Yahoo News Homing pigeon found 4,000 miles away after getting lost
A missing homing pigeon turned up 4,000 miles from home after getting lost on his way back to Tyneside.
Bob the racing pigeon set off from Guernsey in the Channel Islands three weeks ago and was supposed to race back to his home in north east England.
The journey should have taken around 10 hours but he vanished without a trace - before appearing on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
An elderly man found him perched in a garden in Mexia, Monroe County, Alabama, USA, on Wednesday.
After Bob "would not leave", he called Monroe County Alabama Animal Shelter, who used the bird's bands and microchip to find the owner, back in the UK.
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The bird is understood to be worth £1,000 and belongs to Alan Todd, from Winlaton, the BBC reported.
Other than being a little underweight, and covered in oil, Bob was found to be healthy and is expected to make a full recovery from his adventure.
Alan thinks Bob landed on a ship which crossed the Atlantic and plans to go to the US to bring him back home.
"He wouldn't have flown all that way, I think he has probably jumped onto a ship," he said.
"He was covered in oil - it could have been an oil tanker.
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"They are obviously looking after him very well - when I saw him yesterday he didn't look in a good state, but looking at him today he looks a lot better just in one day."
A spokesperson for the animal said: "He is doing good. Enjoying his food for sure."
"Crew member Monica Leigh Morris followed the man to his home and was able to safely catch this beautiful bird.
"After arriving back at the shelter both Monica and another crew member Megan Bryan started working on tracking down the owner.
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"They were able to get the numbers off the band, but also used our microchip scanner to help track down a webpage called North of England Homing Union.
"The ladies followed the instructions and were immediately contacted back by the owner - 4000 miles away in the North East of England!
"We are currently working on a game plan to return this champion pigeon to its owner, which was extremely happy to hear from us."
