Seagull that turned into a korma-rant
ALL this hungry seagull wanted was some leftover chicken tikka masala. Unfortunately, he ended up as a gull-frezi.
The bird was dyed bright orange after falling into a huge vat of waste curry that had been left outside a factory.
Luckily, the curious gull was unharmed, and after a thorough scrub by workers at an animal hos- pital, the bird is now back to his usual white and grey self – though staff haven’t quite managed to wash away the smell of curry.
On Monday, the seagull had flown down to perch on the container and was fishing for bits of chicken when he lost his balance and tumbled in.
He was rescued by workers at the unnamed factory in Wales who had put the tub of food outside to cool. Staff from animal charity Vale Wildlife Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre then gave the curried bird a careful clean using washing up liquid to stop the tikka masala damaging his feathers.
The stubborn orange stains come from the ingredient turmeric, a spice made from the ground root of a plant from the ginger family.
The bird is now being looked after at the centre near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.
Once staff have established that the bird’s wings are still waterproof and the spicy food has not caused any damage internally, he can be released back into the wild.
Lucy Kells, veterinary nurse at the Vale Wildlife Hospital, said: ‘The gull is doing great now – he still smells a little of curry, but he is now much whiter.
‘Gulls eat all sorts of things, but I expect this one has probably been put off curry now.’
‘He still smells a little of curry’