Since I’ve been obsessively watching and re-watching Acorn TV’s documentary series, “The Yorkshire Vet,” I know about wounded and sick swans. (In Yorkshire, sick animals are termed “poorly.”)<\/p>\n
So I especially loved this really nice story from today’s Daily News, with a human hero who saved the poorly swan. The bonus is Daily News-quality puns in the title and first line.<\/p>\n
Strangers unite, use A train to aid ailing bird<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n By Clayton Guse news Transit Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n This swan\u2019s song is \u201cTake the A Train.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A sickened swan on the brink of death was saved by a quick-thinking New Yorker who used the city\u2019s longest subway line as a makeshift bird ambulance.<\/em><\/p>\n Ariel Cordova-Rojas, 30, was riding her bike through Jamaica Bay wildlife refuge around 4 p.m. Thursday when she noticed the injured bird sitting alone in the grass.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cShe didn\u2019t move at all,\u201d said Cordova-Rojas, who used to work at the Wild Bird Fund. \u201cI approached, and she stayed still. Swans are normally very aggressive and very territorial, so I knew something was wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The bird lover scooped up the swan, which was unable to walk or fly, put her coat over her and walked the fowl and her bike a mile to the park\u2019s entrance.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea what I was going to do,\u201d said Cordova-Rojas. \u201cThe ranger station was closed. Brooklyn Animal Care Center was too busy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Cordova-Rojas said she was ultimately helped by a group of onlookers who wondered what she was doing with the majestic fowl.<\/em><\/p>\n When she told them their story, the Good Samaritans gave her and the swan a ride to the Howard Beach station on the A line, while another man who turned out to be a Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker drove her bicycle to the station.<\/em><\/p>\n She rode the subway up to Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn, and put a bag over the swan\u2019s head to keep the bird calm. A pair of employees at the Wild Bird Fund met Cordova-Rojas at the stop and drove her and the swan to the nonprofit\u2019s clinic on the Upper West Side.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate the efforts of Good Samaritans, including an MTA employee, to save the suffering swan, and are glad the subway could play a small part in its rescue,\u201d said MTA spokesman Tim Minton.<\/em><\/p>\n The swan turned out to have lead toxicity, and is in stable condition at the clinic.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cShe has some lead in her system, which is actually pretty common for the water fowl in New York City,\u201d said Corodova-Rojas. \u201cSwans while grazing in water sometimes pick up lead anchors; little by little it leeches into their body.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The swan may also have a bacterial or fungal infection, said Rita McMahon, director of the Wild Bird Fund. The clinic is awaiting blood test results to determine the next steps for the bird\u2019s treatment.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cShe looks pretty good, but she doesn\u2019t want to move much,\u201d said McMahon. \u201cShe has a nice big cage, and she has a buddy, another swan to keep her company.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The heroic rescue came on the eve of Cordova-Rojas\u2019 30th birthday.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great way to close out my 20s,\u201d she said.<\/em><\/p>\n A happy, happy birthday, Ariel Cordova-Rojas. You are terrific.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since I’ve been obsessively watching and re-watching Acorn TV’s documentary series, “The Yorkshire Vet,” I know about wounded and sick swans. (In Yorkshire, sick animals are termed “poorly.”) So I especially loved this really nice story from today’s Daily News, … Continue reading