Sick seagull takes a taxi to safety!

When a seagull has an injured wing and cannot fly, it is generally considered to be the most unfortunate - and probably the last - day of its life. Not so for one lucky bird off the northern coast of Majorca the other day. A guest at the Hotel Formentor spotted the damaged creature and was determined to help. Staff at the hotel were enlisted to aid the rescue operation and shortly after the bird was nestling safely in a cardboard box on the back seat of a taxi hired to take him to the Pollença Animal Refuge. Though more used to taking in abandoned cats and dogs, Josefina Vivancos who runs the shelter rose to the occasion and the seagull received the veterinary care it needed to patch up the injured wing. Then it was the seagull's turn to rise . . . into the air above the Albufera nature park where it was released on Sunday, fit and well once more.