Uni student arrested for stealing flamingo from US zoo during scavenger hunt
Police have arrested a university student who stole a flamingo from a US zoo as a fraternity prank.
Devin Nottis, 19, broke into Hattiesburg Zoo on Oct 7 at 1am with three others.
He was on a fraternity scavenger hunt and needed to take a photo with the bird.
But the University of Southern Mississippi student decided to steal the bird instead.
He even made a rap video about the incident on Snap Chat, reported Huffington Post.
The zoo wrote on its Facebook page: "The flamingo was found several miles from the zoo and was returned to us this morning so severely injured that it had to be euthanised."
CBS reported that the female Chilean flamingo suffered a severe compound fracture that all but severed the leg.
In a separate post, the zoo said the flamingo's mate also died due to the "attack".
CBS reported Mr Rick Taylor, with the Hattiesburg Convention Commission, as saying: "It had received some blows as if it had been kicked or hit in the process of capturing the other bird.
"But it had not only internal bleeding, but it ruptured some intestines of course what would ultimately lead to the bird’s death."
Nottis, who was arrested last Wednesday, has been suspended from school.
His fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, has also been suspended indefinitely, reported WTVA.
Sources: WTVA, CBS, Huffington Post
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