Suspected Fox That Killed 25 Flamingos Caught By National Zoo

Photo by NickPecker/Shutterstock.com

Officials at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo say they have possibly caught the wild fox responsible for the tragic deaths of 25 flamingos and one duck earlier this month. 

All of this started when a fox entered the flamingos’ enclosure overnight at the well-known Washington D.C. zoo, leaving behind a murderous scene and getting away clean through a softball-sized hole in the metal mesh fence around the habitat.

Immediately following the massacre, zoo workers set up live traps and motion sensor cameras in an effort to catch the predator.  

Luckily, it helped, and they caught a red fox sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning. The suspected animal painlessly passed away in the possession of zoo officials.

Photo by IhorHvozdetskyi/Shutterstock.com

Flamingos are beautiful and so are foxes. Foxes hunt to survive & DC has alot of foxes as well as coyotes. Not sure why anyone would think euthanizing a single fox is going to prevent flamingos from future attacks. Once foxes find a target, they continue to go back to the target.

— Joanne Dunne 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@jedunne) May 14, 2022

This is a step forward to finding justice for the poor birds involved in the horrific attack.  However, a spokesperson for the zoo said they are not sure whether or not it was the same animal.

Brandie Smith, the zoo’s director, said it was “normal fox behavior,” noting that foxes are predators, which is no surprise to anyone who learned about this terrible incident.  She also said in a statement that this was “a heartbreaking loss for us and everyone who cares about our animals.”