A Kmart store in Sydney’s west was forced to close for around an hour on Friday morning after a rogue falcon became trapped in the store and swooped several customers.
The bird, identified as a peregrine falcon, had reportedly been stuck inside the Mt Druitt store since 4am and was finally released after a rescue operation involving the fire brigade and Sydney Wildlife volunteers.
One shopper told News Corp that staff started asking people to leave after the falcon – which was carrying a lorikeet in its talons – started swooping customers.
“He is bloody huge!” Elyshia Cronin said.
“We got told to get out because he was swooping people. It wasn’t exactly the Christmas shopping trip I expected.”
Peregrine falcons are the fastest bird in the world – which made catching it a difficult task.
Firefighters managed to trap it in a women’s bathroom, allowing Sydney Wildlife volunteer Lana Wedgewood to put it in a blanket and remove it from the store.
Westfield Mt Druitt confirmed through Facebook that the store had reopened after ‘the presence of wildlife’, generating hundreds of comments from curious customers.
“Can we get a price check on a falcon please?” one person joked.
Others questioned if the evacuation was necessary – but one witness said the falcon had “huge claws, a huge wing span” and was “flying really low”.
Yahoo7 has contacted Sydney Wildlife for comment.