After “escaping” from the prison grounds of Bellechasse when departing on migration on September 11, and then narrowly escaping death after being shot in Algeria by a poacher on September 16, PP5 has once again demonstrated his amazing capacity for escape. On October 11 Toufik Brahimi, the veterinarian who saved his life, went to examine and weigh him in preparation for his release planned for a few days later. PP5, however, had other ideas. After biting Mr Brahimi’s hand with his strong beak, he took advantage of the moment to push the door of the aviary open and to escape, immediately flying high above the mountains of Djurdjura until he was out of sight.  While we had imagined a more controlled release back into the wild, we are reassured by Mr Brahimi who says that the bird had completely recovered from his wounds, had eaten well just before his escape, and was very dynamic. So dynamic in fact that he was not willing to spend any longer in captivity.

We will only know if PP5 has survived his ordeal if he returns to Switzerland in a few years’ time. However, as his blue plastic ring marked PP5 was damaged and had to be removed, he will be more difficult to identify. Indeed, this plastic ring may have saved PP5’s leg from being injured, as it was presumably damaged in the shooting.  If we ever see a male Osprey with just a metal ring on his left leg returning to our release site it could well be our escape artist.