Dozens of emaciated brown pelicans, too weak to fly, were found on Southern California beaches last month and were taken to an Orange County rescue center, according to the center’s director.
“We got dozens of calls,” said Debbie McGuire, the company’s executive director. Wetland and Wildlife Care Center said Saturday in Huntington Beach. “People are finding them in parking lots and backyards.”
The rescued pelicans, she said, “weighed only half their body weight. They were also very anemic.
So far, she said, it’s unclear why pelicans that feed on anchovies, sardines and mackerel become malnourished.
McGuire said she contacted scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last week and they told her there was “a lot of bait” out there for the birds to eat.
“We don’t know why,” she said. “They’re starving to death.”
She said the wildlife center has erected pup tents as enclosures because of the number of sick birds.
Last month, the center adopted 89 brown pelicans, many of which died quickly, McGuire said. The center warmed them under heat lamps and gave them fluids, and more than 30 people have survived, she said.
The center sends tissue samples from the birds to a lab for testing, she said.
A similar spikes In the spring of 2022, a brown pelican stranded on the California coast, the cause of which has not been found.
Decades ago, the spread of the chemical DDT caused the eggshells of California brown pelicans to thin, and the California brown pelican was listed as an endangered species. The eggs become so fragile that the nesting mother crushes them.
After DDT was banned, the number of pelicans increased. In 2009, these birds were removed from the endangered species list.
Wildlife officials say anyone who finds sick pelicans should not touch or try to feed them. They urge people to call their local wildlife rehabilitation agency. You can contact the Orange County Center at (714) 374-5587.
