Last updated on January 30th, 2023 at 05:27 pm
When I was walking down the sidewalk to my car on a busy street in Vancouver with my friend, we found a young injured seagull at the road’s centerline. Vehicles were passing inches away from the bird.
A seagull in trouble
While I was thinking about how to get the bird out of the traffic, my friend jumped into the street with no hesitation, stopped the traffic (some cars were not slowing down) and managed to let the bird move to the edge of the road. I could see the bird’s heart pounding. He (or She) could only weakly hop. I imagined myself being at the same eye level as his. The bird seemed to have his territory of the exact 1.5-meter radius. If someone invaded it, he would immediately try to move away and return to the traffic. I was supposed to drive my friend to an appointment 15 minutes after, but we couldn’t move. Someone had to make sure no one would scare him and no vehicle would pull over for street parking. We were also trying to find out the phone number for wild animal conservation or SPCA.
A lady made a phone call
A few minutes later, a lady came to us and said, “I was watching you guys from the coffee shop across the street. I just phoned the SPCA. They should be here soon.”
A gentleman brought a shelter
Then, a gentleman working at a construction site nearby came up with a blue recycling box. He tried to get the bird safely, but of course, there is a “1.5-meter” rule. He kindly left the box where vehicles could see so that no one would pull over.
Another gentleman came to watch for the bird
Another few minutes later, another gentleman with a cup of coffee in his hand walked toward us. My friend asked him if he could stay to watch out for the bird till SPCA arrived because she had an appointment soon. He said, “Sure, I have time.”
Finally, I was able to take my friend to her appointment on time. I believe the bird is on the road to recovery now. It was a smooth and natural relay on one happy sunny day in Vancouver.