Saving Wildlife - Alice

Somehow, fishing-line had wound-around Alice the Ring-billed Gull’s wing feathers, and left Alice hanging 20 feet up in a tree in a suburban backyard! Alice hung there all night. The next morning, the property owners called the WHS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center to see if we could help. We dispatched one of our staff in our specially-equipped Rescue vehicle to help Alice. We used aluminum extension poles and a saw-blade to cut the fishing-line and free Alice from the tree. On the ground, we removed the remainder of the line and then transported Alice to our wildlife hospital. Alice was given medication for pain and inflammation and was treated for stress and dehydration. Her wing was stabilized to give her shoulder a chance to rest and recover.

In a week we removed Alice’s wing splint and let her have some limited exercise and bathing time in the indoor bird swim-tub in our Animal Aerobics exercise room. In another week Alice had recovered nicely and was flying all around our indoor facilities. Alice was released a few days later and soared off toward the horizon!