Over the past week, two news stories stuck out for me.
In Argyll a couple came to the aid of a baby otter, flooded out of its home by the rain, and effectively saved its life.
In contrast to this lone vulnerable baby, a pod of mighty killer whales were the concern of Canadian residents as they became trapped by ice, all of them breathing out of one break in the sheet. The people of the local Quebec village asked the government to help them, but they fortunately escaped before rescue was needed.
It struck me how proactive we are when we encounter animals in distress.
Wanting to help
When I was eleven I looked out of my nan's flat window to see a swallow by the side of the road. Every time a car went past the gusts flipped its body showing a flash of white. It was unable to fly but clearly still alive.
I ran downstairs carrying a box padded out with an old blanket. Its wing was broken and when I picked it up it trembled. I had never seen a swallow, or any bird, up that close.
The rest of the day was spent catching things for it to eat with my crabbing net (a bamboo stick with a hoop and some plastic netting at the end). Holding the caught insects in front of its beak it eventually started to eat.
I hoped it had eaten enough as it got too dark for me to see my prey. In the house there was a spot near the door I hoped wouldn't be too hot for it and I slept in hope that it would last the night.
Nature can be cruel
In the morning I was gutted to find that it hadn't survived. It would have been best to let nature take its course from the start, but try telling a wildlife-enthused child to leave things be!
It's probably impossible to transfer that immediate concern we feel for injured animals to nature as a whole, but it helps me to remember that lots of things die unnecessarily because of humans, and to let that feed into my day-to-day life.
If you find an injured bird please get in touch with our friends at the RSPCA, check our advice page for details.