Brown Pelican Crisis Worsens, Bird Rescue Calls For Donations

SAN PEDRO, CA — A Southland wildlife center is making an urgent plea for donations Wednesday after the number of sick and hungry brown pelicans at the facility surpassed 200.

Since May 12, Los Angeles Wildlife Center — run by the nonprofit group Bird Rescue — has been inundated with the majestic birds. The center received its first 55 patients within four days earlier in May, a number that seemed very high at the time.

The cold and starving animals arrive sick and many have injuries associated with increasingly risky efforts to find food. Bird Rescue experts have not figured out the specific issue with the food supply, but they say the birds are failing to find enough to eat and taking extra risks when foraging.

"This pelican crisis reminds us that birds in a changing world face new and challenging environmental obstacles. In this case, Bird Rescue is seeing symptoms of starvation which point to a food issue of some sort. Whatever the cause, the birds are failing to find enough to eat and taking extra risks when foraging for food. That, combined with a new crop of young pelicans having to learn to feed themselves, may explain the current influx," Bird Rescue wrote in a news release.

Bird Rescue solicited the public's help raising funds for food and medical supplies.

Brown pelicans are expensive birds to care for — food, medicine and staffing costs the center $45 a day for each bird, according to a news release from International Bird Rescue. Bird Rescue is spending $2,000 on fish alone each day.

Readers can donate online.

Bird Rescue asks locals to call their local animal control agency if they see a pelican that appears weak, listless or out of place. If you don't know how to find your local animal control or a nearby lifeguard, call the International Bird Rescue at 310-514-2573.

Readers can also watch the sick birds heal using Bird Rescue's live camera.

City News Service contributed to this report.