Patient of the Week: Black-crowned Night-Heron

With the fishing hook safely removed, the Black-crowned Night-Heron after recovery will be released back to the wild.

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 carefully remove the hook and stitch up the heron.

The patient is doing well and recuperating in one of our outdoor enclosures. We wish it a swift recovery!

X-ray shows fishing hook in Heron.
Black-crowned Night-Heron recuperating in the outdoor aviary.