It was a terrifying situation 😨
A Terrifying Situation
Last month, an Australian magpie suddenly found itself in a terrifying situation. During a recent storm, the bird had gotten entangled in a tree, leaving it hanging upside down by a string — 50 feet off the ground.
Community Response
When Tasmania-based Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary heard the news about the magpie, they knew they needed to help. However, the bird was stuck so high up in the tree that they couldn’t be reached with a normal ladder. So, the wildlife sanctuary posted about the bird on Facebook, asking if anyone could assist.
“Immediately, we were overwhelmed with support and well wishes,” Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary wrote on Facebook.
The Rescue Effort
Within just a few hours, an arborist named Trent O’Shea arrived to help the magpie who desperately needed his assistance. With his special equipment, he was able to scale the tree and free the magpie.
“It was a bit of a challenging climb, just after dark,” O’Shea wrote on Facebook. Since it was nighttime, he was able to capture some thermal footage of the rescue.
Discovering the Cause
Once O’Shea was able to remove the magpie, he realized why it had gotten stuck in the first place — the magpie had a fishing line wrapped around its leg.
Unfortunately, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary has recently had to rescue multiple magpies and other birds from similar situations. As birds gather materials for their nests during the spring, they sometimes accidentally get one of their nest materials stuck around their feet.
The Problem of Entanglement
“Sadly, with items such as twine, fishing line, and other pieces of rubbish commonly found littering our environment, it’s rather common to see birds become entangled,” Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary wrote on Facebook. The sanctuary recommends securing any trash or loose pieces of string out of reach of wildlife to prevent birds from getting entangled.
Recovery and Hope
After O’Shea rescued the magpie, Bonorong quickly rushed it to the vet, who successfully removed the fishing line from around the magpie’s foot. Since the magpie likely got the fishing line stuck on its foot back in spring, it had probably been flying around with it for months. After hanging upside down for so long, the magpie’s leg was injured. Therefore, Bonorong is going to keep the magpie at their sanctuary until it recovers enough to return to nature.
“Luckily, the bird is poised to make a good recovery!” the sanctuary wrote on Facebook.