PETALING JAYA, April 16 — It was a strange day at work for Polish animal welfare officers who were called to inspect a tree housing a “creature” that had struck fear in the hearts of residents in the area.
The Krakow Animal Welfare Society expected to find an injured bird of prey or even an abandoned pet reptile when they arrived at the scene.
Instead, they found nothing more than a flakey croissant caught between the tree’s branches.
In a Facebook post, the non-profit organisation confirmed the incident and detailed a call they had on Wednesday with a woman who expressed concerns over an “animal” that had remained motionless in a tree for two days.
“People aren't opening their windows because they're afraid it will go into their house,” the woman claimed.
The skittish caller described the “animal” as being brown and that it looked like an iguana, which caused the officer to wonder if it was all just a belated April Fool’s prank.
While it's unlikely that a reptile can survive the freezing temperatures in Krakow at this time of the year, the officer thought it was possible that the animal could have been a pet abandoned by its owner.
A team of inspectors then arrived at the scene only to find the headless and limbless being to be a French pastry nestled in between a lilac tree’s branches.
“It was probably thrown out of a window to feed the birds," the Krakow Animal Welfare Society said in its Facebook post.
The organisation saw the funny side of the experience and continued to encourage people to call in with any animal welfare-related incidents.
“We note that it's always worth reporting if something concerns you.
“It's better to check and be pleasantly disappointed, sometimes (unfortunately very rarely) laugh, than not react, which can sometimes lead to a tragedy.”
