Furry and feathery friends return to Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center after Hilary
On Tuesday, all kinds of birds, raccoons, possums and other creatures returned to their home in Huntington Beach after a historic storm left Orange County.
The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center moved their furry and feathery patients to other facilities like Santa Barbara's Wildlife Care Network and the Santa Ana Zoo before Tropical Storm Hilary rolled into the area.
When the creatures made their trek back to their pens and cages, they were joined by an unusual visitor. Sitting in an isolation area at the center is a red-tailed tropicbird that showed up during the storm. It was initially taken to a shelter in Azusa but was transferred to the Orange County center, after it was blown far off course. Its home is in the tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
"And birds innately feel that barometric pressure when these big storms come and they know to fly and get the heck out of that area," said director Debbie McGuire. "So, they're going to go because they want to survive as far and wide as they can go and this one ended up in Azusa."
The storm orphaned 75 new animals including, baby squirrels.
The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center operates exclusively on donations and needs help paying for things like minor repairs and fuel to transport all of the animals.
