Three primary school children kicked a flamingo to death at a zoo in the Czech Republic after throwing rocks at the birds in their enclosure.

The boys, aged five, six, and eight, attacked a flock of the American flamingos at Jihlava Zoo, in the Vysočina Region.

After scaling a fence, they hurled wood and stones at the birds and then kicked two of them.

One of the female birds was killed while the other received serious injuries.

The dead flamingo had been a survivor of the floods at Prague Zoo in 2002. He was 16 years old and father to eight babies. Flamingos tend to live to around 30-40.

Three primary school children kicked a flamingo to death at Jihlava Zoo, in the Czech Republic

The boys were caught as one of them was wearing a distinctive yellow jumper (pictured)

After the shocking incident, the boys fled into a nearby woodland but were caught as one was wearing a distinct yellow jumper. One managed to escape. The boys were detained in Jakubské Square.

Martin Maláč, a spokesman for the zoo, told Czech media the boys had expressed no remorse for what they had done to the birds.

Another told MailOnline the birds had 'undergone severe stress shock.'

Police are now investigating and will ask the boys' parents for compensation following the sickening act.

Zoologist Jan Vašák said: 'First, they pelted them with stones and then one of them kicked it.

'Fortunately, one of them had a distinct yellow sweatshirt. We immediately phoned police officers and so two of them we managed to catch far from the park. The third escaped.'

After scaling a fence, the boys hurled wood and stones at the birds and kicked two of them

He said the flamingo was valued at 2,000 euros (more than 50,000 crowns).

Zoo employee Richard Viduna asked for the public's help in reporting cases of animal abuse, saying: 'It would be helpful for us if the visitors would pay attention to acts such as these and report them.'

'The zoo without bars' is home for 200 rare species of animals, including 17 species classified in European breeding programs.

Jihlava Zoo specialises in raising and breeding felines, apes and reptiles.