pennsylvania Ave. within Potter Park along the Red Cedar River in Lansing, Michigan.  The zoo is open daily year-round, summer hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (517) 483-4222 or visit www.potterparkzoo.org

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