A SEAGULL rescued in a Scottish town has been found “sunning itself” on a beach in Morocco.
Gulliver the seagull was found trapped inside a rubbish bin in a residential street in Paisley last May.
Animal rescue officers from the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) managed to free Gulliver before transferring it to the National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fishcross.
The lesser black-backed gull was found severely underweight in a distressed and dishevelled state, weighing just 645 grams – 20% less than it should have.
Staff provided round-the-clock care for Gulliver, including multiple washes that restored its feathers to pristine condition and feeding it back up to optimal health.
Gulliver was deemed fit for release after two weeks of care and rehabilitation, and staff fitted metal and plastic rings in the hope of tracking its progress.
An avid birdwatcher has since spotted Gulliver “sunning itself” on Agadir Beach in Morocco (pictured), 1800 miles away from where he was rescued.
Liam Reid, senior veterinary surgeon at the National Wildlife Rescue Centre, said: “It was incredible to find out Gulliver was doing so well nearly 200 days after his release.
“Where possible we ring birds prior to release. This gives us a passive form of post-release monitoring and we get a lot of good data back from this.”
He added: “The success of Gulliver’s rehabilitation and release clearly shows the long-term effects of our hard work and that what we do makes a lasting difference to these animals.
“It’s so uplifting to see the animals we release back into the wild can go on to not just survive but thrive and in Gulliver’s case migrate as normal.”
In 2024, the SSPCA released 2562 animals back into the wild.
