A man "violently" threw a flamingo to the ground at a Florida theme park, causing injuries which led to the bird being put down, police have said.

Joseph Anthony Corrao, 45, was visiting Busch Gardens in Tampa with his family on Tuesday when he allegedly reached into a pen at an animal viewing area.

Other park goers said they saw him pick up Pinky the dancing flamingo and "violently" throw it to the ground at the attraction's Jambo Junction area.

The bird was left with injuries so "traumatic" that it had to be euthanised, said Busch Gardens.

Image: Joseph Corrao was charged with animal cruelty

Corrao, of Orlando, was held by park security and arrested by Tampa police on a charge of animal cruelty.


Busch Gardens spokeswoman Karen Varga-Sinka said it was "a very sad and hard day for us here".

Pinky was a 19-year-old Chilean flamingo, whose dancing movements made her one of the stars at the park, where she hatched in 1996.

"Pinky loved to dance for our guests," said Ms Varga-Sinka.

"Her keepers say that this is not a trained behaviour, but a natural behaviour she loved to show off.

"Flamingos are filter feeders, using their beaks to strain tasty morsels out of the water around them as they wade.

"To stir up the tastiest treats, flamingos will stamp their webbed feet.

"Pinky often performed this toe-tapping behaviour out of the water for guests."

The park has 20 flamingoes, a mix of Chilean and Caribbean.

Corrao was released from jail early on Wednesday on a $2,000 (£1,500) bond.