A 3-year-old brown pelican stumbles around the San Pedro Pier, injured and unable to feed itself for at least a day.
The wounds were parallel to the jaw, straight up the back of the neck and into the feathered skin, the bird rescue group reports.
A local sportfishing crew spotted the disoriented bird on March 10 and landed a fish on it. The pelican caught it in its beak, but the snack slipped out of its exposed and damaged pouch.
The hunter transported the bird two miles to International Bird Rescue, which is known for providing care and rehabilitation services.
The organization announced Thursday that the brown pelican, nicknamed “Blue,” is improving, “eating bravely” and gaining nearly two pounds.
Ross Curtis, the group's communications director, said: “We got the bird back quickly and it's fair to say Blue is on the road to recovery.” “The bird eats, and it has a bright future.”
Curtis said the pouch is a brown pelican's “vital organ” that allows the birds to catch and swallow fish.
Blue in the International Bird Rescue Cage. The organization believes the wounds were man-made.
(Ross Curtis/Bird Rescue International)
“If it was cut, it would be a death sentence,” Curtis said.
Curtis said the blue color required 400 immediate stitches, performed by the organization's chief veterinarian, Dr. Rebecca Dorr. Another 100 stitches were added after Blue rested for five to six days to stitch up the rest of the exposed mouth area, Curtis said.
“The back of Blue’s mouth required careful reconstruction but came together well,” Dwyer said.
Blue spent Friday morning and afternoon in International Bird Rescue's flight cage. The group posted a video on YouTube on Thursday showing the brown pelican trying to snatch a small fish from a blue box.
“We want to thank bird lovers in Southern California and beyond for their support of our efforts to save Blue,” CEO J.D. Bergeron said in a statement.
Dwyer and other staff at Bird Rescue International believe humans caused the bird's injury.
“We see many swans suffering trauma to their pouches from fishing gear and eating dangerous, sharp objects like fish skeletons, but the wounds don't look like that,” said Dwyer, director of veterinary research and science. “The wounds are reminiscent of a knife, machete, or other sharp instrument.”
The injuries reminded staff of an attack 10 years ago on a brown pelican in Long Beach named Pink. International Bird Rescue officials described this incident as “the worst deliberate bag-cutting we have ever seen.”
Pink required two surgeries and nearly two months of recovery in the same cage as Blue. Pink was released at the coastal White Point Park in San Pedro in June 2014. The blue color was named in honor of Pink.
The attack on Blue is the first attack believed to be by a human that International Bird Rescue has encountered this year, according to Curtis.
He said: “I do not know what would cause a person to attack a bird, just to search for food, with such cruelty.” “It's a sad statement about the world.”
The infestation has been reported to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for investigation.
Capt. Patrick Foy, a member of the department's law enforcement division, said he was aware of a population of birds with infected cysts over the past few years between Ventura and Dana Point. However, his squad was unable to determine the identity of those who were injured or injured.
“There's no doubt that these birds were horribly injured,” Foy said. “It has not yet been proven whether it was caused by a human.”
Foy said his department could not conclude that humans were responsible for the attacks until the animals were examined.
Until then, he added, “we have an ongoing investigation, but we have little to go on.”
Foy and International Bird Rescue have an information line at 888-334-2258 and are hoping members of the public will provide information.
