FISHHOOK IN EYE

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 63, 16 March 1933, Page 3

FISHHOOK IN EYE

SEAGULL SEEKS HUMAN AID Perhaps there was never a better illustration of how wild and timid creatures, when suffering physical pain, will look to human beings for the relief of their sufferings than the action of a seagullon Takapuna Beach, Auckland, a few days ago. Some visitors from the city were sit- ' ting near the beach in conversation, when a seagull with a fish-hook through one of its eyes, suddenly alighted on the sand a few yards away. It walked close up to one member of the party in. a manner that plainly indicated that it wanted to be relieved of its suffering. The man whom it approached suddenly threw a coat over it, and discovered that the fish-hook was very firmly embedded in the side of the face and through the eye, which had all but rotted away. Unable to extract the hook without causing the bird undue ' pain, he secured a pair of, pliers from a near-by resident. It was necessary to bend the hook straight before it could be removed. During the operation the seagull appeared to know what to do, for when the hook was being extracted, it clung to the "surgeon's" finger. la fact, the bird was an excellent patient. When at length the hook was extracted, the bird was' allowed to fly away, and, as it went, emitted a croak which was taken to be a cry of gratitude. The resident who had lent the pliers said he thought the bird had had the hook in its eye for at least two years, states the "Auckland Star." Two^ years ago he and his -wife were sailing from Auckland for England, and when the steamer was in Eangitoto Channel,, he saw a seagull with. a fish.-hook in' one of its eyes following the steamer. At that time there was a length of cord * attached to the hook. He and other residents in the district had seen the bird from time to time in the last two years, but had not had the opportunity of assisting it. •It is not unusual for seagulls to be caught by fish-hooks. Occasionally they swoop down on a hook and bait when a fisherman is throwing his line out. ,