Landing with a stork on the grounds of his castle in northern Germany.

In May of 1822, Count Christian Ludwig von Bothmer shot down a stork over his castle grounds in North Germany. However, he wasn’t the first person to hunt that specific bird. Upon recovering the stork, von Bothmer found it impaled by a yard long wooden spear. A local professor determined the weapon was African in origin, suggesting that somehow, this stork was speared in Africa and then flew over 2,500 kilometers to the count’s castle.