According to a press release issued by the Hattiesburg Police Department the suspects involved were local college students that were part of a fraternity. According to the release, the students were part of a school fraternity scavenger hunt, but one of the students, Nottis, decided to take the flamingo instead of take a photo of the animal. The flamingo was later dumped on the side of the road several blocks from the zoo with life threatening injuries.



The flamingo was so badly injured that the Hattiesburg Zoo was forced to euthanize it. A second flamingo, believed to be the mate of the stolen flamingo, died of injuries sustained while defending its lover.

