Four teenagers have been charged after they allegedly attacked a blind 80-year-old flamingo at the Adelaide Zoo.
The bird was left in a critical condition after the attack on Wednesday afternoon suffering beak damage, head trauma and bleeding from the left eye.
The attack is considered all the more vicious given the blind bird is tame and very docile.
The bird was sedated and taken to a local vet. His condition has since improved.
Zoo officials said the bird was believed to be one of the oldest flamingos in the world.
The flamingo arrived at the zoo in the 1930s and currently shares his enclosure with a Chilean flamingo that arrived in Adelaide around 1948.
The pair are two of only three flamingos currently in captivity in the country.
South Australian Police say two boys aged 17 and two men aged 18 and 19 were charged with aggravated ill-treatment of an animal.
They were bailed to appear in court at a later date.
A police spokesperson said several people at the zoo at the time of the attack spoke with zoo staff, and officers wanted to interview those witnesses.
