A Brown Pelican suffering from a severe pouch injury – suspected to be caused by human actions – was admitted to International Bird Rescue on Saturday, December 13, 2025, in Marina Del Rey.
The adult female pelican has since undergone an intensive, three-hour surgery involving hundreds of stitches to repair a deep tear in her pouch that extended to the back of her neck, penetrating into the feathered skin behind her pouch on both sides. There were also two small horizontal cuts into the back of her throat. She is now resting comfortably and is expected to fully recover after about a month in care.
According to Dr. Rebecca Duerr, Senior Director of Research and Veterinary Science, the wounds appeared to be three to four days old, leaving the bird emaciated and unable to feed.
“If the bird is promptly rescued, these wounds are potentially fixable, but the pain and suffering the bird experiences is horrendous,” Dr. Duerr said. “The characteristics of the wound make it appear to me that it was maliciously-caused. Fishing gear injuries and ingestion of inappropriate foods do not cause injuries like this – we see those injuries on a daily basis and this is different.”…