Starving pelicans arrived into care with fractured bones and severe injuries received immediate treatment, but birds with non-life-threatening minor and moderate wounds had to wait their turn. Dr Rebecca Duerr explains how they were treated.
In wildlife rehabilitation, we often run up against the reality of ‘nature, red in tooth and claw’ in our work. We totally get that many wild animals survive by eating other wild animals, and predators need to eat just as much as the animals they prey upon. However, sometimes the prey animal fights its way … Read more
VIDEO UPDATE: After a month in care this Brown Pelican was released back to the wild! Remember Pink the Pelican back several years ago and its horrible pouch laceration? Another Brown Pelican patient has suffered an even worse sliced pouch. On August 30, 2020, a mature adult female Brown Pelican was found near the Ventura … Read more
After 143 days in care this resilient American White Pelican is back in the wild. This huge bird came into care in September 2019 and it was finally released last week. He was originally found in Santa Rosa, CA with a smelly, infected, open fracture of the wingtip. It was treated at our San Francisco … Read more
A Clark’s Grebe that was found oiled in Goleta and transferred down to our Los Angeles Wildlife Center for care presented an interesting challenge for treatment. Although he was only lightly oiled, due to being stranded, cold, starving, and burned by the oil, he had dead skin on both of his hocks that had adhered … Read more
Our veterinarian, Dr. Rebecca Duerr, had to think creatively when a female Bufflehead came into care with multiple fractures of the bill. Buffleheads are North America’s smallest diving duck and this one weighed in at only 260g on arrival, making this patient’s injuries particularly difficult to treat. The bones in her mandibles were very small, … Read more
One fishing hook can make dinner miserable for any bird. This month our veterinarian Dr. Rebecca Duerr performed surgery on a beautiful Black-crowned Night-Heron at our Los Angeles Wildlife Center. The heron had ingested a hook which became lodged in its stomach tissue. During surgery Dr. Duerr created a small incision and was able to … Read more
On January 27, we received a female adult Brown Pelican with a very large pouch laceration affecting the entire right side of her pouch. She was captured by two awesome local fishermen who have rescued injured birds to bring to us before—they noticed the large hole in her pouch and realized she needed help. Pelicans … Read more