A one-year-old boy could be left permanently blind in one eye after he was savagely attacked by a magpie.
Jacob Gale was with his family at Whiteman Park in Perth’s north-east on Sunday when a magpie swooped, landed on his face and punctured his eye with its beak.
‘It almost looked like it was sitting there then it flapped and hovered around, then he screamed out in terror,’ Jacob’s father Adam Gale said on Monday.
Jacob Gale (pictured in hospital) was with his family at Whiteman Park in Perth’s north-east on Sunday when a magpie swooped, landed on his face and punctured his eye with its beak
Doctors told the family Jacob’s left eye was so badly damaged in the attack, he could lose his sight in the eye permanently.
Mr Gale said he immediately knew the damage was serious.
‘I could see the discolouration in the white of his eye and other parts, and I knew it was a lot worse,’ Mr Gale told Seven News.
The one-year-old Perth boy had eye surgery on Sunday but doctors told the family it could be weeks before they found out if Jacob would regain his eyesight.
The one-year-old Perth boy had eye surgery on Sunday but doctors told the family it could be weeks before they found out if Jacob would regain his eyesight
‘I could see the discolouration in the white of his eye and other parts, and I knew it was a lot worse,’ Mr Gale (pictured) said on Monday
While there were magpie warning signs at the Perth park, Mr Gale called for more safety precautions.
He said there should be a clearance area in particularly dangerous areas.
Parks and Wildlife officers said the magpie at Whiteman Park, where Jacob was attacked, was particularly dangerous.
The officers told Seven News the magpie would be ‘destroyed’.
Parks and Wildlife officers said the magpie at Whiteman Park, where Jacob was attacked, was particularly dangerous (stock)
Parks and Wildlife officers said the magpie at Whiteman Park (pictured) would be destroyed