Loons can't walk on land. Here's what to do if you find one that's stranded
“Loons don't actually have the anatomy that gives them the ability to walk on land."
Larissa Beattie ended up in this exact position when she came across a loon on a country road in northern Ontario. She was out for a drive and saw webbed bird footprints, which looked out of place on a dirt road.
She followed the tracks and found a loon sitting on the side of the road.
“Loons don't actually have the anatomy that gives them the ability to walk on land, and so seeing them in the middle of the forest is quite strange,” Moira Parker, a wildlife care expert with the Guelph Humane Society, explains.
In the case of Larissa's loon, the situation was definitely not normal. The bird was weak and thirsty, and she remembered what her grandfather taught her.
Here’s how to rescue and care for animals in trouble.
In Larissa's case, there was no nearby humane society, so she tackled the problem the best way she could: by carefully wrapping up the bird in a blanket and getting it back to the water as quickly as possible. For most people, however, getting professional help should be the first step.
“Instead of going and approaching the animal, trying to touch the animal, trying to relocate the animal, I would definitely suggest just giving someone a call, sending a video, taking a few pictures, and then we'd be able to determine more likely if the animal is in need of care,” Parker says.
The story ended happily for Larissa’s loon.
Once it got out of the water, it took off like a shot, and Larissa felt that she'd not only done a good deed but passed on a little bit of knowledge from her grandfather.
Header image: File photo from Getty Images.