Kind Man Strips Down And Wades Through Filth To Save Struggling Seagull
When you think of pleasant birds, you might think of doves. They’re soft, gray, unobtrusive and have a delicate cooing that almost everyone recognizes.
Even hens with their gentle cackling are soothing to listen to, but not all birds are so blessed.
Seagulls are definitely not so blessed. Up there with sky rats and wasps, they’re firmly stationed in the category of Hateful Things That Fly.
If you haven’t had the joy that is experiencing a seagull attack, then you are fortunate. The shrill cries of seagulls, the huge messes they make and their brazen thievery all combine to make them rather annoying.
But, like all of God’s creatures, they still deserve respect and care. Some would just rather respect and care for them from a distance.
But this is not so for one brave, anonymous fellow at the River Taw in Devon, England. He risked his life and limbs to save those of a seagull.
Martin Bennett was the person who reported on the incident. He was at the river enjoying the scenery and snapping photos when he saw a bird in trouble.
“I thought it was taking a bath at first. But I looked through my camera lens and saw that it was in some kind of trouble,” Bennett later said in an interview. “It was clear it was trapped in something and it looked in a bad way.”
Someone else had spotted the flailing creature as well and wanted to do something about it.
“He spoke in broken English,” Bennett said, “I wasn’t quite sure what he said but I advised him to go down the steps to the edge of the water rather than dive off the pier, as it is shallow there.”
“He ran down about 40m to the jetty, stripped down to his (boxer shorts), and swam out to the seagull.”
It was clear that the bird was stuck out there, anchored by some invisible force. When the man got to the helpless creature, he discovered it was a mess of fishing line that had tangled around the seagull’s leg.
He had nothing on him to cut through the line, but he was resourceful.
“He used his teeth to cut through the fishing line and managed to save it,” Bennett said. “It was brave. People were amazed.”
According to Bennett, the poor bird was on death’s doorstep, just moments from exhaustion. Thanks to the quick actions of a total stranger, the bird was rescued, free to once again gleefully terrorize the skies.
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