For the animal rescue officers at the Scottish SPCA, no two days are ever the same.

And 2019 was every bit as unusual as you'd expect, with the team having to rescue everything from cockatiels in coffee cups to seal pups in car parks - and even a fake snake incident.

The charity have pulled together a list of all the strangest, most unexpected incidents they dealt with in Glasgow and the surrounding area last year. Take a look below!

Cockatiel in a cup 

A cockatiel was found taking refuge in a McDonald’s cup as he was being attacked by a group of magpies.

Our senior animal rescue officer Jan Toraman responded to a call from a member of the public who reported the cockatiel, named McDonald after his experience, in his sorry situation. The poor bird was cowering under the fast-food cup after the corvids decided he was an easy target.

Jan came to his rescue and took him to our centre in Glasgow to recuperate. He was a bit dishevelled and nervous when he first arrived but soon came out of his shell. McDonald was paired with another cockatiel and they found their loving forever home together. 

Non-native eagle-owl found in Airdrie   

A member of the public called our animal helpline to report an owl sitting on their doorstep. They were concerned he was injured but weren't keen to check due to his intimidating size. Our animal rescue officer, Kirsty Baird, thought this was unusual as our native tawny or barn owls are small and not very threatening!

When Kirsty arrived, the owl had been moved to a large shed at the back of the garden. Kirsty got a big surprise when she walked in and saw an eagle-owl sitting on the plank. They are not native to Scotland so she did not expect to see one. 

The rare bird was quite weak and disorientated and was relatively easy to catch for such a big bird. After care and recuperation, he went to live with a falconer where he gets plenty of stimulation and exercise. You can even follow him on Instagram, @grimmtheeagleowl. 

Swan carries cygnets to safety

In Glasgow, senior animal rescue officer Jan Toraman attended the canal basin at Lock 27 in Anniesland after a member of the public phoned about cygnets being separated from their parents.

The two parents and their six babies were originally in the high water but due to the basin dropping, two of their cygnets had slipped down into the water below. Mum managed to get to the lower water but couldn’t lead her babies back up to where the male and the rest of the cygnets were.

Mum put the babies on her back and tucked them under her wings, something Jan had never seen before! To get them back to the higher level, Jan lay a trail of food to encourage mum to follow. The family was successfully reunited and the parents swam their six babies safely away from the lock.

Seal pup in Greenock car park

The Scottish SPCA were called to the unusual rescue of a seal pup in a Greenock car park in November.

The pup had managed to get up the harbour steps, along the promenade and into the carpark.

Senior animal rescue officer Jan Toraman said: "The fact the seal managed to negotiate these obstacles was incredible!

"The pup was very young, aged between two and three weeks old.

"We suspect the pup became separated from mum and took to the water out of desperation and got swept back in by the current.

"It’s likely that the young seal was exhausted which is why it came up the harbour stairs and into the dangerous location.

"Greenock police were incredibly helpful and ensured the seal was safe until we arrived.

"The poor thing was severely underweight so we immediately took it to our National Wildlife Rescue Centre to receive the care she needed. They named the pup Dot-to-Dot. She has put on weight and we plan on releasing her very soon when the weather improves."

Fake snake  

In November, senior animal rescue officer Jan Toraman was urgently called to an address in Newton Mearns to rescue a stray snake from a garden.

The caller reported that the snake had been in the garden all morning and they had managed to contain it under a bucket. Jan arrived at the property and headed into the garden and cautiously approached the bucket. Jan carefully uncovered the snake and it turned out it was a children’s plastic toy.

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