To die for: Sulpher-crested cockatooA NEIGHBOURLY act of kindness ended in tragedy with a man falling 12m to his death while trying to rescue a pet cockatoo from a tree.
Maurice Macklan, 58, fell from a tree near Bendigo after the cockatoo's elderly owner had also fallen, suffering suspected spinal injuries, police said.
Mr Macklan died at 10.30pm on Monday in a vacant block at a new housing estate on the outskirts of Bendigo.
The cockatoo's 72-year-old owner Raymond Monks had earlier slipped and fallen as he tried to rescue his pet bird, which was perched in the 20m-tall tree after escaping from its cage.
He was taken to Bendigo Hospital in a satisfactory condition with suspected spinal injuries.
Mr Monk's neighbour then stepped in, scaling a ladder to get on to a tree limb about 12m above the ground.
He also lost his grip and fell, as his wife Janis watched helplessly. Police said the man was killed instantly.
Sergeant Peter Gilmore said an attempted good deed had gone tragically wrong.
"Mr Macklan felt sympathy for (the bird's owner) and tried to climb up the ladder to fetch his cockatoo," Sgt Gilmore said.
"His wife was watching. This was just an unfortunate accident that wasn't foreseen. Especially climbing up late at night, they need to be very careful."
Police said a report into the death was being prepared for the Victorian Coroner.
By mid-afternoon yesterday, the cockatoo was still missing.
A recent study by Monash University Accident Research Centre found that middle-aged and older home handymen and gardeners were the main victims of ladder falls.
Monash University Accident Research Centre said falls from ladders accounted for about six deaths a year in Victoria, and injuries to another 2500 people annually.
Most of the deaths happened in the home and involved men in their 60s, 70s and 80s.
Almost all those who died had suffered head injuries.