U.S.LOCAL NEWS DESK

Second station WTAE picks up Pittsburgh Zoo pelican escape

WTAE says the zoo's animal care team is working on getting two escaped pelicans back to their enclosure; the zoo calls it a temporary change of address.

On air: Chip Darnell and Gloria Vance on The Weekend Shift
Published 5:24 PM ET, Saturday, October 17, 2026

Photo: Stephanie Clifford from Arlington, VA, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Chip Darnell and Gloria Vance on this story, from The Weekend Shift at 5:24 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are WTAE's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium — Photo: Stephanie Clifford from Arlington, VA, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

At a glance

First reported by WTAE: “Pelicans escape from Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium”.
Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 5:24 PM ET on The Weekend Shift, by Chip Darnell and Gloria Vance.
BBN covered this story before: Two pelicans outside their Pittsburgh Zoo enclosure, animal care… (October 17).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

WTAEPelicans escape from Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium

What BBN said about it

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorOur pelican coverage has grown tonight, because WTAE is now reporting that two pelicans escaped from the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, and that makes this a multi-station story.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorTwo stations. In my old postings, that is when a story acquires a spokesman and loses the facts.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorWe have a live map, a developing situation, and a zoo that is hard at work on the return of its birds.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe map has two pelicans on it. Neither has moved since we made the map. Possibly neither has noticed the map.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo the pelicans are free-spirited and totally unbothered!
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe zoo calls it a temporary change of address. So far, the map and the operation are ours.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorRex, we have a map and two stations. Do we have a pelican?

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