Seabird turns orange after falling into vat of curry

Bird was rescued by workers at the site in Wales after falling into bowl of 'chicken tikka masala'

While scavenging for its next meal from a food factory bin on Monday, a seagull turned bright orange following a "chicken tikka masala" accident.

The bird was rescued by workers at the site in Wales, and picked up by a volunteer for Vale wildlife hospital, near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.



Staff at the hospital used washing-up liquid to remove the bright orange color from the seagull’s feathers. While the seagull has been restored to its original white colour the staff have not been able to wash away the smell of curry.

“He really surprised everyone here – we had never seen anything like it before. He had fallen into a waste vat of curry that was outside, it was chicken tikka masala. The thing that shocked us the most was the smell. He smelled amazing, he really smelled good,” said Lucy Kells, veterinary nurse at the hospital.

“I’ve been a veterinary nurse for 25 years and I have never seen this happen before,” added Kells.

The bird, which has been nicknamed “Gullfrazie” on Facebook, was put into a cage after his trial. Staff are feeding it meat, fish, as well as dog and cat food.



“He is a bit skinny so we are building his strength up a bit,” Kells said. “I guess that’s why he was trying to get a piece of meat from the vat and fell in.”

The bird will be shifted to an outside birdcage to re-waterproof his feathers before being released into the wild.

The seagull is thought to be over two years old judging from the colour of his feathers.

This article originally appeared on The Guardian.