Pelican Released After Fishing-Related Pouch Injury
A brown pelican was admitted to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital on September 20th with a large hole in his pouch, caused by a fishing hook. These birds dive into the water to catch fish, and since most of the fish were able to escape through this hole, he was quite thin when he was admitted.⠀
After just one week, the hole had already begun to close up. With good nutritious food, supportive care, and most importantly — plenty of time — this pelican’s pouch continued to heal.
To continue his rehabilitation, the pelican was moved to the outdoor shorebird recovery pool — a resource for animals to continue healing in an outside space before being released. The wildlife hospital monitored the pouch injury regularly, and the bird is showed great progress as the wound healed further.
Many people were asking if this pelican’s pouch required suturing to close, and the answer is no! It is very rare that a pouch tear will be large enough to require suturing; the wildlife hospital team will assess each injury individually to determine the best course of action. If a pelican with a pouch tear can still eat fish, they will avoid using sutures as it requires sedating the animal and managing a suture line. It doesn’t take as long as you might think for a tear to heal — it just requires good, supportive care!
After four weeks of care and recovery at the wildlife hospital, the pelican was released. To help support our staff as they care for patients like this pelican, donate today! You can make a donation or find our Amazon Wishlist on our website.
To learn more about to protect pelicans and other wildlife when fishing, visit our website. We encourage you to share this information with your visitors and friends before they head out on the water.
