Injured Seabird Seeks Help by Pecking at Hospital Emergency Door
An injured seabird sought help by pecking at the emergency door of a German hospital. It remained at the door until medical staff noticed it and called the firefighters to assist in its rescue.
This fascinating anecdote was reported by the Bremen Fire Department (Feuerwehr Bremen) and illustrates what ethologists call "extreme distress behavior," where the animal's instinct for survival surpasses its innate fear of humans.
Notably, the cormorant, a shiny black aquatic bird, had a triple hook lodged in its beak when it appeared at the glass door of Klinikum Links der Weser hospital in the city of Bremen, northern Germany, on Sunday, February 15, 2026.
"Thanks to their joint efforts, the medical staff and firefighters managed to remove the hook and treat the wound," the Bremen Fire Department said in a statement. The bird was then released back into the wild in the hospital's park.
"When an injured cormorant approaches humans, it is usually an animal in extreme distress that has lost its natural timidity," the statement added.
The cormorant is a large bird with a long neck, pointed head, and characteristic sharp, curved beak. A hook in the bird's beak would be extremely dangerous, potentially causing infections, pain, and even starvation, according to the fire department.
Cormorants are known for their exceptional observational abilities. By choosing a glass door with high foot traffic (the emergency room), the bird maximized its chances of being seen and rescued. However, it did not approach just any glass door, but rather the emergency room door... It's as if the animal knew where to go to ask for help!
It's worth noting that a triple hook is a particularly cruel type of lure for wildlife, as it becomes deeply embedded. Without the intervention of the Klinikum Links der Weser team, the bird would have been condemned to a certain death by starvation.
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