STAFF at a zoo near Stourbridge have thanked members of the public for their help and interest after one of the attraction's pelicans went astray.

Pascal the baby pelican failed to return after a training flight on Sunday and his disappearance from the Wild Zoological Park at Halfpenny Green sparked a search across the Black Country and South Staffordshire.

A quarter of a million people shared the zoo's Facebook post calling for help to find the missing bird and after three days keepers managed to catch up with him at Belvide Reservoir near Brewood in South Staffordshire after they received a tip off.

A post on the zoo's Facebook page thanked everyone who shared the post about the disappearance or tipped off keepers with possible sightings of the bird who was said to be "very hungry and very happy to see his trainers" when he was found yesterday (Wednesday).

A spokesman for the zoo said: "Pascal didn’t go far, he was always circling the area looking for home; he always stayed within a close radius. We are very happy to have him home."

The bird reportedly flew down from a tree above the water straight away to zoo director Zac Hollinshead and he was picked up safely in the arms of keeper Emily James.

He had been carried away on thermals and a strong breeze during a display on Sunday - something zoo bosses said happens quite often to young, inexperienced birds still in training - and his GPS unit had a faulty battery which has now been fixed.

The zoo's spokesman said: "We weren’t too worried about Pasc being out because we knew he would show up somewhere being such a big, hard to miss bird."

Following his safe return home - Pascal has been given a few days off but he is expected to be back flying free by the end of the week in displays at the zoo.

The zoo has now launched a pelican adoption pack offering fans of the long-beaked birds chance to adopt Pascal and his pals and keep up to date with their adventures with pictures and a factfile. The adoption packages also include a certificate and some come with zoo tickets and a plush pelican toy. To find out more check out wildzoo.co.uk.