On the eve of her 30th birthday, Ariel Cordova-Rojas decided to bike to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge for some birding. She intended to enjoy nature from a respectful distance but wound up having a much more hands-on experience.
Cordova-Rojas, a former animal care manager at the Wild Bird Fund, saw a mute swan on the ground, sitting apart from the others. “Something about her just didn’t seem right,” Cordova-Rojas told the Wild Bird Fund. “I just couldn’t leave her there.
Cordova-Rojas approached the swan, who was unable to stand. When she attempted to drag herself away with her wings, Cordova-Rojas jumped into action — picking up the 17-pound swan and carrying her for a mile to the park entrance, where a kind stranger gave them a ride to the subway.
When Cordova-Rojas boarded the train with the swan, whom she dubbed Bae, no one seemed to notice.
Staff members from the Wild Bird Fund met Cordova-Rojas at the subway station and drove them the rest of the way to the clinic, where they discovered that the swan was suffering from an infection and lead poisoning.
Cordova-Rojas had found her just in time.
Now safely at the clinic, Bae is recovering quickly — and has even made a new friend.
“Freshly off her quarantine period and cleared for pool exercise, while she was swimming she called out for a fellow swan,” Cordova-Rojas wrote on Instagram. “When I first brought her in she could not stand [and was] ataxic, lethargic, thin and quiet. Here she is shaking her tail feathers at the sight of a potential love interest.”
While on the road to recovery, Bae and her new pal keep each other company.
And saving a life made Cordova-Rojas’ 30th birthday the finest ever.
0 Comments