Richardson residents work together to save baby heron tangled in fishing line
Labor Day crowds at the Cottonwood Trail in Richardson were shocked to find a baby heron dangling from a tree, and quickly rushed to action to try and free the animal.
Sandy Ramos, owner and founder of DFW Squirrel Rescue, is a licensed animal rehabilitation specialist. She began receiving calls on Monday morning from concerned neighbors.
“There was a crowd of people watching, and there was this poor young heron stuck entangled in fishing line, you know, crying” Ramos said.
Ramos and another wildlife rescuer worked to try to get the animal loose, and as neighbors rushed in to help. One resident brought a tree trimmer and a kayak to try to catch the bird once it fell from the tree.
“All this is happening as this bird is crying in pain and thrashing around, doing more damage, and the mother, or we think it’s the mother because it’s a young juvenile heron, was off to the side in distress watching all this happen,” Ramos said.
The first tree trimmer wasn’t long enough, but as the rescue attempts continued, the crowd grew, and so did the attempts to help.
“A young couple who were riding their bike passed and they knew they had a really long tree trimming pole at home with extenders,” said Ramos, explaining the couple rushed home to get the longer pole. “Ultimately, we were able to reach with that extending pole. And then we had somebody waiting underneath the branch with the kayak.”
The heron was taken to the North Texas Wildlife Center to recover.
Discarded fishing line is a known hazard to wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates it can take 600 years for fishing line to disintegrate.
“Leading up to this week, you know, we have had a lot of issues with possibly young children or teens fishing irresponsibly by the creek, and we find a lot of trash and a lot of fishing line, and sometimes dead fish with improperly removed hooks or turtles with hooks in their mouths or animals stuck in fishing line left behind,” Ramos said.
Ramos urges those enjoying the outdoors in North Texas to be mindful of the risk their recreation can pose for local wildlife.
Labor Day crowds at the Cottonwood Trail in Richardson were shocked to find a baby heron dangling from a tree, and quickly rushed to action to try and free the animal.
Sandy Ramos, owner and founder of DFW Squirrel Rescue, is a licensed animal rehabilitation specialist. She began receiving calls on Monday morning from concerned neighbors.
“There was a crowd of people watching, and there was this poor young heron stuck entangled in fishing line, you know, crying” Ramos said.
Ramos and another wildlife rescuer worked to try to get the animal loose, and as neighbors rushed in to help. One resident brought a tree trimmer and a kayak to try to catch the bird once it fell from the tree.
“All this is happening as this bird is crying in pain and thrashing around, doing more damage, and the mother, or we think it’s the mother because it’s a young juvenile heron, was off to the side in distress watching all this happen,” Ramos said.
The first tree trimmer wasn’t long enough, but as the rescue attempts continued, the crowd grew, and so did the attempts to help.
“A young couple who were riding their bike passed and they knew they had a really long tree trimming pole at home with extenders,” said Ramos, explaining the couple rushed home to get the longer pole. “Ultimately, we were able to reach with that extending pole. And then we had somebody waiting underneath the branch with the kayak.”
The heron was taken to the North Texas Wildlife Center to recover.
Discarded fishing line is a known hazard to wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates it can take 600 years for fishing line to disintegrate.
“Leading up to this week, you know, we have had a lot of issues with possibly young children or teens fishing irresponsibly by the creek, and we find a lot of trash and a lot of fishing line, and sometimes dead fish with improperly removed hooks or turtles with hooks in their mouths or animals stuck in fishing line left behind,” Ramos said.
Ramos urges those enjoying the outdoors in North Texas to be mindful of the risk their recreation can pose for local wildlife.
