Brazil heron takes flight after plastic cup removed from throat

16/12/2024 13:20

A heron took flight in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, stretching its wings and soaring over a river after veterinarians saved it from near-certain death by removing a plastic cup attached to its neck and blocking its throat.



The mission to save the bird prompted an outcry in Brazil over the impact of plastic pollution on wildlife in a city famed for its forested mountains overlooking a bustling seaside metropolis.



As its cage opened, the lanky heron hesitated for a moment before stepping out and leaping into the air, its white-gray wings carrying it over the river in Rio's Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood.



Jeferson Pires said, "God willing, it won't find any plastic or cups on the way," a veterinary biologist at a wildlife center who first sighted the unfortunate animal this month and posted about its predicament on social media.



The logo of the popular 200-ml (6.7-oz) guarana fruit-flavored drink was clearly visible on the heron's throat before it was captured last Friday. Video showed it struggling in vain to pick the cup off with its orange beak.



Pires said, the obstruction was preventing it from eating, and would probably cause starvation in a matter of days without surgical intervention.