Endangered crane's ‘great adventure' ends after WA zoo escape. ‘A story to tell'

Miami Herald

28-05-2025

An endangered crane went on a days-long adventure after escaping from a zoo in Washington.
Now she has quite the story to tell her 'zoomates.'
Alice, an East African crowned crane, got out of her enclosure at about 2 p.m. May 21, a spokesperson for the Cougar Mountain Zoo told McClatchy News by email.
It wasn't long before the tall-looking bird with a golden crown of feathers was spotted on a road near the zoo, officials said.
She then made her way to Lake Sammamish State Park, the zoo said.
Alice was seen near the lake again the next day, and again at about 10:15 a.m. May 23 north of Lake Sammamish State Park Boat Launch.
But despite the numerous sightings, Alice was able to evade zoo workers.
Then one resident looked out their window that afternoon and saw Alice standing in their backyard, peering into the home at about 2 p.m., the zoo said.
The resident reported the Alice sighting to zoo officials, but they didn't catch her.
Alice was spotted again that night in another person's yard near the lake's shoreline, so zoo officials said they responded to the home and captured her just before midnight.
She was taken back to the zoo, where she's under quarantine, the zoo said.
'Hatter, her boyfriend, is happy to have her back by his side!' the zoo said.
Many people on social media have been following her journey.
'Rumors are going to spread at the zoo. Wolves heard she did this… Alpacas heard she did that…' one person commented on Facebook.
'Whoot, whoot. Welcome home, Alice. You have a story to tell your zoomates,' another person wrote.
'Alice had a great adventure,' someone else said.
Lake Sammamish State Park is in Issaquah, about a 20-mile drive southeast from Seattle.