AWRE received this baby Great Horned Owl from the Long Beach Animal Control.  It had fallen from its' nest and had a seriously fractured leg and wing. The injuries were serious enough that we knew that this adorable bundle of fuzz would never be able to survive on its' own. We knew we could treat this owl and save its' life but he would never be able to fend for himself if released. We started our search for a licensed facility that met our standards and would give the owl we now called, "Hooter", a proper home. After weeks of searching, the Los Angeles Zoo stated they would love to have Hooter for their education program. Once he was healed and healthy, Hooter was taken to the LA Zoo to become a member of their teaching staff. Another happy ending for one of our patients.

The oil covered Pelican

Early the other morning, actually it was about 4AM,  we were awaken with a phone call from a concerned individual that had seen an oiled Pelican while out on their morning constitutional. We quickly got dressed, grabbed our rescue bag and were out the door on another adventure. We drove to the cliffs by Palo Verde Estates where we were very fortunate to find the caller waiting for our arrival (this simple task makes it so much easier for the rescuers to locate the injured animal). As with all emergency medical situations, "Time is of the Essence". The caller took us to the location of the injured Brown Pelican, and we made the capture and were on our way to the Long Beach Animal Hospital.

The Pelican had been exposed to some refined motor oil someone had illegally dumped after changing the oil in their car. . We gave the Pelican a charcoal suspension to flush out any of the toxins it might have ingested, drew some blood for a PCV test and started subcutaneous fluids.

As soon as the Pelican was stabilized and had the proper blood values, we started the washing procedure. Having plenty of experience washing oiled animals, the Pelican came through with flying colors and is now back in its' natural habitat, free to be a Brown Pelican.

The moral of this story: Please don't illegally dump motor oil.   As this story attests, our actions affect the wildlife in our communities in ways we may not realize.

Long Beach City Hall's Peregrine Falcon

Long Beach Animal Control brought us this Peregrine Falcon which had a radial and carpal area fracture(the wrist on a human). This Falcon had a federal Fish and Wildlife Service leg band making it easy and interesting to find out this bird's history. It turned out that this highly endangered Peregrine Falcon had been captive born and released in Westwood, CA in 1982. It had also found a mate and had been the male part of a breeding pair that has been nesting on the Long Beach City Hall Building. It has been breeding for the last 6 years on top of this public building.

To treat the falcon, we stabilized the fracture and started a series of antibiotics and then contacted our local Fish and Game office. This was one of their project birds and as soon as the falcon's fracture healed it was taken to their facilities for breeding purposes