Naval Oil Recovery Facility at Norfolk Naval
Base are pelican heroes! Supervisor Billy Bradley, Kermit Tapia, Tim Pragg, and Bill Taylor were nice enough to
orchestrate our pelican rescue boat outing. This team noticed that one of
the resident pelicans had a drooping wing. After a time, the droop seemed
to go away, but the pelican still could not fly.
They called us and offered to
take us out there if we would help with the rescue. Of course, we never
back away from a challenge or a free boat ride! They took us out to the end
of the Sewells Point Jetty, and we soon saw the only pelican that didn't fly
off at our approach. Not understanding we were there to help him, he
tried to swim away. Thanks to some very impressive boat maneuvering,
we were able to get close enough to catch him. I kept him from going off to the
right and in front of the boat, but would have lost him if Kermit
Tapia didn't jump to the rescue, assisted by Noah Myers (one of the VBSPCA volunteers), to help
scoop the hefty bird up and pull him aboard.
This team of men are constantly busy
keeping our ocean clean and free of pollutants. The day of the rescue,
they had been working all morning in the hot sun cleaning an oil spill, but
amazingly they took the time to help this very sad and injured pelican. We
named him Kermit after his main rescuer/hero. Kermit, the man, is the kind of guy who, his teammates say, "Starts yelling if someone steps on a ant"
(our kind of person!)! Kermit, the pelican, is
currently in Sacred Friends Wildlife Rehabilitation with awesome rehabber,
Pearl Beamer. His wing was severed at the joint, so sadly, he will
not be releasable. We are hoping to find him a new home in one of
the animal programs around the area. Please keep him in your thoughts.
And please thank the guys at the Norfolk Oil Recovery Facility for being
animal heroes!
Check our news page for an update on Kermit, the pelican, and his new home.
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