More than 30 Brown Pelicans have been found mutilated in California — and officials want to know who’s behind the cold-blooded attacks.
The 32 wounded water birds have turned up recently between San Clemente and Huntington Beach, all but ten of them had suffered compound fractures, Orange County wildlife officials said in a statement this week.
“Someone is intentionally breaking Brown Pelican’s wings,” the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center said on Facebook. “We need your help to find whomever is performing this atrocious act. Be OUR eyes and ears.”
“These are very serious injuries that require emergency surgeries and long-term care,” veterinarian Elizabeth Wood said in the statement. “HELP SAVE THE PELICANS!”
At a press conference Wednesday, Wood said one pelican “went straight into emergency surgery to flush out all of the debris in the open wound,” CNN reported.
“So, bone was protruding through the skin, and the wing was actually twisted all the way around,” she said.
Patrick Foy, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said officials are offering a $500 reward for information on the sadistic creep behind the attacks.
But, so far, there are no leads.
“No suspects, no motive and no evidence other than the injured pelicans,” Foy told CNN.
Brown Pelicans are not endangered today, but were in the 1970s and 1980s, the network reported. They are still protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.