Wading through water with one hand, a Fire and Rescue Services official in uniform swam across a stream more than six feet deep, carrying an injured cormorant safely in the other. The bird had been trapped in a string attached to a fishing hook, which it had already swallowed. The rescue video quickly went viral on social media, drawing widespread appreciation for O A Abidh, a Grade Senior Fire and Rescue Officer attached to the department’s Kothamangalam unit.

The incident took place on Thursday afternoon when Abidh and his seven-member team received an alert around 3.15 pm from a local shopkeeper. A bird had been trapped on a tree branch leaning over Kurur Thodu in Kothamangalam town. “The bird had been there since Wednesday, but locals initially thought it was simply sitting on the branch. When the water level dropped further on Thursday, they realised it was trapped,” said Abidh, a native of Kottappady in Kothamangalam.

The team reached the opposite bank and found the bird hanging upside down, entangled in a string. A bridge located a few metres downstream meant that reaching the bird from the other side would take considerable time. “We realised it had to be rescued immediately, otherwise it could die. Since I have been swimming since childhood, I decided to cross the stream,” Abidh said.

He swam across, carefully freed the bird from the string and then noticed that it was attached to a fishing hook that the cormorant had swallowed. “I carefully cut the string with my teeth. Since the bird had swallowed the hook, I knew releasing it there would not help. So I decided to take it back with me and get it medical attention,” he said.
Abidh then made the return swim, carrying the injured bird to safety.

The team first took the cormorant to the Veterinary Hospital in Kothamangalam and, following medical advice, later moved it to the Veterinary Hospital in Muvattupuzha. As surgeons were unavailable there at the time, the bird was handed over to the Forest Department. It was subsequently taken to the Divisional Forest Office in Kothamangalam and then transferred to the Rapid Response Team (RRT). “A doctor examined the bird, but it succumbed to its injuries around midnight,” an RRT officer said.

For Abidh, however, the outcome did not diminish the importance of the rescue. “Our job is about saving lives. A bird’s life is equally important. That was the only thing I was thinking about at that moment,” said Abidh, who has 14 years of service in the Fire and Rescue Services. He said the rescue was relatively simple compared with some of the animal rescues the department handles. “Rescuing cows or bulls that fall into pits can be much more difficult. I have also once entered the Bhoothathankettu dam to tie a carcass of an elephant that had been found floating,” he said.

This is not the first time Abidh’s animal rescue has caught public attention. In 2025, a video of him rescuing a crow trapped on the entrance gate of a cinema theatre in Kothamangalam also circulated widely on social media. “It is always happy to see people appreciate what we do. But this is my job. Other officials in the force are also doing such things, and sometimes even more difficult rescues,” Abidh said.