State wildlife center rescues injured pelican in Santa Fe

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A large bird found himself in some trouble after crashing down in Santa Fe, injured and unable to fly. On Monday, Tony Carlson, one of the full-time rehabilitators at the New Mexico Wildlife Center (NMWC) received an unlikely call.

“Well, my first reaction when, you know, one of our administrative people came back and told me about the call was like, ‘It’s not going to be actually a pelican,’” shared Carlson. To their surprise, it was in fact a pelican!

The call came from the Santa Fe police department and animal services officers. They were able to rescue this large bird, who found itself stuck in Santa Fe.

“He mistook the street or a parking lot for some water and, you know, just kind of dazed him, gave him a little shock so he wasn’t really up for flying anymore after that,” emphasized Liz Kendall of the NM Wildlife Center.

When found, the pelican had hypothermia and was severely dehydrated. Police were able to transport him to NMWC, to set him up in a warm, quiet spot in their hospital building, after sustaining injuries to his wings.

Before they can get him back out in the wild, the center is providing him with a little TLC, “So we’re just continuing to get him re-hydrated and a little bit more meat on his bones so that when we get him back out there, he’s a bit better for being in the wild,” shared Carlson.

The pelican is now in stable condition, and they hope to transport him down south to the pelican pods in Carlsbad next week, so he can join the others as they prepare to migrate and mate for the season.

The Wildlife Center told News 13 that if you ever come across an animal in danger, contact local animal control, and avoid giving them water or food, which could potentially put their lives at risk.