Brown Pelican Found In Bad Shape

The following story about a brown pelican was shared with us by Florida Keys Wild Bird Center in Florida.

This brown pelican was admitted to the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center on March 21, 2023. She was found in Islamorada in bad shape. Her feathers were damaged and ectoparasites were present. She was also hypothermic and was severely emaciated. Her intake weight was 1.7 kilograms (about 3.7 pounds).

We warmed her up and started her on EmerAid IC Piscivore food, starting at 3 percent of her body weight and working our way up to 5 percent.

Two days later she stabilized, and we started her on fish smoothies and eventually got to whole fish.

We moved her to a large flight cage to work on her conditioning. After a month she was able to be released.