Drunk Utah Man Calls Uber to Take Abandoned Baby Bird to Rescue Facility

Bill Pan
By Bill Pan
July 13, 2019US News
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Drunk Utah Man Calls Uber to Take Abandoned Baby Bird to Rescue Facility
An Uber car waiting for a client in a file photo. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Staff at a wildlife rescue in northern Utah were surprised when an abandoned baby bird arrived at their facility unaccompanied in its very own Uber.

Obviously, it wasn’t the bird that called Uber. The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah learned that the person who found the bird had been too drunk to be able to drive himself.

“What do you do when you find a sick, injured or orphaned wild animal, but you’ve ‘had a few too many?'” the rescue center wrote on Facebook. “WELL, this rescuer called an UBER driver!”

“They were just acting responsibly for the bird,” Buz Marthaler, co-founder of the WRCNU, told Fox 13. “We are just happy that the bird was brought in and that they did not place themselves or others in potential harm’s way.”

One of the good Samaritans was Tim Crawley, a Clinton local who was having a few drinks with his pals on June 29 afternoon, according to Fox 13.

“Impromptu, sitting in some camp chairs, hanging out, having a few drinks when we had a visitor fall out of the sky,” said Crawley.

Suffering from injury and dehydration, the orphaned lesser goldfinch was unable to fly. The drinkers took a picture of the bird and sent it to the WRCNU, which recommended they take the bird in so the carers could help.

Too intoxicated to get behind the wheel, they decided to be creative by ordering the bird an Uber ride.

“At first it was a joke, like, ‘Hey, maybe we should just call Uber!'” Crawley said to Fox 13. “Then we were like, ‘No, really. Why not? We’re paying them.'”

The first Uber driver turned down their order upon learning the rather odd request. Luckily, the second Uber agreed to serve the very special passenger.

About an hour later the bird arrived at the center by itself in an Uber, The Associated Press reported.

The WRCNU’s director DaLyn Marthaler said the bird was nicknamed “Petey Uber.” She expected the bird to recover and return to the Utah wilderness in a few weeks.

According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), it is not unusual to find fallen baby birds during this time of year, since many birds are hatching and often leave their nests before they are able to fly.

“They usually spread along the branch of a tree and chirp and call, waiting for their parents to bring food to them,” explained Blair Stringham, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ migratory game bird program coordinator. “Sometimes, that results in them falling from their perch.”

The UDWR advises people to put small featherless baby birds back in their nests or place them on branches high enough so they are safe from dogs and cats. It also reminds people not to feed them or take them home. If they already have feathers, they’re almost no longer babies and should be left alone for their own good.

It doesn’t mention offering Uber rides to baby birds.

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