Not everyone loves pigeons, and to many people living in big cities, they are merely an annoyance. But in Singapore, where wildlife abounds, animals sometimes find themselves stuck in unlikely places.
Fortunately, there are still good people who care about animal welfare, and there are groups such as ACRES that help rescue animals that are in distress.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
In March, one woman won many hearts when she was caught on camera stopping traffic just to rescue an injured pigeon from the middle of the road.
Another such kindly soul is a Mr Steven Tan, 63, who took prompt action when a pigeon got stuck somehow under the hood of his car, a Honda HR-V.
Mr Tan, a retiree, had been on a morning walk at Pasir Ris last Saturday (Jul 23) and saw that someone had left a note for him on the windshield of his vehicle, Coconuts Singapore recently reported.
The note said, “Hi!! There is a bird inside your bonnet.”
Upon checking, Mr Tan saw the pigeon for himself.
And while it managed to get itself into such a tight spot, the bird was finding it impossible to get out.
The retiree first thought that the pigeon was in the trunk of his car, as it may have gotten in when he took his hat out for his walk.
But to his surprise, the bird was trapped under the hood of his car.
And while he told Coconuts that he was “baffled” as to how the pigeon got there, guessing that someone had played a nasty prank, it was not the first time that an animal snuck into his car.
He said, “Some years ago, a cat crawled in and got locked in my car.”
Mr Tan worried that the pigeon would be harmed by getting trapped under the hood of his car.
ACRES to the rescue!
Luckily, animal welfare ACRES (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society) was able to lend a helping hand.
A Ms Serene Lek, who volunteers with the group, arrived on the scene with her husband at around 11 o’clock that morning.
The couple went to work right away, with Ms Lek utilizing a plastic grabber to move the pigeon to an area in the bonnet behind the bumper where she could reach it.
Fortunately, it was unhurt.
They then let the bird loose in a place where there were other pigeons.
The ACRES volunteer told Coconuts that she thinks the bird may have gotten access to the bonnet from underneath the vehicle, but was unable to find a way out once it was inside.
/TISG
Woman stops traffic on busy S’pore road to rescue injured pigeon