A flamingo that escaped from a wildlife sanctuary in Cornwall more than a week ago may have flown to north-west France.
Frankie went missing from Paradise Park, Hayle, on Nov 2, despite having clipped feathers.
It prompted the wildlife sanctuary to issue a Facebook plea to find the four-month-old bird – described as being “like a naughty teenager”.
After a number of sightings, Paradise Park issued an update on Monday saying a flamingo believed to be Frankie had been spotted on a beach in the Finistère area of western Brittany.
It said: “We are letting you know that there have been sightings of a flamingo on the Brittany coast.
“There is a population of greater flamingos in France, and the young birds look very similar to Frankie, but we believe we can see the feathers on the right wing have been clipped. We are awaiting more photos to help confirm if it is Frankie.
“Flamingos are capable of flying that distance, but we still feel amazed to see she has travelled so far [and] also relieved to see her looking so fit.
“She has found a wonderful, protected estuary system and should be able to feed. We will update as we know more.”
The park has shared a couple of photos of the flamingo spotted in Brittany but added it is still appealing for supporters of the wildlife sanctuary to keep on the lookout for the bird in case the photos are not of Frankie.
Flamingos are not native to Brittany, so a sighting is highly unusual.
Nick Reynolds, director of Paradise Park, said the staff were relieved that Frankie had been spotted, but that there could be difficulties rehoming it.
He pointed to complexities with paperwork and regulations surrounding bird flu regulations that could be an issue.
Mr Reynolds told The Telegraph: “We’re 99 per cent certain that it is Frankie from the photos we’ve seen, but we’re waiting for more photos.
“It was really sad when she went missing and the staff were quite upset, so it’s reassuring that she’s been found because we love her to pieces.
“We need to check if it’s definitely her first and then we will have to wait to see what the French authorities say, but it’s going to be really difficult to rehome her here.
“There’s a sanctuary in the Netherlands (Grevelingenmeer saltwater lake), as well as one in southern France (Camargue National Park), so if she could find her way there and live there with a colony that would be the best scenario.
“I don’t want it to seem like we’re washing our hands of her, because we’re not, we’d love her back, but it will be difficult firstly to capture her in France and then rehome her in Paradise Park.”
Frankie was born in July and was the first chick to hatch from its nest and be reared by its parents at the park.
Paradise Park has asked anyone with more information about the flamingo’s location to contact the team through its Facebook account.