Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/swan-rides-subway-in-new-york-city/

New York is famous for many landmarks: the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge – the list can go on. There are many ways to get around New York in order to see these different places, but perhaps its most well-known mode of transportation is the subway.

The subway, itself, is somewhat of a famous New York landmark with a long history, many endless underground tunnels, and plenty of stories – spooky ones included – surrounding it.

Perhaps one of the most well-known stories about the subway is the endless parade of strange that you might encounter while riding the underground transportation. There are plenty of weird and wacky sights to behold on the daily. And with the help of the internet, now people can share pictures of the things they might see while riding the subway. Gone are the days of disbelief. For those who think there would never be a day in which a swan gets on the subway, there are pictures to prove it.

The sick swan, who was named Bae, was riding the subway in order to get to a local animal clinic for medical treatment. The feathered passenger wasn’t riding alone – she had a few fellow New Yorkers helping her out.

The day prior to the swan subway incident, Ariel Cordova Rojas was marking her 30th birthday with a trip to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge located in New York City’s borough of Queens. While there, she came upon “Bae” who was sitting on the side of the trail. Rojas is a former employee of the Wild Bird Fund, a clinic on the Upper West Side, so she could immediately tell that the bird was sick.

Not wanting to leave the bird to get worse, she gently approached the 17-pound swan. As she explained, that is always a risky move since swans can be a bit feisty. As Rojas shared with NBC New York, swans will normally flap their wings to scare off an approach, as well as resort to biting if the wing motions fail. However, Rojas said that Bae did none of those things.

Rojas was able to get Bae wrapped up in her jacket, but she knew that the only place to go was the Wild Bird Fund. The only problem was that it was about 24 miles away by car and Rojas had cycled to the refuge on her bike. She walked with Bae for about a mile in her arms until she was helped out by a couple. They gave Rojas and Bae a lift to their nearest subway station. Ironically enough, one of them was even a Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker!

Rojas got Bae on the subway and said that there was absolutely no reaction from the other passengers. As she figured, they’re New Yorkers therefore, they’ve probably seen their fair share of bizarre tableaus playing out on the subway. Rojas managed to get Bae to the Wild Bird Fund, where it turned out that she needed treatment for lead poisoning, a fungal infection, and weak legs. Not exactly the way that Rojas envisioned spending her 30th birthday, but she’s glad that she was able to help Bae get the medical help she needed.

Rojas then posted an update on Bae, sharing that she was getting stronger every day and even had a prospective friend at the rescue center!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog