Firefighters Rescue Wild Duck Hanging From Overhead Line By Beak
This is the moment firefighters rescue a wild duck that had somehow managed to get its beak entangled in an overhead telephone line.
It was unclear how the bird managed to get its beak stuck to the cable, but firemen stepped in to rescue it in the hamlet of Verciano in the comune of Capannori in the Italian province of Lucca on the morning of 31st May.
After the two firefighters carried out the rescue successfully, the bird was taken into the care of veterinary staff to make sure it was unhurt before releasing it back into the wild.
Footage of the incident shows how the two men had to use a hydraulic platform to reach the bird, which was dangling from the line by its beak.
The footage shows how one of the officers removes the bird from the cable by delicately tugging on its body without touching the line.
The wild duck or mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is found primarily throughout temperate and subtropical areas in the northern hemisphere, but also in Australia and New Zealand.
They live in wetlands, feed on water plants and small animals, and, despite the lone mallard in the clip, prefer to congregate in groups. They tend to measure around 20 to 26 inches in length.
They are a species of least concern, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as their population is large and increasing in number.
However, they are at risk from hunting and numerous predators, primarily red foxes and birds of prey.
Overhead telephone lines are not known to pose a grave threat to their numbers.
