Today, after 20 days of treatment and recovery, a female curly pelican, aged 4-5 years, who was found on the Ulcinj Salt Lake, in extremely bad condition with paralysis of the legs, was released, the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds reported.
As they said, with a detailed recording, frontal and lateral, suspicions are justified that the bird was wounded, as a result of which one of the three whales ended up right next to the heart, and not in the spine as we assumed due to paralysis.
"For 20 days, CZIP ornithologists took care of the bird, which was named Mišo, after the ranger from the salt pan, who made the greatest contribution to the fight against poaching in the area. And yet, to everyone's surprise, by measuring its weight it was established that it was a sexually mature female, and we hope to record her offspring through video monitoring in the Pančeva oka reserve, Lake Skadar, where she was released," the statement said.
They said that Misha was marked with a harmless blue color for easier identification, more precisely with a disinfectant, which will be washed off over time, but which will give us the opportunity to recognize her and, in case of need, provide help again. Although the most adequate use of satellite transmitters is used for tracking birds, such a tracking methodology is not recommended for this species.
"Misha's fate has been discussed on all meridians in recent days, above all with veterinarians and pelican experts who did not recommend surgery and the removal of the balls due to their position. After a toxicological analysis was performed, it was confirmed that there are no traces of lead in Misha's blood, and it is possible that the whales are located in places that, luckily for her, are not filled with blood and can ensure a long and healthy life," the statement says.
They added that Misha's story should serve as a warning to us that poaching is more pronounced than we could even assume, and that it does not shy away from shooting even the most charismatic species of birds, for whose recovery many years of effort have been invested.
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