BIRD DOCTORS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 304, 17 September 1921, Page 7

BIRD DOCTORS

INJURED ANIMALS ASSIST NATURE

/ When a wild bird or mammal breaks « limb it does not give in and die, but does its utmost to carry on tho grimstruggh for existence. In most cases it wins out right, write Captain Oliver Pike, F.Z.S. in the “Daily Mail.” Nature is a kinc doctor, but tho injured l animal wil often assist nature in a wonderful manner. ■ A snipe accidentally broke,-its log. 1' was a clean fracture and-quickly begar to heal, but. the bird went further an< helped. While doing its best to get aboir on one leg it plastered the broken bones of tho other with..mud, which soofi be camo caked, making a most effectiv: splint. ■ ■Some biids when they meet with al accident show remarkable reasoning pow 'era. A few days ago I watched tha' plucky little falcon, the merlin, escapi from a noose in which it had l becomi caught. The string was pulled tightlj around one leg. After struggling frantic ally for a few minutes and only tighten ing the noose, it sat down and looker carefully at it. The bird then caugir hold of' the string below the knot anc pulled. In five minutes it had opened tin noose, withdrawn its leg, and escaped It was a well-thought-out problem clever ly performed. Rabbits, stoats, weasels, and rats often shot with a- limb missing, and 11 nearly every case it is found that thesi have ‘healed. A stoat with only one foo was shot a short time ago; the othe: three feet had previously been shot of or cut away by a trap, but Ml three were healed. It was evident that this steal had l>cen about for some time, and it; condition proved that, it had been abb to hunt successfully.. When a grouse or partridge loses foot and is afterwards shot, there ii often a thick coating of sheep s woo around the base of the stump 1 . The bin may assist nature by placing tins then itself, or it may get caught up accident ally. Anyway, it very successfully help to stop tiie flow of blood. ’ The bravest act I ever saw among th creatures of the wilds was performed te a common Tat. An ordinary steSl traj was placed in its run and carefully cov ered over. That same night the rat wa: cau'dit. When I visijpd the trap th, next morning the rat was struggling ham ffi get awav. Directly it saw me it knev that if it wanted to escape it must acl a*' once. It immediately censed its {drug gles, turned round to the back leg whicl was firmlv fixed in the etoel teeth, an< proceeded'to gnaw through tho flesh an< bone above the trap! I stood by end watched, and tile rat with one eye fixed upon its enemy kep busilv at work without uttering a singh note‘of pain. About four minutes late it was free. ,