Vulture escapes from Diergaarde Blijdorp; Zoo expects it to return by itself

A vulture escaped from Diergaarde Blijdorp late on Wednesday afternoon. Zookeepers are keeping an eye on it, a spokesperson for the Rotterdam zoo told Rijnmond.

“He is staying in the vicinity of the zoo, and we expect that he will return on his own,” the Blijdorp spokesperson said. “It is wise to keep a distance, to give the vulture peace.”

After its escape, the vulture flew to the neighboring Rotterdam residential area Overschie. It hung out on the roof of a home on Grote Werfstraat for a while before flying toward Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

This is not the first time a vulture has escaped from Diergaarde Blijdorp. The previous escape was in October 2020. Then the bird returned to its enclosure of its own accord.