Brazil heron takes flight after plastic cup removed from throat

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A heron took flight in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, stretching its wings and soaring over a river after veterinarians saved it from near-certain death by removing a plastic cup attached to its neck and blocking its throat.

The mission to save the bird prompted an outcry in Brazil over the impact of plastic pollution on wildlife in a city famed for its forested mountains overlooking a bustling seaside metropolis.

As its cage opened, the lanky heron hesitated for a moment before stepping out and leaping into the air, its white-gray wings carrying it over the river in Rio's Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood.

"God willing, it won't find any plastic or cups on the way," said Jeferson Pires, a veterinary biologist at a wildlife center who first sighted the unfortunate animal this month and posted about its predicament on social media.

The logo of the popular 200-ml (6.7-oz) guarana fr...
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