Animal Cruelty Suspected In Bird Choking Case

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.- Wildlife Emergency Services rescued a thin and weak gull Monday afternoon who was tangled in a white string, which was twisted tight around its tongue.

Wildlife Emergency Services, or WES, said the bird was frightened and could barely put up a fight. WES, a local animal rescue organization, said the bird could have been tangled in the balloon-like ribbon for more than a week. A person notified the group to the animal's distress at San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz.

WES founder Rebecca Dmytryk said she suspects it was an intentional act of cruelty. Dmytryk said the adult Western gull was found on the edge of the pond with a baseball-size bulge in its throat - perhaps food it could not swallow.

Rescuers were able to get the gull safely stowed inside a cardboard carrier and took it to the Native Animal Rescue center in Santa Cruz. There, the bird received immediate attention by hospital staff.

Dmytryk said in her news release online, "they found the line coming out of the gull's mouth was twisted tight around its tongue. Once the line was cut, they removed the putrid mass of food from its throat. The bird was hydrated and given the night to rest." 

http://www.kionrightnow.com/story/21500417/animal-cruelty-suspected-in-bird-chocking-case

Rare Santa Cruz Island bird may be endangered

The current population of the island scrub jay, a rare California bird, is only a fifth of what experts had previously believed, a new study reveals.

The island scrub jay is a brightly colored blue and gray bird that is only found on Santa Cruz Island, about 17 miles off the coast, south of Santa Barbara.

The study was led by the Smithsonian Institution's Migratory Bird Center in Washington, D.C., and published in the journal Ecological Applications. According to its findings, the island scrub jay is one of the rarest birds in the United States, even though its population has increased in recent years.

"The bad news is that we only have about 2,500 of these birds left, a very small number for any species," says Dr. Scott Sillett, lead author of the study and part of the Smithsonian's Migratory Bird Center. "The good news is that we are seeing an increasing population trend. It appears that there has been about a 20 to 30 percent population increase in the last 25 years owing to a series of conservation actions on the island."

The study says that the island scrub jay has a population size similar to or less than that of other species currently listed as threatened or endangered in the United States. As a result of this study, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has raised the threat level for the species from "near threatened" to "vulnerable to extinction." However, neither the federal government nor the state of

Continued:  http://www.mercurynews.com/animal-life/ci_22011864/rare-santa-cruz-island-bird-may-be-endangered