A quarry worker from Whakatane has gone viral after posting a video of himself with an injured seagull he'd thoughtfully rescued, only to have the bird viciously and repeatedly peck his face.
Robert Tahau noticed the seagull, which had broken its wing, on a track in his Te Puke workplace.
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Wrapping his feathered friend in an old tshirt, Mr Tahau then got his phone out and explained what he'd just done - well, he tried to.
"Found this bloody thing on the side of the - argh!" he screamed, as the bird turned its head and clasped his cheek in its beak.
"It's a vicious thing, bro! She's a pretty big manu! Say hello everybody. I'm gonna give it to the SPCA - ah f**k you!" Mr Tahau yelled, as it pecked at his face again.
Mr Tahau posted the hysterical clip to Facebook at the end of last month, and it has quickly become an internet sensation, garnering more than 1 million views.
In a sad turn, however, the bird has since passed away.
"My plan was to take it back to Whakatane where I live, but by the time I got home everything was closed down - the vet and SPCA," he told NZME.
"I thought I'd put him in a box with a blanket overnight… [but] when I came to check on him in the morning, he was as stiff as a rock. He had passed away."
Newshub.
