The health of a juvenile white raven currently under the care of the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre continues to improve.
“The raven is progressing quite well,” said animal care technician Derek Downes. “It has finished his second course of antibiotics and responded fantastic to them. All the infections have cleared up at this time.”
The rare white bird was turned in to the centre in late May and was in rough shape. Due to their compromised immune systems, white ravens typically don’t do very well and survival chances have been slim.
“It is still getting an aggressive vitamin supplementation course to help continue to build up and attempt to strengthen its immune system,” said Downes. “It’s a slow process with this raven as extended stress can really be detrimental to his immune system and the progress we have made to this point.”
The raven, which initially was not feeding on its own and was force-fed using a tube, has improved its appetite.
“Its eating great on its own on a variety of food now and the body condition is really great now,” said Downes.
READ MORE: Expert says 2 sets of parents producing rare white raves in mid-Island area
