Mar 19, 2014

WES' Junior Rescuers Help Capture Injured Gull

This morning, WES received a report of a gull with line wrapped around its leg. It was seen at the end of the Santa Cruz municipal pier near the restaurants.

Lead responders Duane Titus and Rebecca Dmytryk invited Junior Rescuers, Gabe, Nate and Ben, to join them.

When the team arrived, the gull was spotted quickly. It had line wrapped around its right leg and was limping - obviously in pain.

The team decided to increase their chances of success by using a drop trap instead of a hoop net to capture the bird. 

Duane and Rebecca guided the brothers in proper rescue etiquette as they helped set up the trap and assigned them positions. Gabe (8) would be the one to pull the line and drop the trap. His brothers, Ben and Nate would work together to remove the bird from the trap and place it into a carrier.

With the trap set and Fritos crumbles scattered underneath, Dmytryk encouraged the shy bird closer by tossing a few tempting chips. Eventually, the shy bird went underneath the trap just enough. On cue, Gabe pulled the string entrapped the bird. 

Check out the video:




Ben (12) and Nate (10) assisted in removing the gull from the trap and into an awaiting carrier. The young gull was transported to a local wildlife hospital for care.


Thank you Junior Rescuers 
for helping save the gull!!!


If you'd like to support our Junior Rescuers with a donation that will be used to purchase needed supplies, equipment and expenses directly related to program, please click the special Donate button below. Thank you.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you all so much for saving this gull!!
We were so excited and grateful to hear the good news.
We called you from the pier after we saw the gull entangled in fishing wire and were so worried that she would die or, at the least, lose her leg. You answered our phone message quickly, and because you sounded concerned, we did not worry that you would try to help her! We only worried about her of course, and worried that she'd leave the pier and you wouldn't find her!
We were thrilled that you had such good helpers, and we want to thank Gabe, Nate and Ben Very much, too!
It's wonderful to know there are people who really care about the birds and wildlife and who act on that concern by volunteering.
We're sending a donation to hopefully help a little.
We can't say how happy we are about this and happy about your work and dedication!
Thank you All again!
Sandy