schema:articleBody
| - After a female stork was electrocuted on a power line, the inhabitants of a village in the Czech Republic decided to rally to help her partner and their four hatchlings. "We bring them a bit of everything, some fish, earthworms and even mice," said Jiri Zeman, a local engineer in the village of Mlade Buky some 150 kilometres (93 miles) northeast of Prague. Zeman and a gardener friend climb a ladder three times a day to bring the food up to the nest -- on top of a chimney. They have nicknamed the father "Bukacek" -- a reference to the name of their village. Zeman has also installed a camera over the nest and live streams the stork family's life on YouTube ( "At the beginning, only about 50 people were connected but since the mother died we have had more than 2,000 viewers, including many from abroad," said Zeman. The engineer is also asking for donations and has so far collected more than 300,000 Czech koruna (11,800 euros). "It's far too much money for five birds but we are donating a large part to bird keepers in a centre near here who help animals in difficulty. They are following the video online and are giving us precious advice," Zeman said. ar/dt/lc
|