A passerby was strolling through the parking lot of William Harvey Hospital in Kent, England, last month when suddenly they did a double take. They almost couldn’t believe their eyes, but when they took a closer look, they saw a seagull trapped behind the grille of a car.
Feeling worried about the poor bird, the passerby promptly got in touch with the RSPCA, who immediately dispatched a rescuer to help.
“When I arrived, all I could see were the white feathers of the gull sticking out through the grille,” Tina Nash, the RSPCA rescuer, explained in a statement. “The bird was completely lodged behind the grille and there was no way he would have been able to extricate himself.”
Nash surmised that the seagull had been hit by the car, but instead of being wounded, the impact had simply pulled him behind the grille of the car without anyone noticing. The owner of the car likely had no idea that the seagull was stuck there.
“He’s very fortunate that this observant person spotted his predicament and contacted us for assistance,” Nash said.
Nash was able to move the bird into a slightly more comfortable position while they figured out the best way to extricate him. Eventually, they were able to open the grille a little and carefully remove him. The seagull was not too thrilled about any of this.
“He was not pleased with us attempting to save him and put up quite a struggle,” Nash said.
Of course, the seagull was probably just disoriented, and he calmed down once he was freed from his predicament. Nash transported him to Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre for a check-up, and everyone there was surprised to find that, despite being hit by a car, the seagull was in pretty good health.
“Remarkably, the gull didn’t have any significant wounds or injuries and was only a little battered, bruised, and embarrassed by his experience, but is now on the road to recovery,” Nash said. “Once he has fully recuperated, we will be able to release him back into the wild.”
Now, the seagull simply has to relax for a bit at the wildlife center until he is well enough to return home, where he will undoubtedly steer clear of cars in the future.