A brown pelican that had been in the repeated care of the BC SPCA in Victoria has died days after it was brought in with another injury.
An SPCA spokeswoman says caregivers found the female bird dead Friday.
Society chief scientific officer Sara Dubois says the pelican was rescued Monday near Victoria when it was spotted in distress from injuries that may have been caused by a dog attack.
The SPCA’s website says the pelican was transferred from Vancouver on May 1 because it was skinny and in poor health and was released off Victoria in August after other brown pelicans were seen in the area.
Vancouver Island is at the northern-most point of the breeding range for brown pelicans, which are identified by their very long bill, elastic throat pouch and a two-metre wing span.
The pelicans are common in California and Mexico and were on the brink of disappearing from North America after 1950 due to the use of chemicals like DDT.
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The Canadian Press
