Arrow-Pierced Bird Eludes Capture
POSTED: Tuesday, July 11, 2006
UPDATED: 4:49 pm EDT July 11,
2006
HOLLY HILL, Fla. -- An injured bird with a two-foot arrow stuck through its body has eluded rescue workers for days in Central Florida.
"It has been an exhausting day for bird rescue teams here in Holly Hill that have been trying to capture this injured ibis since around 8 a.m. Tuesday," Local 6 reporter Tarik Minor said.
The young white ibis was first seen Thursday night. It was shot with a dull arrow, which appears to have missed vital organs and muscles but remains lodged in the bird.
"I have captured hundreds of birds," said Bob Hunt, a volunteer with the Bird Rescue Center in New Smyrna Beach. "You would think this would be one of the easier ones."
Trappers said the bird is extremely smart and elusive.
Hunt and partner Marilyn Camp spent hours Monday chasing the bird from tree to tree. They threw fish on the ground to lure it down, and twigs to rattle it off a perch. But the bird would simply climb to a higher branch or flutter away as they advanced.
"We have a nest of hawks that are after it," Camp said. "They know the bird is hurt and it is easy prey and they are trying to attack it too."
Trappers said they were concerned about infection from the arrow wounds.
A search continues for the person who shot the bird.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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