The Kite Who Found His Wings…
It was a really, hot summer afternoon….dry and hot….a time when it is extremely hard to venture out. However, venture out we did, because Snoop (Here’s to happy endings), decided that he had to have a walk right then. I never quite understood why he picked that particular moment-normally he’s fast asleep at that time! The only explanation I have is that there was a kindred spirit calling out for help, and Snoop being the darling, loving dog that he is, responded to its call….however that is getting ahead of the story!
A short distance away from the apartment where we live, Snoop bent down and picked up a large brown object in his mouth. Sheer instinct had me commanding him to “drop it”, which Snoop promptly did. It was then that I realised that what he had picked up was a Kite that was in huge distress. It was horrible to see, because this poor bird was literally panting from heat and thirst.
So there I was, with Snoop on the leash with me, and this poor bird lying on the sidewalk literally panting his life away. I in a complete dilemma-I couldn’t go home and leave Snoop there so that I had both hands free to take care of the bird, nor could I just leave the bird where it was for fear of someone harming it further.
As I was debating the possible options in my mind, a passer-by came up to the bird, casually opened her water bottle and poured a lid full of water into the bird’s beak. As she did this, I literally froze in terror, knowing fully well that it requires a fair amount of skill and training to administer water to a bird without chocking it. In fact most wild life experts advise against administering water to a bird forcefully.However it was too late to say anything, since the deed had been done-fortunately without harming the bird. The lady then carefully picked up the bird and placed it in a safe place in the shade. This wonderful lady was the first in a long list of people to whom this Kite owes his life. Once I knew that the Kite was safe (at least for the moment), I was free to take Snoop, leave him at home and pick up my phone.
I came back to continue my vigil next to the bird, whilst calling every person I could think of for help….what unfolded is a truly remarkable story of animal rescue
Kaarthik (Snoop’s owner-also featured in Here’s to happy endings…), located a truly wonderful organisation called Avian and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre (ARRC), who are located in North Bangalore. They have a volunteer located quite close to where we live, who was happy to take the bird to the centre. All we needed to do was to get the bird to her home.
So, then began another round of calls, that resulted in Rupa (also featured in Thank You Rupa), lending us her car and driver, and yet another animal warrior-Astrid, who brought me a box and towel so that I could gently pick up the bird and place it in the box. Astrid, and I then took the bird to the ARRC volunteer Manvi, all the while loudly telling it, that we would kill it with our bare hands if it died on us!
Manvi was waiting for us, when we arrived, and she quickly took it over, and drove it to the centre. Once there the expert team found that it was actually a fledgling, who was trying out it’s wings-perhaps for the first time. It flew too far away from the nest and then lost its way home. Being a terribly hot, dry day, it soon got dehydrated and collapsed.
Releasing a Kite into the wild. Photo courtesy ARRC
The wonderful team at ARRC, headed by Jayanti quickly rehydrated the bird and in a week released it back into the wild.
Maybe it has remained in the area where it was released, or just maybe it found its way back into the trees around our apartment, where it was born. There are several occasions when Snoop looks up into the trees like he is communicating with a friend-maybe he is.
Sunitha Srinivasan