Crow with clipped wings spotted, could only fly knee height and unlikely to survive in the wild
A man in Singapore recently encountered a crow with clipped wings behaving strangely, leading him to suspect the bird may have been raised by a human before being abandoned in the wild.
In a TikTok video posted by @02.child, the original poster (OP) shared footage of the crow and explained why its behaviour struck him as unusual.
“This is what a crow raised by humans looks like when it’s released into the wild without proper care,” he said.
Bird’s wings appeared to have been clipped
According to the caption, the OP noticed that the crow appeared wary but not particularly afraid of humans.
@02.child If you’re gonna attempt to “rescue” an animal be it a crow or anything else, please do your due diligence to report it to the right authorities or take proper responsibility and accountability for it. Came across this “wild” crow acting weird, and when we got closer, we realized it was wary, but not afraid of humans and when it tried to fly, it couldn’t go any higher than knee height, and when we took a closer look, we realized that half it’s wings were clipped. Only 3 possibilities I could thing off is If your goal was to release it back into the wild upon nursing it to adulthood, how do you expect it to survive being this handicapped? Either that or it prolly escaped or some guy prolly decided to find it a cruel joke to go clip a wild crow’s wings. Idk, what do you guys think?
What concerned him, however, was the bird’s inability to fly properly.
The crow could reportedly only fly up to about knee height.
After taking a closer look, the OP noticed that the bird’s wings appeared to have been clipped.
Image courtesy of Tyronne Tong
Suspects someone raised crow as a chick
Based on what he observed, the TikTok user suggested several possible explanations for the clipped wings.
One possibility was that someone may have raised the crow from a young age and clipped its wings to prevent it from flying away.
Source: @02.child on TikTok
The bird may later have been released or abandoned. Another possibility was that it escaped from someone who had been keeping it.
A more disturbing scenario, the OP suggested, is that someone deliberately clipped the wings of a wild crow as a “cruel joke”.
He also pointed out that the crow’s tail feathers looked ruffled and poorly grown, which he felt could indicate it had not been living in a proper environment.
Crow will struggle to survive in the wild
According to the OP, a crow that cannot fly properly would face serious dangers in the wild.
Without full flight capability, the bird may struggle to escape predators or avoid oncoming vehicles.
Ending his video, the OP urged people to take responsibility if they attempt to rescue animals.
“If you’re gonna do something, please take full responsibility and accountability for it,” he said. “Don’t just let a life go to waste like this.”
Source: @02.child on TikTok
“This is very heartbreaking,” he added.
Netizens thank OP, feel sorry for crow
Many netizens echoed his concerns and thanked the OP for speaking up for the crow.
Source: TikTok
Another commenter praised him for having a kind heart.
Source: TikTok
One TikTok user also asked whether the clipped wings would grow back, and whether the OP planned to care for the crow in the meantime.
Source: TikTok
Others simply said they felt sorry for the bird after seeing the video.
Source: TikTok
Realised something was off
Tyronne Tong, an entrepreneur in his mid-20s, later told MS News that he came across the crow while walking back from lunch at around 2pm on 11 March in Sengkang.
At first, he did not think much of it. However, he soon found it strange that a lone young crow remained on the ground for a prolonged period without others around.
Image courtesy of Tyronne Tong
“That’s when I realised something was off due to my experience of rescuing crows in the past,” Mr Tong said.
When he walked past the crow, he noticed it did not try to fly away like most birds would.
Instead, it only hopped away warily, which made him suspect it may have been raised by humans.
Could barely fly away from oncoming car
His suspicions grew when a car approached and the crow attempted to fly off.
Mr Tong said the bird could barely lift itself higher than knee height.
On closer inspection, he noticed that its wings had been clipped, suggesting it had likely been handled by humans before.
Mr Tong said it pained him to see the bird in such a state.
Image courtesy of Tyronne Tong
Birds are meant to fly free in the sky, and taking away their ability to fly is the same as taking away our hands.
After finding the crow, Mr Tong quickly contacted NParks and was directed to the Animal Response Centre (ARC), which operates 24 hours a day.
He also shared that he had cared for several young or injured crows in the past until they recovered and eventually flew away on their own.
However, he noted that this was many years ago, before he found out that it is illegal to house a wild crow.
Crows cannot be kept as pets in Singapore
According to the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS), members of the public are not allowed to keep house crows as pets in Singapore.
If injured or distressed wildlife is found, the public can report it to the National Parks Board (NParks) or contact its Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600.
Also read: 19-year-old S’porean launches animal rescue platform after years of saving wildlife
19-year-old S’porean launches animal rescue platform after years of saving wildlife
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Featured image courtesy of Tyronne Tong.
