A swan with its three chicks in Hamburg
Photo: Axel Heimken / dpa
Ariel Cordova-Rojas only wanted to celebrate her 30th birthday in a nature reserve in Queens, New York.
In the end, she rescued a lead poisoned swan and, with the help of friends and strangers, took it to a wildlife clinic on foot, by car, and subway.
The 30-year-old spotted the swan alone on the bank in the grass.
As she approached him, she saw that he could neither run nor fly.
Without further ado, she wrapped the eight-kilo animal in her jacket and carried it almost two kilometers to the entrance of the nature reserve, as the "New York Times" reported.
The rescuer shared photos of it on her Twitter channel.
According to the newspaper, Cordova-Rojas has experience rescuing wild animals as she worked in the veterinary clinic of a bird protection organization for five years.
Your calls to various animal rescue services and the parking attendants should not have brought any direct help.
But a couple agreed to take the Swan and Cordova-Rojas to the nearest subway station in their car.
A Wild Bird Fund official later met the two of them at a bus stop in the Brooklyn neighborhood and helped them get to the organization's veterinary clinic.
Photos show the swan, which Cordova-Rojas says is called Bae, nestled in an orange jacket on a seat in a train car.
According to the AP, Cordova-Rojas said the swan is being treated for lead poisoning.
He made friends with another swan in the clinic.
It could take three weeks or up to two months for Bae to return to the reserve.
"Wildlife is as New Yorkers as we are, and it's our duty to protect one another," said Cordova-Rojas.
Icon: The mirror
svv / AP