There has been progress in combating the menace posed by wells, of which there are hundreds, but I wish we could say the same about another danger: kite string. When kites get tangled in trees, people cut the kites down but leave the string on the branches. It can be deadly when birds’ legs and wings get caught in it.

For example, someone spotted this unfortunate raptor dangling by a wing and immediately sounded the alarm. Our staffers arrived on the scene within minutes. They cut the string and removed it from her wing, then took her to the home of a kindhearted volunteer who fosters recovering birds for us. A week later, the bird had recovered her ability to fly and was released in the same spot where we found her.

The rescue operation was a little trickier in the case of this unfortunate crow, who was stuck 40 feet in the air on a power line with her wing caught in kite string. To help her, our team had to ask local firefighters to bring their ladder truck and the state electric board to turn off the power. Fortunately, both entities were extremely responsive and immediately sent people out to help.

After the electricity was turned off, one of our staffers climbed up the firefighters’ ladder and cut the crow down. Her wing was so badly tangled up in the string that it took our vet 10 minutes to remove it all. This was of course very stressful to her, so we kept her under observation, but after drinking some water and resting for a while, she was able to fly away the same day.

Now that the year is coming to a close, it’s the perfect time for us to reflect on our gratitude for the compassion and generosity of Animal Rahat supporters. On behalf of all the animals whose lives we work to improve, from mighty elephants to sprightly crows, please accept our best wishes for a joyful holiday season!