Moray rescue named one of SSPCA's "most unusual"
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A rescue in Moray has been named by the Scottish SPCA as one of the most unusual it carried out last year.
Back in June the organisation called on the help of the Burghead Coastguard after two gannets were found to be in serious danger of drowning.
That incident – of which more later – is on a list of the ten most unusual rescues of 2022.
Also included was the rescue of a badger from a 16ft-deep sewage tank in Lanark, a cat brought back down to earth from a 30ft-high crane in Troon, and an owl found in the back of a dustbin lorry in Glasgow.
A fox cub in Motherwell needed help after getting his head stuck in a garden fence, as did a deer in Pitlochry after it became trapped behind a garden shed.
Then there was the matter of the cat who was discovered aboard an offshore oil rig after he'd slipped undetected inside a container. The stowaway ended up receiving a personal helicopter ride back to Peterhead.
Further enquires revealed that his name was Dexter and he'd been missing for five years.
Completing the list are a hedgehog who fell down a hole in the ground in Biggar and an otter who survived being hit by a car near Kinross.
The Northern Scot reported on the unusual Burghead rescue at the time it happened.
Lynn Cruickshank, an SSPCA rescue officer, was called out to Moray, following reports that two gannets had become tangled up in a discarded fishing net on the beach.
She recalls: "When I arrived I could see their beaks were stuck together, but as I got closer one got up and dragged the other one into the sea.
"As they were still stuck together they were struggling to swim."
Worried that the birds would drown, Lynn decided to call for help from the Burghead Coastguard.
The team responded immediately and were able to bring the gannets back onto the beach where Lynn wrapped them both in a towel.
Lynn says: "The fishing net was really tight but, thankfully, we eventually managed to free their beaks.
"I gave them a check-over, but apart from being a bit tired, they were fine.
"I released them straight away and they both swam off. We all had a cheer.
"It was a brilliant outcome and I’m so grateful to the coastguard for their help. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them."
Colin Wood from the coastguard said: "Although our primary focus is on keeping people, most of us are animal lovers.
"I had never been that up-close to a gannet, and it was sad to see them wrapped up in the netting."
