Injured Pied Cormorant
Last week we have had to catch a pied cormorant that was caught up in fishing lines and hooks. He had one hook stuck in his neck and another in his leg and the line wrapped all around his wing. Unfortunately we see these sorts of injuries very often, animals like dolphins but especially sea birds are getting caught and entangled in fishing lines all the time. Please fish responsibly and always keep an eye out for wildlife around you. If animals come too close while you’re out there fishing, just pull in your lines and wait for them to leave so they don’t get seriously injured or even killed that way.
We were able to remove the hooks and line off this cormorant last week and let him go. Normally they recover quite well but this one just started looking more and more lethargic and sick after a few days so we think he might have swallowed some more hooks or his injuries may have become infected. We were able to catch him again today. He is quite weak and doesn’t seem to have an appetite for food either so we just gave him some electrolytes. We’ll be sending him over to the vet on the mainland soon. Hopefully they will be able to make him feel better again.
Eco Ranger Ina