POLOKWANE – Prof Derek Engelbrecht of the University of Limpopo (UniLim) was recently alerted by his colleague Derrick Matshela that a bird was trapped under a high mast light post, hanging by some string around its foot some 30m above the ground.

The falcon was first observed by a worker three days before.

“We simply had to do everything in our power to get the bird released. That set in motion a chain of events involving many good people,” Engelbrecht shared.

After they learned that the university’s maintenance department did not have the necessary equipment to assist, Engelbrecht’s predicament was placed on the Birdlife Polokwane group.

A promising message led to a private crane owned by Abrie Muller of Limpopo Scaffolding, however, the crane fell 5m short of the target height.

“I texted a real-life superhero, DA councillor Mariëtte Pretorius, and 10 minutes later, I received a call from head of community safety in the Polokwane Municipality John Emsley. John was extremely helpful and understanding and it wasn’t long before Lawaai Matheta from the Mankweng Fire Department called me. After a quick inspection at the scene, he confirmed that colleague Herman Rametse is on his way with a crane from Polokwane,” Engelbrecht explained.

“Just after 13:00 in the presence of a large crowd of curious onlookers, Lawaai and I got into the basket and started our ascend to reach the Lanner. I secured the bird while Lawaai cut the piece of string. Two snips later, the bird’s three-day ordeal of hanging by one leg came to an end,” Engelbrecht shared.

Engelbrecht and his son Daniel rushed the bird to Dr Xander de Kock at the Wolkberg Veterinary Clinic to thoroughly assess the bird’s condition and to check for any injuries.

“She could not use her foot, but at least she did not suffer any severe injuries. Good care and lots of rest will see her back on the wing within a couple of weeks,” he added.

The falcon was transferred to the Whelmi Chalmers Rehabilitation Centre to regain flying fitness before Engelbrecht could finally take her back to campus where she was released back in her territory.

“This rescue effort would not have been possible without the selfless service of the people involved in this operation. Many others also offered advice and suggestions behind the scenes. A gigantic thank you to everyone involved for turning this Grimm brothers’ story into a fairy tale ending for the Lanner,” Derek concluded.