A tame crow that barks like a dog and shocked people after she escaped from her home has been found alive more than a week later.
The barking bird, named Rosa, disappeared from her owner’s home in the village of Otradnoye on the southern coast of Crimea after flying out through a half-open door.
She was missing for nine days before she was finally returned, according to reports.
Footage shows Rosa standing on a perch and barking loudly, perfectly mimicking the sound of a dog. She had learned to copy the noise from two dogs that lived with the family. A Dalmatian and a mongrel, after being rescued as a chick five years ago.
Her owner, Lidiya, said the bird was found as a tiny chick that had fallen from its nest during a downpour.
She was raised on grasshoppers, chicken, quail eggs and Madagascar cockroaches, but instead of cawing she began barking like a dog.
Rosa refused to live in a cage and was allowed to roam freely around the house.
She bathed twice a day in bowls, sinks or saucepans, and shook herself dry, spraying water in every direction.
But she vanished when she slipped out of the door earlier this month.
Her owners searched the surrounding area by car and on foot and shared appeals online.
She was spotted at a cemetery in the village of Sosnyak. Where visitors said she begged for water and food.
Later that evening she was caught at a petrol station by a couple who gave her shelter and even considered introducing her to their cat.
When they saw an online appeal, they contacted Lidiya and handed her back.
After returning home, Rosa slept for days, apparently exhausted from her time on the run.
She has since resumed her normal routine of barking, bathing and stealing the other family pets’ food.
Her owners are now considering whether to ring her leg so that if she flies away again. People will know she is tame and can return her safely.
But ornithologists warned she may be too old at five years old and could injure herself trying to remove it.
For now, Rosa is only allowed into the yard after dark, when her owners say she looks at the sky but does not fly away.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Simona Kitanovska, Agency: Newsflash
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