Matthew
Littlewood13:49, May 15 2019
An
unusual air rescue played out in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park this week after
an eagle-eyed pilot spotted something out of place during a scenic flight over
the park.
Inflite
helicopter pilot Craig Clark was flying with passengers on a routine
scenic trip when they stopped to take in the views from the Tasman
Glacier.
"We
landed on the Tasman Glacier and I noticed something just out of reach. It
started flapping, so I figured it must be a bird," Clark said.
JEMMA
WELCH/DOC
The
mottled petrels were safely boxed up for delivery to the DOC Twizel office
after being rescued from the Tasman Glacier.
Clark was
right - he had seen a bird - two in fact - and they were a long way from where
they should have been - so he swung into action.
"I
picked it up and put it in my jacket pocket. It didn't bite back or anything.
And then I noticed another one and put that in my other pocket."
DOC
biodiversity ranger Jemma Welch believes the reflection of the snow would have
made the glacier look like an ocean and the birds would have got quite a shock
when landing. Tourists flocked to see large chunks of the glacier carving off
in January.
With the
birds safely tucked away, Clark flew back to base and placed the birds in a box
to be delivered to the Department of Conservation office at Aoraki/Mt Cook.
The pair
of mottled petrels were then taken to Twizel where birds from the national park
are taken for care.
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