This article brought some tears to my eyes.....and laughed so hard! Can you imagine trapped flamingo in airport turnstile???? :)
Jack Hanna, flamingo trapped in airport turnstile
- Story Highlights
- Jack Hanna and entourage had to go through turnstile to leave airport
- Animal expert Hanna and flamingo in crate got wedged in 10-foot-high turnstile
- Hanna finally managed to wriggle free and go for help from fire station
- It took 3 firefighters to get flamingo and crate out of the turnstile
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Animal expert Jack Hanna and an 11-month-old flamingo became trapped while trying to squeeze through an airport security turnstile. It took firefighters to finally get the flamingo out.
Hanna, the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and a frequent guest on nationally televised talk shows, was returning from a zoo fundraiser with a mongoose, a small leopard and the flamingo. Three other people were with them.
The entourage arrived at the Ohio State University Airport just after midnight Sunday to find the terminal closed. The only way to leave the tarmac was through a 10-foot-tall metal turnstile with several horizontal bars -- not the easiest exit to squeeze through when you're traveling with boxed-up animals, Hanna said.
"I never thought about the crate being square and the turnstile being round," he said.
Hanna, 60, pushed the flamingo's 2-foot-by-3-foot compartment into the turnstile, then continued pushing while straddling the crate.
"I was stuck like a worm. My eyes were as big as grapefruits," he said. "I can't describe the feeling in my stomach. I can't move up or down. The bars are on your face."
Hanna said he eventually squirmed free, leaving the flamingo still wedged inside and everyone else trapped on the tarmac. He then walked to a nearby fire station for help. It took three firefighters to hoist the flamingo's crate up and out of the turnstile, he said.
Columbus fire department logs show the firefighters arrived at the airport at 12:30 a.m. for a "flamingo rescue," spokeswoman Kelly McGuire said.
Hanna joked that the next time he flies through the airport, the biggest animal he'll bring is a gerbil.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
All AboutBirds • Zoos and Aquariums
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