19-year-old charged with animal cruelty after Busch Gardens incident

A 19-year-old was arrested Friday and charged with animal cruelty after witnesses say he threw a rock at a flamingo at Busch Gardens in Tampa.

Police later learned it was not a rock, but a piece of pine bark.

Tampa police say they got a call about a person abusing a flamingo at the park just before 6 p.m. Friday.

They arrested Julian Antonio Marquez of Lehigh Acres a short time later.

Marquez now faces a charge of aggravated cruelty to animals and was booked into the Hillsborough County jail.

A Busch Gardens spokesperson said the flamingo is being monitored but the bird seems to be OK.

This story was originally published June 3, 2017 at 12:04 PM with the headline "19-year-old charged with animal cruelty after Busch Gardens incident."