On a hot summer day in Florida, a homeowner noticed something unsettling in his yard. A tall white egret stood motionless in the same spot for hours, barely moving. The longer he watched, the more concerned he became.
Something wasn’t right.
The bird appeared to have something lodged in her throat, and she hadn’t flown off or changed position all day. Worried, the man reached out to WILD Florida Rescue (WFR) for advice.
“An egret had been standing in the same spot all day and possibly had something in its throat,” WFR later shared on Facebook.
The message was quickly passed to a dispatcher named Alice, who forwarded the photos to rescuer Heather. At first glance, Heather wasn’t convinced the bird was sick at all.
Instead, she suspected something far stranger.
“By the photos, she didn’t think the bird necessarily needed help,” WFR wrote. “It looked like the egret had swallowed a snake — and the snake was trying to get out.”
Alice relayed the theory back to the homeowner, then continued chatting with Heather about similar situations they’d encountered before. Moments later, Alice’s phone buzzed again.
“The gentleman just texted me that the issue resolved itself,” Alice told Heather. “Look at your photos!”
The updated images confirmed it: The egret was still standing there, but now a garden snake had emerged from her mouth and was wrapped loosely around her beak and neck.
Amazingly, both animals were OK. The snake had escaped unharmed, and the egret looked more irritated than injured. The only remaining challenge was making sure the two went their separate ways.
Shortly after, the man sent one final photo — this time of him holding the snake safely inside his house. The egret stayed outdoors and went about her day as if nothing unusual had happened.
How exactly the man managed to remove a live snake from an egret’s mouth remains a mystery — one that left both WFR staff and social media followers stunned.
“I haven’t asked, but I’m definitely curious!” WFR joked in response to a Facebook comment. “Did he grab the bird? The snake? Did he yell ‘Drop it!’?”
You can read more comments about the unusual rescue here:
However it happened, the ending couldn’t have been better. Both the bird and the snake survived the bizarre encounter — and one Florida homeowner walked away with a story he’ll probably never top.
“While alarming at first,” WFR wrote, “it was a bit comical how it all went down.”
To support wildlife rescues like this one, you can donate to WILD Florida Rescue and help animals get the care they need. 🐦🐍
