From South Essex Wildlife Hospital

Ok… this was an odd one!

Whilst more than 98% of our admissions stem from the actions of Mankind, wildlife can still find ways to get into difficulty without our help!

This is a black-headed gull… and, yes, he managed to get his toe caught in an oyster!

Surprisingly enough, this is not the first time this happened and isn’t quite as uncommon as you think. The poor bird was well and truly stuck in place but, luckily, a little leverage with Alda’s multitool soon had his foot free!

He isn’t quite out of the woods yet and may still need work to help the toe heal, but it was quite a lucky escape after some very clumsy foot placement!

And yes… the oyster was also fine (and was later released).

We’ve covered this type of situation before, so click here to see some more birds getting clamped by clams, plus a bonus beautifully animated Chinese parable of a bird and a clam!