Fatal ingestion

Cormorant swallows fishing hook

By Joanna Fitzgerald | Director of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital

A double-crested cormorant was among the 51 animals admitted to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida last week. Other admissions include a sora, a black scoter, a great egret and four eastern cottontail rabbits.

The double-crested cormorant was found at the Naples Pier. The cormorant had ingested a fishing hook; the monofilament line was still attached and trailing from its mouth. Friction from the line being pulled taut against the soft tissue on both sides of the mouth (commissures) caused lacerations; the cormorant had a laceration along its left wing as well.

When admitted, hospital staff provided electrolytes, pain medication and a sedative since the cormorant was highly agitated and stressed. After allowing the bird time to rest in an animal intensive care unit, a radiograph was taken to determine the location of the hook. An antibiotic and anti-fungal medication were administered while surgery was scheduled for the following day.

Our staff veterinarian, Dr. PJ Deitschel, prepped the cormorant for surgery to remove the hook. Surgery proved what we suspected — the hook had penetrated through the esophagus at the level of the heart and had caused internal damage. The location and the damage caused by the hook proved fatal for the cormorant.

Please take precautions to avoid injuring nearby birds when casting your line while fishing. Check to ensure no birds are flying by when you cast and never leave baited hooks and line unattended. Most likely you are fishing for enjoyment; the birds are searching for food which they need to stay alive. This need for food, especially if a bird is already struggling to survive, can make them overly eager to snatch at baited hooks.

If you accidentally hook a bird, stay calm and don’t cut the line. Quickly reel the bird in and cover its head and body with a towel to help keep it calm. Carefully push the hook through to expose the barb. Cut the barb and gently back the hook out. If the hook is deeply embedded in the bird, or the bird has ingested the hook as was the case with the cormorant, please call the wildlife hospital for assistance.

What to do if you accidentally hook a bird

Recent Releases — 26 Go Home

• 8 eastern cottontails
• 2 raccoons
• 8 grey squirrels
• 3 royal terns
• 1 red-shouldered hawk
• 1 double crested cormorant
• 1 white ibis
• 1 southern flying squirrel
• 1 white-winged dove

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