Melville Fire Dept. conducts water rescue to save injured pelican
An injured pelican is recovering in Regina after it was rescued by the Melville Fire Department.
Resident Tracy Kerestesh was out walking her dogs when she spotted something walking on the frozen reservoir. A pelican was limping along the frozen body of water looking for food.
“Pelicans have flown south at least two weeks ago there is no open water, there is no food,” Kerestesh said.
Kerestesh called a friend, Norm Konechny, the deputy fire chief in the area.
“I said I would go home and get a crate by the time I went home and got the crate and came back out here he already had rescue out here, (and) the men were gearing up to go on the ice,” she said.
Konechny has been a part of the Melville Fire Department for more than 50 years and has never had the experience of saving a pelican.
“This is a new one,” Konechny said. “We have rescued a parakeet and canaries out of trees, cats, and a human out of a tree who got trapped. All these other things so this was a new one.”
Konechny knew the fire department had the resources available to do an ice rescue so he called his crew who stepped up to the task. Safety protocol for water rescues was followed.
The bird was then immediately transferred to the Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Regina where he is resting.
Megan Lawrence is the director of rehabilitation at the centre and has been monitoring the pelican.
“He comes out of his enclosure and he’s on strict cage rest right now but he comes out a couple times a day to stretch his wings and feed him,” Lawrence said. “He interacts with the other pelican we have in care and they get along quite well.”
In the next 10 to14 days Lawrence hopes the bird will be healthy enough to transport to a facility in Manitoba where it will spend its winter rehabbing in a pool before being released back into the wild in the spring.
“I think everyone felt good to help something that was in trouble,” Kerestesh said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.