$5K Reward Offered In Redondo Beach Pelican Shooting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who shot a brown pelican that was found wounded in Southern California.

The organization International Bird Rescue said Monday that the reward is being offered with help from an anonymous donor.

The pelican was captured by Redondo Beach animal control officers on March 12 because it could not fly.

A radiograph of a brown pelican's ulna, or wing, showing a gunshot fracture. (credit: International Bird Rescue)

The bird was taken to the rescue group's Los Angeles wildlife center, where staff determined it had a broken wing and a fishhook embedded in its right shoulder. It seemed to be an injury caused by fishing gear until X-rays showed specks of metal from the gunshot.

A veterinarian surgically repaired the wing, but the bird's prognosis remains guarded.