A Mississippi college student is facing felony charges after allegedly stealing a flamingo from a zoo in a fraternity prank that ended in the death of two exotic birds.
Devon Nottis, 19, has been suspended from the University of Southern Mississippi along with his fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, following the alleged theft and death of the two animals, WDAM reported.
Last Tuesday, surveillance video captured four suspects entering the Hattiesburg Zoo at 1 a.m. and taking a female Chilean flamingo. Nottis was participating in a fraternity scavenger hunt that required him to take a photo with the animal. Instead, Nottis stole the bird, police told WTVA.
The suspected bird bandit was quickly discovered after posting a video about the incident on Snap Chat, in which he can be heard "rapping" about taking the flamingo back to his house. Nottis was arrested last Wednesday.
The stolen flamingo -- named GiGi -- suffered "a severe compound fracture that all but severed the leg,” said Rick Taylor, with the Hattiesburg Convention Commission.
On their Facebook page, the Hattiesburg Zoo said the animal had to be euthanized.
GiGi's mate, Reese, was also killed in the incident trying to protect her pink feathered partner, according to CBS 12.
"It had received some blows as if it had been kicked or hit in the process of capturing the other bird,” Taylor said about Reese. “But it had not only internal bleeding, but it ruptured some intestines of course what would ultimately lead to the bird’s death."
Nottis is being held on a $17,300 bond on charges including grand larceny, trespassing, and two counts of animal cruelty.
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