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Longstreet Highroad Guide to the Florida Keys & Everglades By Rick Ferren

Florida Keys & Everglades > Sidebars > Rescuing Hooked Brown Pelicans

Rescuing Hooked Brown Pelicans

Every year scores of brown pelicans are accidentally hooked by fishermen who fail to remove the hook and line from the injured bird. When the bird flies away, the line is frequently entangled in trees and bushes, ensnaring the bird in a trap from which it can't escape. It eventually dies of starvation. The Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center offers these guidelines to rescue hooked pelicans.

• First, reel in the pelican hooked on your line. Be careful not to break the line. Although the bird will be struggling and flapping its wings, it weighs only about 6 pounds and can be handled if done properly.
• Next, grab part or all of the bird's bill. Close it and hold it securely in one hand. The inside edges of the bill, and the tip, are sharp, but unless you rub your hand up and down the edge, a pelican's bite shouldn't hurt you.
• Next, fold the wings into their normal closed position and hold them there. This quiets the bird and it should stop struggling enough to be transported to the nearest wildlife rehabilitation center.
• Transport the injured or hooked bird to the nearest rehabilitation center, either the Wild Bird Center in Tavernier, or one of these other locations: Marathon Wild Bird Rescue, MM 47, Marathon. Phone (305) 743-8382. Wildlife Rescue of the Florida Keys, Key West. Phone (305) 294-1441. If you're not near a bird rescue center, contact a local veterinary clinic.

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Published (print): 1999, Published (Web): January 2003, ISBN: 1-56352-543-7

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