Wisconsin group wants fish donations to save starting birds

CATO, Wis. - A Wisconsin wildlife rehabilitation organization is seeking donations to help feed a starved white pelican and other hungry birds.

Wildlife of Wisconsin has been caring for the pelican since it was found at a mobile home park in mid-October. The starving bird was suffering from a head injury and parasites. The pelican weighed 11 pounds when it was rescued and the birds are typically supposed to weigh about 16 pounds, according to Susan Theys, a rehabilitator for the Cato-based group.

She told HTR Media (http://htrne.ws/1Gk5pqM ) the bird initially refused to eat and had to be fed ground up fish through a tube at least three times a day. It ate an average of 10 pounds of fish daily.

The organization is hoping the public will donate fish to help it feed the pelican, as well as a blue heron, osprey and several gulls receiving care at the facility. It's looking for frozen or raw fish, whether it's dead or alive, Theys said.

She expects the pelican might be well enough to be released back into the wild in the next week or two. Theys hopes to release it in the Green Bay area to a flock of pelicans that hasn't migrated yet. If that's not possible, the bird could go a wildlife rescue organization in Florida, she said.

Pelicans are fairly rare in the Lakeshore area, according to Theys, who said she's only cared for three pelicans in the past several years.

"They were all within the last five years, and we've been doing this for 20 years," she said. "We don't have a whole lot of pelicans, but in the last few years they have started staying in Green Bay. They usually migrate through."

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Information from: HTR Media, http://www.htrnews.com