AUSTRALIAN SEABIRD RESCUE South
Coast team member, Lisa, was asked to look out for a pelican (about an hour
south of Wollongong) which had a lot of fishing line around his legs and was
having trouble walking.
Whilst looking for this bird
she spotted a female pelican with holes on both sides of her pouch and a nasty
wound to her head.
Having already met Lisa half
way to collect a big male with a swollen leg that she and ASR Clare had caught
and were bringing back to Wollongong, we decided if she caught the female with
the holes we would ask our good mate Judy at Pyree who is with Wildlife Rescue
South Coast to babysit her overnight.
Well, Lisa, caught the bird
and Judy ‘baby sat’ her and kindly transported her half way to Wollongong for
team member, Julie, to go down and collect her next morning.
Great team work all round
and thank you everyone.
The bird has now had an
operation to repair the damage, but, WHY!
The injuries were confirmed by the vet to be a BULLET! What sort of satisfaction could this lowest
form of humanity get out of shooting a harmless, defenceless creature. She will recover but
it should never have happened and one shudders at the cruelty of this warped
mind for cheap thrills.
Pelican with bullet holes in pouch |
By the way, Lisa, went back
and caught the original bird – fixed him up and released him. Well done, Lisa, three birds in one morning.
Thank you again, Judy
(Wildlife Rescue) for housing the bird overnight and to Julie (ASR and Wildlife
Rescue) for collecting her. She is now
in care for 10 days with stitches that need to heal.
Once again, if anyone sees
or hears of cruelty against our wildlife both aquatic and terrestrial, please
contact the Police and Australian Seabird Rescue or Wildlife Rescue who will
rescue the animal – even if you think it is a false alarm.
We would rather go to ten
false alarms than one dead creature.
Betty