Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

This is the moment firefighters wrap a soaking wet stork in a blanket after spraying it with hoses in order to prevent it from flying.

Storks that are wet are unable to fly, and by dousing the huge bird that for some reason had decided not to fly south this year, they were able to capture it so it can be kept in a sanctuary over winter where it would otherwise freeze to death.

The lonely stork was found already shivering from the cold in the spa town of Bad Radkersburg in the Austrian state of Styria, and will now spend the winter under the watchful eye of local experts.

It is unclear whether the female stork did not want to fly south, or if there is some other reason for his decision to remain behind.

However, after being left alone in Bad Radkersburg, several residents notified the local authorities of its presence in the town.

On Monday, a team of firefighters were sent to capture the large bird which was then made soaking in order to capture it.

Helmuth Rosenthaler and colleagues from the Stork Lovers Association then caught the wet bird and took it to their centre in the municipality of Tillmitsch, according to the newspaper Kleine Zeitung.

The stork will now spend the winter under observation in Styria.

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