It’s not unusual for the folks at Wildlife Aid Foundation (WAF) to respond to calls about animals in trouble. But recently, rescuer Louis arrived at a dried-up pond and found a pigeon trapped in a situation that seemed almost impossible to escape.
“[H]e
was stranded in a dried-up pond, where he had been trapped for several days, slowly sinking deeper and deeper,” WAF wrote on Facebook.
Sadly, the helpless bird had been trapped in the mud for days. Despite his best efforts, the poor little guy couldn’t move at all.
“[He was] submerged up to his neck and slowly sinking into thick mud … for days,” WAF wrote. “It was looking far from good.”
Without skipping a beat, Louis dug around the pigeon to remove as much sludge from his body as possible. Once the bird was freed, Louis drove him straight to WAF’s headquarters, where a thorough checkup revealed the truth about his health.
“He was severely underweight, exhausted, and the mud had worked its way into every barb of his feathers,” WAF wrote.
The poor pigeon had become defenseless and weak as he fought against the sinking mud for days. But thankfully, he ended up at the perfect place to regain his strength.
The team gave him a thorough bath, then fed him the most nutritious meal he’d had in days. With a full belly and clean feathers, the pigeon settled into his enclosure for a much-needed nap.
You can see more from his rescue here:
As days passed and the bird’s health improved, his true personality began to shine. Once quiet and weak, the pigeon started to show that he was smart and adventurous, often leaving his cage when no one was looking.
“During his recovery at WAF, he became quite the escape artist, telling us his time for release had come,” WAF wrote.
WAF’s staff took the bird’s mischief as a sign that he was healthy enough to return to the wild. So, after two weeks of care, they shuttled the pigeon back to the area where they’d found him and watched happily as he took off.
Finding a pigeon stuck up to his neck in mud was a chilling experience for everyone at WAF. But watching him soar back into his natural habitat, happy and uninhibited, made the nerve-wracking rescue all worthwhile.
“[H]e was released back into the wild, taking to the skies, once more, as a much cleaner, lighter pigeon!” WAF wrote.
