By Stephanie Weldy
The Marin Independent Journal
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — San Rafael firefighters came to the aid of a turkey vulture that got wrapped up in a bad situation at McNears Beach on Thursday.
Fire crews were requested by Marin Humane Society at 5 p.m. to help remove the bird from a eucalyptus tree. The turkey vulture was suspended upside down 35 feet in the air by fishing wire.
“We’ve never gotten a bird out of a tree before,” said San Rafael fire Capt. Conan Kelly.
Fire personnel set up a ladder to reach the buzzard, but the way it was hanging from the tree it still could not be reached, Kelly said.
A ladder truck was requested and, after 40 minutes, firefighters were able to reach the bird.
“A humane society official and a firefighter went up, snipped the fishing wire and walked the turkey vulture down,” Kelly said.
The vulture was to be assessed by humane society officials to ensure its foot was not injured and to release it back into the wild.
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(c)2016 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.)