U.S. to Probe Slashing Attacks on Pelicans; Reward Hits $6,000

As several endangered brown pelicans recovered Monday from slashing injuries to their pouches, federal authorities said they would launch an investigation into the attacks, and a reward leading to the capture of those responsible grew to $6,000.

The U.S. Humane Society said Monday that it would add $2,500 to the reward fund. The announcement came shortly after the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, a rescue organization based in Huntington Beach, offered a $3,500 reward for information.

“The assumption here is that this is a case of animal cruelty,” said Paul Bruce, a program coordinator with the Humane Society’s West Coast regional office.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday that investigators would be assigned to the case in the next few days to try learn more about the incidents. Birds with torn pouches have been found between Dana Point and Huntington Beach, most with long cuts parallel to their bills.

“We don’t have an open case yet, but we’re looking into it,” said Marie Palladini, a supervisory special agent.

Since late March, five pelicans have been found with their pouches slashed, with the most recent case reported about a week ago. One of the birds died, one recovered and has been released, and the other three are being treated at two wildlife rescue centers.

The dead bird’s pouch was ripped from top to bottom, and its bill was sliced. That bird died several days after being found. Surviving birds appear to be recovering well.

Debbie McGuire of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, which rescued two of the birds and is caring for one, said pelicans often got caught in fishermen’s lines. The birds “dive down to get the bait,” she said.

“This could have been a fisherman trying to get his hook back.”

The latest injured pelican, a female, underwent three hours of surgery Thursday to reattach the pouch. Recovery, McGuire said, would take two to three months.

Pelicans are unable to eat without their pouches and can starve in about a week, she said. “By the time they get to me, a lot of them are malnourished,” she said.

Pacific Wildlife Project Director Linda McLeod, who is caring for two of the birds, said surgery to reattach the beaks was simple but time-consuming.

“A pelican pouch is really nothing more than a huge mouth,” she said. “The outside of the pouch is skin, and the inside ... is mouth tissue. You have to reattach both sides to get the job done.”

McLeod, whose organization is one of four wildlife rescue groups in Orange County, said rehabilitation cost about $300 per bird.

“The money goes mostly to buying fish,” she said.

California brown pelicans are an endangered species, which makes harming them a violation of the federal Endangered Species Act.

About 5,000 pelicans of breeding age live in the state.

This is not the first time California brown pelicans have been mutilated in the region. In late 2002 and early 2003, about 20 dead and injured pelicans were found in Los Angeles Harbor, and sporadic cases are seen in Orange County every year. And in 1982, about two dozen pelicans were found off Dana Point with their upper beaks severed. Many of the birds died; the survivors were sent to a bird park in Germany.

Anyone with information on the attacks is asked to call (888) DFG-CALTIP.