Bake news: ‘Dangerous’ beast in tree turns out to be croissant

Residents too afraid to open their windows call in rescuers

The Krakow animal-welfare society related the story on Facebook (KTOZ Krakowskie Towarzystwo Opieki nad Zwierzętami/Facebook)

Animal rescuers in Poland called to a report of a dangerous-looking creature lurking in a tree approached it with trepidation – only to discover the mystery beast was a croissant.

A woman in Krakow had called to say the animal had been in the tree for two days and that residents were afraid to open their windows because they worried it would go into their homes, according to the city’s animal-welfare society.

The organisation, which revealed the case on Facebook, said staff asked her whether it could be a bird of prey but she described as resembling an iguana.

Officers feared the animal was an unwanted pet and could have died of cold or hunger.

One inspector, identified only as Adam, said they were used to pets being abandoned, writing: “We had an old Yorkie thrown into the yard in the evening, a seriously ill cat left in a closed transporter in a dumpster carport in winter, rats and hamsters with a cage thrown in the rubbish, even fish in a street bucket.”

He described how they approached the creature. “Suddenly... Here he is, got him! The brown creature is sitting on a lilac branch … the creature sits and doesn’t move – exactly as the notifier described us.

“His brown skin shines in the sun ... We are looking more closely – poor guy has no legs or head.”

Discovering the object to be a croissant, they guessed it was probably thrown out of a window by a neighbour to feed birds.

“It’s hard to help something that was previously baked, not in the sunlight,” Adam wrote.

The organisation said the public should continue to err on the side of caution and report any concerns about animal welfare.