This last weekend Badger Run received a call from a good samaritan who witnessed a White Pelican literally drop from the sky after a juvenile injured it with a slingshot. Badger Run volunteers spent about 4 hours wading thru murky water filled with reeds & sinkholes to rescue this bird. The bird is in good health, but sustained a broken wing. The pellet the kid used to shoot the poor bird is lodged in the bone & cannot be removed, but provided the bird will eat in captivity, we’re hoping for a full recovery. Here are some pictures of our volunteers anesthetizing the bird, the X-ray, & applying the splint.
Parents, please educate your children in what NOT to do with slingshots, pellet guns, & firearms they may be given at a young age. This young man & his family now face fines & even possible jail time. Harming a migratory bird is a violation of the 1918 federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
