What would you do if you were swimming out in the ocean and suddenly caught sight of something pink? Would you swim out to investigate or just leave it be? Well, this is the exact situation that these surfers found themselves in. You won’t believe what these surfers decided to do!
20. Surf Instructor
Image: Instagram/fguicciardi
Franco Guicciardi works as a surfing, sailing, and windsurfing instructor at Forte Village Resort in Sardegna, Italy. His job is definitely exciting and he is constantly on the move!
19. Usual Work Day
Image: Instagram/fguicciardi
One day, Guicciardi was off to instruct his students as usual. He was off in the water, catching some waves when he saw something quite strange in the water. It immediately caught his eye.
18. Moving Around
Image: healevate.com
As Guicciardi looked closer, he began to notice that whatever was under the water was moving around a lot. He quickly realized there was obviously something wrong and he would have to inspect it further.
17. To Shore
Image: healevate.com
Guicciardi decided to quickly swim over to the shore and call over one of his friends. The friend had a paddle board and they both decided to swim out on the board to inspect what the thing was! As they swam closer, they saw that the object was pink in color.
16. The Thing
Image: healevate.com
There in the water, as the men paddled forward, was the pink thing flinging about. The men quickly realized that it was a drowning flamingo. They knew they had to act fast!
15. No Way
Image: healevate.com
The men knew there was no possible way the flamingo could make it back to shore without their help. They began to pull the flamingo up and out of the water.
14. On Board
Image: The Dodo
Soon the men had the flamingo up and on the board with them. They began to start paddling back to shore. The flamingo sat on the front of the board with his wings outstretched to dry them off.
13. Good Swimmers
Image: healevate.com
So, how did this flamingo happen to get trapped out in the water when flamingos tend to be good swimmers? Well, on this particular day the ocean’s waves were incredibly rough and they prevented the flamingo from swimming.
12. Calming Down
Image: Instagram/fguicciardi
As the men paddled closer and closer to shore, the flamingo began to calm down more and more. It was obvious that the flamingo felt it could trust the men on the paddle board.
11. Exhausted
Image: Instagram/fguicciardi
“The animal was exhausted due to strong sea currents and wind,” Guicciardi wrote on an Instagram post about the rescue. It was obvious the poor flamingo had been close to death and was terrified of losing its life.
10. Getting Help
Image: The Dodo
As soon as Guicciardi reached the shore, he knew he had to call for extra help for the flamingo. He called over the local forest patrol who then put him in touch with the Clinica Veterinaria San Giuseppe.
9. Advice
Image: The Dodo
With the vet on the phone, Guicciardi was advised to get a bucket and fill it up with cold water. He was also told to wrap the flamingo up with damp clothes and towels in order to keep it safe until help arrived.
8. Gathering Around
Image: The Dodo
A whole crowd of people began to gather around to watch the situation unfold. Many of them helped out in finding articles of clothing and towels to wrap the flamingo in. The flamingo felt so cared for!
7. Rushed Over
Image: healevate.com
Animal rescuers quickly rushed over to the flamingo and began to help out. They rushed the flamingo over to a local clinic where he was immediately cared for!
6. Getting Help
Image: Instagram/fguicciardi
The vets at the animal clinic got to work to help the poor flamingo out. After just a few days, the flamingo started to make excellent progress.
5. Doing Better
Image: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
After just a bit of rest and hydration, the flamingo started to do better and better. Guicciardi was very happy to hear the flamingo was making fantastic progress.
4. So Happy
Image: Instagram/fguicciardi
“After two days of treatment I have confirmed that the animal is back in flight,” Guicciardi told The Dodo. “So this news made me very happy for helping a protected species of our island.”
3. To The Wild
Image: Sitler & Henry
The flamingo has since been released back into the wild. He is enjoying his life once again and is happy he has been rescued.
2. Contributions
Image: Flickr
“Thanks to those who contributed to this positive action,” Guicciardi said to everyone that was involved. It was thanks to everyone’s valiant efforts that this flamingo was able to live another day.
1. True Heroes
Image: Hat.net
Thanks to Guicciardi and his friend’s bravery, this flamingo was given a second chance at life. We’re more than sure this friendly flamingo is incredibly grateful to his rescuers!