A child struck a flamingo with a rock at an Illinois zoo, injuring it severely enough that the staff determined that the bird should be euthanised.
The child was skipping rocks into the bird's habitat on Tuesday NZT when a stone struck the animal, Jay Tetzloff, the director at the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Illinois, said in an email.
"Unfortunately, staff determined the best course of action given the animal's injuries was to euthanise the bird," he said. "This was a truly unfortunate accident, and we are working with the juvenile's family to move forward."
He declined to provide the age of the child.
The story was first reported by The Pantagraph, which said the bird's leg was broken.
