introduced from three sources; primarily from the free-flying flock at the aviary zoo Avifauna, and another group of 11 birds which escaped from a private bird trader in Weert when a tree fell on their enclosure sometime between 1998 and 2000 which would all return to their cage each winter. Furthermore, in 2000 a group of sacred ibises escaped from a zoo near Münster, some of which apparently crossed the border into Overijssel, as the colours of their rings closely matched. The free-flying Avifauna flock numbered 12 in 2001, 30 in 2003, and an estimated maximum of 41 birds escaped the zoo eventually. There had been sightings throughout the country for many years, but in 2002 successful breeding was first reported in a nature reserve some 40 km from Avifauna. By 2007 the feral population in the Netherlands had increased to 15 pairs breeding at three locations, including in a tree just outside the zoo. Pairs would regularly move from the zoo to the nature reserve in the summer and vice versa. The next year, in 2008, the tree outside the zoo was cut down, and free-flying birds were recaptured, clipped and caged. 2008/2009 was also a cold winter and many birds died. By 2009 37 birds had been recaptured and by 2010 there were no more birds breeding in the wild. The birds in Weert were halved in number after the 2008–2009 winter and had disappeared somewhere between 2011 and 2015. As of 2016 a few birds survive, some still attempting to breed in Overijssel, and handful sightings of less than three reported. Possible vagrants from France have also been noted (by their rings) after 2010. Elsewhere The sacred ibis is not considered invasive on the Canary Islands. It is kept in zoos on Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, two of which kept their collections free-flying. In 1989, the first ibis was seen in the wild. In 1997, the first pair was seen breeding outside a zoo, the population reached a maximum of 5 pairs between then and 2005, and 30 pairs is given by Clergeau & Yésou in 2006 (though this last number is untrustworthy). The birds are divided between the islands Lanzarote (near Arrecife in an old heron colony) and Fuerteventura (in the zoo near La Lajita but free-flying). On both islands, these birds have remained very near to the zoos. The breeding is 'controlled'. There