Flight risk! Fugitive parrot is caught by New York firefighters after giving owner the slip when he climbed up to rescue it from a window ledge
- Elderly man climbs ladder in attempt to rescue escaped parrot in New York City
- He manages to coax bird onto his arm, but macaw spooks and flies off to a tree
- New York City Fire Department are deployed and manage to capture the fugitive
This is the moment an escaped parrot was finally caught by New York firefighters after its owner’s attempts to fetch it off a window ledge ended in failure.
The clip, filmed in Manhattan on March 22, starts with a white-haired man scrambling up a ladder to reach the macaw, which had escaped as the pair headed to the vet.
His first attempt to reach the bird fails, at the ladder is too short.
The man tries again with a longer ladder. This time he manages to coax the bird onto his arm, only for it to spook and fly off up the street.
The desperate pet owner was later forced to call on the New York City Fire Department to help him rescue the colourful bird.
The clip, filmed in New York on March 22, captures an elderly man as he scrambles up one ladder to reach his macaw, who had escaped as the pair headed to the vet
The man’s rescue attempts draws quite a crowd as he climbs towards the bird, who was perched above a doorway on Amsterdam Avenue.
Two men hold a silver-coloured ladder steady as onlookers watch him reach out for the parrot. But he can only reach the uncooperative macaw’s tail feathers.
He tries again, this time using a longer orange ladder and manages to get the bird onto his arm.
But as the pensioner begins his descent, the bird spooks, taking off towards a tree at 87th Street and Columbus Avenue.
An onlooker shouts ‘oh sh**’ as the rescue continues.
A second clip then captures the New York City Fire Department as they are deployed to retrieve the parrot from the tree on the Upper West Side.
He manages to coax the bird onto his arm, but as he turns to make his way to the ground, it spooks and flies away towards a tree much further up the road
The desperate pet owner was later forced to call on the New York City Fire Department to help him rescue the colourful bir
One firefighter used a ladder truck to reach the bird at around 6.20pm, twisting the branch it was perched upon in an attempt to grab the fugitive.
Eventually, the team are able to capture the parrot and return it to its owner.
Dozens of people had gathered to watch the dramatic rescue, with several applauding when the parrot was safety contained.
One firefighter used a ladder truck to reach the bird at around 6.20pm, twisting the branch it was perched upon in an attempt to grab the fugitive
The New York Fire Department told West Side Rag: ‘Ladder 25 was verbally alerted at 18:20 hrs that someone’s parrot had escaped in route to a veterinarian visit.
‘Ladder 25 was able to extend their aerial ladder to reach the branch where the bird was and a fire fighter was able to bring the parrot down to safety.
‘No injuries to the parrot or anyone else, returned safely to the owner. No information on who the owner is.’
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