These images show a greedy cormorant rescued by vets after it tried to swallow two large fish at once that were almost the same size as it was.
The fish reportedly weighed 1 kilogramme in total and the bird very nearly choked to death but it was saved thanks to the intervention of vets at the Kumluca Municipality Stray Animal Protection and Rehabilitation Centre in the port city of Finike, which is located in Antalya Province, in south-eastern Turkey.
(Kumluca Belediyesi/CEN)
The cormorant’s (Phalacrocoracidae) ended up with the fish wedged in its throat. They were reportedly sea breams (Sparidae) and both can be seen in photographs taken at the vets where the fish look to be not far off the same size as the bird itself.
The feathered glutton was brought to the expert animal doctors after it was spotted having difficulty breathing because of the fish stuck in its throat.
Kumluca Municipality Veterinarian Sinan Ulusoy said this was because the bird had apparently tried to swallow both fish at once.
The vet said that the procedure to remove the fish obstructing the bird’s airways took approximately 30 minutes.
The vet said: “The cormorant suffered from respiratory distress for a long time and tears occurred in the throat and oesophagus due to the fish bones.
(Kumluca Belediyesi/CEN)
“We removed the fish with a simple procedure, but our bird is exhausted due to the trauma he experienced. We are continuing his treatment in our centre. He cannot eat solid food at the moment so we are feeding him formula.”
The bird is expected to recover and is set to be released into the wild after being nursed back to health.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News
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