It took five days, but the bird in the can finally freed itself on a bush. 

A pūkeko with its beak jammed in the tear-tab opening of a discarded energy drink had been eluding capture at the Auckland Botanic Gardens since January 2. 

On Tuesday, wildlife rescue volunteer Pene Quin reported good news: “They cornered the bird earlier this morning. They got it into some bushes, and the can fell off. The bird just flew off – so he’s fine.” 

Volunteers and Auckland Council garden staff had made multiple attempts to catch the bird using long-handled fishing nets. Quin had been waiting on the delivery of a larger “throw net” when she heard the pūkeko had saved itself. 

Auckland Botanic Gardens span 64ha in the suburb of Manurewa. The pūkeko – also known as an Australasian swamphen – was first noticed near a lake close to the main entrance. 

“In that small area, we found a can upside down in the lake that had obviously been there for some time because it was full of algae growth,” said Quin. “We found plastic straws, glad wrap, plastic caps off bottles, empty bottles ... it’s people being lazy. People should take their rubbish home with them.” 

Quin said the pūkeko was almost caught on Saturday. 

“But he was just so fast and so fit.” 

While it couldn’t eat, the bird had been seen swimming in the lake and trying to dislodge the can with its claws. 

The pūkeko, first spotted at the Auckland Botanic Gardens on January 2, finally dislodged the stuck can itself. 

Quin said pūkeko were an inquisitive species and this one had probably been attracted to the shine on the can. 

“It put its bottom beak in the tab hole and that was it.” 

Quin suspects the can snagged on bushes when the bird ran for cover this morning. 

“It must have just hit the right angle.” 

It was the first time she had seen a bird in this predicament, but comments on the Birds Auckland Facebook page suggested it was becoming more common – birds could, apparently, survive several days in this state and often dislodged the cans themselves when they were trying to evade capture. 

Shama Shaheen, who first reported the distressed pūkeko, said its freedom was the “most beautiful news” to receive this morning. 

The 28-year-old said she’d gone to the gardens to reconnect with nature and was “ironically” journaling about how to set boundaries when the metallic shine of the can caught her attention. 

“It looked stuck on really hard,” she said, noting the absence of rubbish bins in the area. 

Shaheen contacted Auckland Council, the Department of Conservation (DoC) and the SPCA trying to get help for the bird. She said the eventual response from volunteers to her post on the Auckland Birds site was “proof that good people exist”. 

Comments on the Birds Auckland Facebook page suggested the problem of birds getting cans stuck on their beaks was becoming more common. 

Emma Simpkins, Auckland Council’s education and partnerships specialist, said as soon as staff became aware of the bird’s predicament, they enlisted support from the SPCA and DoC to help safely catch it. 

“We were all relieved this morning to free the pūkeko so it can happily roam the gardens again – without the can.” 

She said sustainability was a “major focus” at the gardens. 

“We’re always aiming to reduce and recycle the waste we generate at this award-winning site. We encourage visitors to take the same level of responsibility – please put your cans, rubbish and drink bottles in rubbish bins on-site or even better, take them home and dispose of them appropriately. 

“This is a good reminder of how one thoughtless act can have a major impact on inquisitive birds. Rubbish can also harm our waterways and the horticultural collections we work so hard to protect.” 

Kim Knight joined the New Zealand Herald in 2016 and is a senior journalist on its lifestyle desk.