American White Pelican Overcomes Fracture And Parasites

The following story about an American white pelican was shared with us by International Bird Rescue in California.

This beautiful, young American white pelican was found by a concerned member of the public in early September when she saw it walking down a dirt road in Acton, California.

After arriving at International Bird Rescue’s Los Angeles Wildlife Center and receiving an intake exam, the team discovered the bird was significantly underweight and had a heavy load of parasites. After taking radiographs, we also discovered the bird had sustained a broken ulna.

In addition to IV fluids, the bird was stabilized with EmerAid IC Piscivore, which was essential to putting this bird on the road to recovery. It needed the extra nutritional support for an entire week before finally feeling well enough to eat on its own.

Once the fracture was stabilized, the bird started flying and exercising in our large pelican aviary.

After about two months in care it was strong enough to return to the wild and was released at a local wetland into a group of other American white pelicans.