This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For the second time in two months, a performer in the World of Flight Bird Show at Utah's Hogle Zoo did some fatal freelancing.
A blue and gold macaw named Winston became spooked at the end of Tuesday's 10 a.m. show, said zoo spokeswoman Erica Hansen, and took off from his perch.
With bird-show trainers in pursuit, he flew north toward Sunnyside Avenue, where he was struck and killed by a passing motorist.
"We're just so devastated," said World of Flight Bird Show founder Steve Chindgren, who hadn't lost a bird in 23 years of holding shows at Hogle Zoo until May 7. That's when a 17-year-old African lanner falcon named Maximus took off from the show and landed in the pen of the zoo's wolves, which promptly killed it.
"They've been absolute flukes — that's the only word for it," Chindgren said in a zoo news release. "Just flukes, devastating flukes. ... We're all trying to process it a little bit so that we can even come to work tomorrow. ... We love these birds so much. We put hours and hours of time into them."
Hansen said it was unclear how old Winston was. He was given to the zoo eight years ago after being rescued from a life-threatening situation.