Sickened brown pelicans overwhelming Orange County animal care center

By Dean Fioresi

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Wildlife officials are seeking help covering the massive amount of resources necessary to care for more than 600 patients being cared for in Orange County, including more than 50 recently sickened brown pelicans.

“Our seabirds are in dire need of help! Domoic acid toxicity is a very serious problem that’s leaving our birds in terrible shape,” said an Instagram post from the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.

Officials say that many of the birds are unable to eat on their own, which they attribute to a domoic acid outbreak currently impacted much of the marine life off the Southern California coast.

Over the last few months there have been an increased amount of incidents related to sick sea lions and other creatures, including two whales that were recently found washed ashore within a week’s time, though wildlife officials have not yet revealed if their deaths were related to the outbreak.

“Feeling the effects of a very, very large number of intakes, very severe clinical signs and unfortunately a rather low survival rate. Even with treatment,” said WWCC Dr. Elizabeth Wood. “It does seem worse than the previous episodes that we’ve treated.”

Last year, at around the same time, dozens of sick and starved brown pelicans similarly began to overwhelm wildlife officials.

As they continue to try and care for all of the creatures that need their help, WWCC is asking for donations that include towels, flat sheets, toilet paper and some various cleaning and medical care supplies. A full list of items they’re seeking can be found on their website.

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