Storks found unable to fly due to unknown substance on feathers
Activists as well as the Environmental Inspectorate are puzzled by the case of four storks they picked up in the town of Mustvee on the shore of Lake Peipus: the birds were unable to fly because their feathers had been glued together.
Animal rights activists Aimar Paenurm and Kelly Ardan learned on Saturday last week that four storks had been observed near Mustvee in Jõgeva County for almost two weeks that apparently weren’t able to fly because of an unknown substance covering their feathers.
“The storks’ feathers were covered in a yellowish-beige substance and stuck together. The birds were walking around at a car wash close to people feeding them, because they were hungry,” Paenurm told daily Eesti Päevaleht.
Three birds were caught and taken to an animal shelter, where an attempt was made to clean their feathers, but without success.
The activists are now facing the problem that they can’t take samples of the sticky substance anymore either, as the birds have already been washed with a detergent.
The Environmental Inspectorate as well as the activists commented that it was “strange” that the birds had been walking around the town of Mustvee for two weeks without anyone alerting the authorities.
Editor: Dario Cavegn