Texas Couple Gives "For the Love of Animals" a Whole New Meaning
Rebecca West
Would you drive 660 miles across desolate landscape to save a wild animal? We hate to say this, but there are plenty of people who wouldn't do it to save a household pet, much less a wild critter. And before you get upset, you know it's true, even if you'd drive to Timbuktu and back to save your fur babies.
However, one couple in Texas drove a sort of relay race to save the life of a tiny roadrunner hatchling after its nest was accidentally destroyed.
Deep in the Heart of Texas
According to the Washington Post, a woman arrived in Hutchins, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with a box containing a tiny roadrunner hatchling in hopes that someone at the Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, a nonprofit bird rescue, could save its life.
The woman, whose name was not given, explained to Paula Hagan, a worker at the wildlife center, that her husband had been clearing land out in west Texas on some property near Odessa a day or two earlier when he realized that he'd accidentally run over a bird's nest, destroying all but one of the eggs inside.
After completing his work, the man drove the egg 11 hours back to his home in Lufkin, all the way over in East Texas. That's about 500 miles, and he held the little egg to keep it warm. Shortly after that, the egg hatched, so he and his wife looked for places that could care for the baby bird.
Wildlife Rescue
Unfortunately, there were no nearby wildlife refuges in their immediate area, so they had to cast a wider net. Eventually, they found the Rogers Center, and — knowing it was the hatchling's best chance at survival — the next day the woman picked up the torch in an almost surreal relay event that saw her driving roughly another 160 miles to get the animal help.
"I just couldn't believe it," Hagan said in disbelief before adding, "It just tells me they're both very kindhearted." That's probably a bit of an understatement. Due to the roadrunner's lengthy travels before and after hatching, it was given the name Miles.
Little Miles reportedly did well the first few days there, but around the fourth day, staff grew worried when he stopped feeding and failed to gain weight, which isn't unusual for hatchlings. Sadly, Miles didn't make it and passed away the following day.
It's Better to Have Tried. . .
Hagan explained that hatchlings die at a higher rate than adult birds that have been rescued and that, while Mile's death saddened her, the effort to save him still stirs her heart due to the extraordinary lengths the couple went to, to save a helpless creature from certain death.
"Working there, volunteering there, renews my faith in humanity," Hagan stated. "It's just very moving to me to see how kindhearted they are." She also added that it's people like them who make a difference in the world before saying, "I really believe that."
