Rare crowned crane found and returned to Cougar Mountain Zoo

LAKE SAMMAMISH, Wash. — After two days on the run, a rare crowned crane named Alice has been found safe and brought back to the Cougar Mountain Zoo.

She was spotted in a resident’s yard in Lake Sammamish near the waterfront just after 9 p.m. on Friday night. The resident called the Cougar Mountain Zoo, and staff safely retrieved her at 11:57 p.m. without incident, the zoo posted on Facebook.

“She is now back at the zoo, under the supervision of our staff and veterinarian, and will be closely monitored after her journey. Hatter, her boyfriend, is happy to have her back by his side!,” the zoo wrote.

The juvenile East African crowned crane escaped her enclosure on Wednesday.

Over the last two days, residents reported seeing Alice at different locations around the Lake Sammamish area.

A zoo official said she’d been spotted trying to make friends in the wild.

“She was hanging out around some herons and kind of tried to integrate, and the herons were leaving. They didn’t want any part of her because she’s not one of them,” said Jordan Veasley, Marketing & Education Specialist for the Cougar Mountain Zoo.

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