Osprey dies after being found hanging from fishing line

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (FOX 13) - Animal rescue groups are urging fisherman to dispose of their fishing line appropriately after a young osprey was found dangling upside down from its nest in St. Petersburg.

According to Shelley Vickery with Birds in Helping Hands, the osprey's foot was tangled in thick fishing line and could not break free.

"It's very frustrating, we see it too much," said Vickery, who believes the osprey's mother picked the fishing line up to build her nest. "We just deal with this every day."

In this case, the fishing line became embedded in the bird's left leg, causing it to swell.

After a more than two-hour-long rescue, Duke Energy crews were able to get to the nest which was propped on top of a telephone pole.

The osprey was taken to a veterinarian that gave a grim diagnosis.

"The collateral ligaments were just fried, they were beyond repair," said Vickery.

The young osprey did not survive. Vickery says it's a sad example of why fisherman must always take responsibility for their materials, like fishing line and hooks.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), fishing line should be cut up into small pieces and thrown away in a covered trash bin.