Animal shelter Wörgl helped

Tricky mission: Swan “Axel” had fish on the hook

Swan "Axel" had swallowed a fishing line. The hook and fish were at the other end.(Bild: Tierheim Wörgl/Sarah Schauer/Krone KREATIV)

There was a tricky mission for a duo from the Wörgl animal shelter in Kössen in the Tyrolean district of Kitzbühel. Swan "Axel" had a fish on the hook of a fishing line that he had swallowed. The animal rescue even involved an X-ray and an endoscopy.

Sarah Schauer, head of the animal shelter in Wörgl, and her colleague Lea have a really big heart for animals. The duo not only helped a swan out of a jam, but also gave a fish its freedom. But right from the start ...

Lea (left) and Sarah on the tricky mission.(Bild: Tierheim Wörgl/Sarah Schauer)

Passers-by called the animal shelter for help
"On Tuesday, we were informed that a swan had swallowed a fishhook in a pond behind the Hofer in Kössen," Schauer explains in an interview with the Tiroler Krone newspaper. Apparently, attentive passers-by had previously tried in vain to help the swan. "But it was in the water. And in the low temperatures, of course nobody wanted to go in."

It then turned out that the swan had not only swallowed the fishing line. At the other end was the hook on which a fish was hanging.

Sarah Schauer

Lured in with food, fish in tow for two days
So Sarah and Lea set off from the animal shelter in Wörgl to Kössen at around 4.45 pm. "When we arrived, it was already dark. We had flashlights with us and spotted the swan quite quickly." As in similar cases, the animal lovers lured the animal ashore with food.

"It then turned out that the swan hadn't just swallowed the fishing line. At the other end was a hook with a fish hanging from it. It had probably been dragging it along for two days." Consequently, the duo cut the line and freed the fish, which soon swam back to freedom.

"Axel" had to make a trip to the vet in Schwaz.(Bild: Tierheim Wörgl/Sarah Schauer)

X-ray and endoscopy at the vet in Schwaz
Freeing the swan from the fishing line turned out to be extremely tricky. "We couldn't do it on site. We then took him to the vet in Schwaz." An X-ray and endoscopy were necessary there. "But we couldn't use these methods to find out why the line was stuck."

"Axel" has since been released back into the wild.(Bild: Tierheim Wörgl/Sarah Schauer)

"Axel" is apparently an "unlucky bird"
In the end, the vet and the duo decided to gently pull the fishing line out of the animal's neck. "Fortunately, that worked," says Schauer happily. The animal rescue operation lasted until 11.15 pm. On Wednesday, the lucky swan was released back into the wild.

Incidentally, the animal probably "leased" the bad luck. "Axel had a small accident a month ago in which he broke his foot. So we already knew him," concludes the animal shelter manager.