An injured Indian pond heron – extremely rare and endangered in Turkey – was found and rescued by a private security guard in the Aegean province of Izmir.

Ibrahim Tel, a private security officer at the electricity production and transmission center near Ödemiş town center, found the bird with an injured left wing in the guard dog area of the company's garden.

"We wanted to protect it from any animal harming it. We only gave it water, as it wouldn't eat food," Tel told Demirören News Agency.

Tel put the heron into a wire cage to protect it and contacted the local Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks. Learning that the bird was endangered, Tel delivered the bird to the directorate for treatment and rehabilitation.

Tel said the heron will be released to the wild after it recovers.

"As nature lovers, we tried our best," Tel said.

The Indian pond heron – a short-necked, thick-billed, brown bird – breeds in southern Iran, Pakistan, India, Burma, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It is endangered and very rarely seen in Turkey.