Rescuers pluck man, pet bird from tree

[TimH]

Rescuers pluck man, pet bird from tree

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTER, Texas -- It took a Coast Guard helicopter to rescue a man and his pet cockatoo from the heights of a pine tree after he got stuck trying retrieve the $2,000 bird.
William Hart, 35, had climbed about 60 feet up the tree to get the bird after it escaped from its cage and flew out a bedroom window. Television video showed him standing on a branch Tuesday evening awaiting rescue, the exotic white bird apparently tucked under his shirt.
The bird, Geronimo, got out after Hart's daughter apparently forgot to latch his cage after feeding him, Hart told the Houston Chronicle. He said he spotted Geronimo in flight and chased him, then climbed the tree until the cockatoo flew to his arm.
That's when Hart realized they were stuck. He said he yelled to his sister, who was helping him chase the bird, to call 911.
Firefighters had trouble backing a truck up to the tree because of the rain-saturated ground, so the Coast Guard helicopter was called in. The crew used a harness to get both man and bird down.
Hart had a few scratches and a bite on his finger from the frightened bird nipping him, but he said he was glad it all worked out. The shaking bird tucked its beak under his collar as he held it.


"He's my baby," Hart said. "I'd do it again."


reminds me of the time I climbed a tree to retreive a Military Macaw :D

[Dan McCosh]

We've generally let the bird get hungry, and then he flies down to his cage.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

The value of his bird should pale in comparison to the the cost of dispatching that helicopter and crew to rescue him.

[Bruce Hooke]

I just don't get how he could get up the tree and not be able to get down!

[Phillip Allen]

Bruce, it IS easier to climb up than down...(sorta like politics)

[TimH]

Cats get stuck in trees all the time.

[Bruce Hooke]

Bruce, it IS easier to climb up than down...(sorta like politics)

True, but I think it would be kind of hard to get in a position where you truly could not get down what you had come up. Part of it may be that the adrenaline got him up, but when he started realizing how much air was below him he freaked out. In any case, I'm sure who tried because I can't imagine he really wanted the embarrassment of having to be rescued from a tree!

Pine trees are usually pretty good climbing trees once you get up to the first branches, because they have lots of horizontal branches sticking out. Of course I'm not sure I trust an AP reporter to know the difference between a pine tree and some other species of softwood!

Cats are different because of the four legs, head down vs. head up thing. If they could manage to downclimb backwards as a person would they'd probably do fine.

[TimH]

Its harder to climb up or down while holding a bird in your shirt.
Especially one thats scared and biting you :-)

[Paul Pless]

Cats are different because of the four legs, head down vs. head up thing. If they could manage to downclimb backwards as a person would they'd probably do fine.

Dunno Bruce, its not like you see many cat carcasses up in trees where they've been unable to get down and just starved to death up there.

[Bruce Hooke]

That did occur to me Tim. I think I might have tried to take off my undershirt and wrap the bird in it, or something along those lines. Still, not easy. I expect he scampered up the tree fast in case the bird decided to fly further away, otherwise he might have brought along a few helpful things like a bag and some rope.

That's been pointed out to me too, Paul. It does, however, seem to take cats quite a while to make up their mind that they can get down if they really try, so it is certainly harder for them.

[Bruce Hooke]

OK, I just found a bit more detail. He had to jump from a small tree to a big tree, and once up there he was holding the bird in one hand so he had only one hand to climb with. Short sleeve shirt so no undershirt he could wrap the bird in before putting it inside his outer shirt...

Now back to work!

[Gary E]

The guy is a roofer.. he said heights dont bother him one bit...
just no way to handle the bird and find a way down

[Michael s/v Sannyasin]

all except for the getting stuck part, the exact same thing happened to me... girlfriend left the sliding glass door to the balcony open, the cockatoo's wings hadn't been clipped recently, bird walks out, sits on the balcony for a bit, then flys to a nearby tree...

Motivated less by the cost of the bird, and more by the wailing and knashing of teeth of the girlfriend, I rapidly climbed a tree I probably wouldn't have normally climbed, trusting branches I wouldn't have normally trusted.

Once I had the bird in the hand, I had one less hand to climb with (one less whole arm really, as you're trying to keep the bugger from squriming around too much) and more time to consider the folly of the path down... but, I did manage to negotiate my way down eventually.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

Local news here:
The body of a man who had been swept away in a swollen river last fall when he and his wife tried to rescue their dog that was also being swept away was recently recovered. The body of the wife and that of the dog were recovered before winter set in.
Pet owners must live in their own universe!

[TimH]

Local news here:
The body of a man who had been swept away in a swollen river last fall when he and his wife tried to rescue their dog that was also being swept away was recently recovered. The body of the wife and that of the dog were recovered before winter set in.
Pet owners must live in their own universe!

I feel sorry for anyone who doesnt know the joy of having pets.

[Michael s/v Sannyasin]

How many parents wouldn't take the same risk if it was their child in danger? What non-pet owners don't seem to understand is that for most of us, our "pets" are just as much a part of your family as a child.

[blacksmith]

Our old ,retired Fire Chief used to say that the Dept. would respond to any rescue situation except to get a cat down from a tree. " Don't see any cat skeletons in trees do you?" he'd reply.

[paladin]

I remember finding a tree with my grandfather....small knothole.....with a snake skeleton wedged in it......inside the snake skeleton was a squirrel skeleton.......pappy always told me not to try and eat something bigger'n meself.....:D

[elf]

In my experience with cats, they do back down the tree until they reach the height from which they feel they can safely jump, which is around 15 feet. However, the entire way down they keep trying to look at their progress, so it looks to us like they're trying to come down head first.

I remember quite a few years ago reading about studies done by vets in Manhatten correlating heights from which cats have fallen out of apartment building windows with the damage done to the animals. Apparently cats can fall from quite a height, like 8 or 10 stories, and survive but they do experience injuries after two or 3 stories.

[John B]

Would the guy get a bill for this?

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

I feel sorry for anyone who doesnt know the joy of having pets.


Does that include dying for them?

[Gary E]

Would the guy get a bill for this?

The local Fire Dept said their cost were between $5,000 and $10,000
And THEY DID NOTHING...they couldnt get a lader close to him.
But said, we will not be sending a bill and do not expect any payment.

The Coast Guard said their cost is aprox $10,500 and since it was an actual rescue, no bill will be sent.

[TimH]

Does that include dying for them?


:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: