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Florida Wildlife Hospital investigating spike in suspicious pelican deaths: 'Hurts our heart'

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Updated  January 6, 2025 8:52pm EST
Brevard County
FOX 35 Orlando

Suspicious spike in pelican deaths

Wildlife hospitals across the Southeast are seeing a surge in pelicans with broken wings. Experts are worried humans could be to blame, and The Florida Wildlife Hospital in Melbourne is taking the lead to try and find out what’s happening.

The Brief

    • Wildlife hospitals in the Southeast, including the Florida Wildlife Hospital, are investigating a surge in pelicans with similar injuries, primarily broken wings, suspected to be caused by humans.
    • Experts, like senior scientist Megan Stolen, are conducting necropsies and gathering evidence to identify the cause, with suspicions pointing to offshore activities as the source of the injuries.
    • The public is encouraged to report sightings of injured or dead pelicans to aid the investigation and help protect the species from potential long-term harm.

MELBOURNE, Fla. - Wildlife hospitals across the Southeast are seeing a surge in pelicans with broken wings. 

Experts are worried humans could be to blame, and The Florida Wildlife Hospital in Melbourne is taking the lead to try and find out what’s happening.

In just the first six days of 2025, eight injured pelicans were left at drop boxes at the wildlife hospital on U.S. 1. Now an investigation is underway to figure out what or who could be hurting them.

"What’s not normal is to have this many pelicans with very similar injuries. In this case, it’s one wing that’s broken," said Megan Stolen, who’s a senior scientist at the Blue World Research Institute.

Stolen is trying to get to the bottom of the suspicious bird deaths. On Monday, she was doing necropsies on the dead pelicans to see how healthy they were when they died.

"It really hurts our heart to know that somebody might be injuring them," said the scientist. 

Around the same time last year, the Florida Wildlife Hospital had another surge in injured pelicans. 

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They had 31 come in all at once and could only save three because the injuries were so bad.

"How can we track down who’s doing it and get it stopped?" said April Geer, who’s a vet with the wildlife hospital. 

Geer says there have been similar reports this year from other wildlife hospitals all the way up to North Carolina and in California.

"The more animals we can examine, the more proof we can have," said Geer. 

Right now, experts think the injuries are happening at sea.

"The suspicion at this point is this happens offshore," said Geer.

On shore, researchers are trying to find out who or what is hurting the bird as fast as possible before the species takes a hit. 

"The long-term repercussions on the population — we don’t know what that is," concluded Stolen. 

Everyone can play a part in this investigation. If you see a sick or dead pelican anywhere on the beach, give the Florida Wildlife Hospital or FWC a call. 

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by The Florida Wildlife Hospital, the Blue World Research Institute, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Brevard CountyWild Nature