Injured protected bird gets rescued

A law enforcement officer from Yutang Subdistrict in Guangming District spotted an injured yellow bittern during a daily patrol recently.

With timely treatment, the bird’s health was gradually restored, Shenzhen Evening News reported yesterday.

The officer found the bird shivering in the middle of a road Saturday. As the bird saw the officer approaching, it triggered a stress response, lifting its beak and extending its neck.

The officer then left, worried about startling the bird. The bird slowly let its guard down but didn’t fly away.

A law enforcement officer (L) hands over the injured yellow bittern to a staffer from the city’s wildlife rescue center. 

                                                                                                                                                             Courtesy of the interviewee

The bird has a black crown and a brown upper body with black wings and tail. Its right wing sagged, making it hard for the bird to fly, the report said.

The officer sought help from Shenzhen wildlife rescue center, and she used a paper box to take the bird back to her office because it was unsafe to leave the bird on the road and it needed water and food to regain its strength.

Later, staffers from the rescue center arrived and confirmed that the bird is a yellow bittern, a national protected wild animal with ecological, economic and scientific research values.

The injured yellow bittern.

Luckily, the bird was not heavily injured due to its early discovery. The staffers from the center said they will release the bird back to nature when its health has improved well enough.