Wayward pelican rescued from women's bathroom at John Wayne Airport

A pelican veered off course Wednesday morning, landing at the John Wayne Airport, and wandered about until animal control officers rescued it from inside the women's restroom.

Staff with the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach said the bird is now in their care and being treated for its confused state as a likely result of domoic acid toxicity, they say.

The pelican's unexpected tour began with an early morning landing in Terminal  A at the Orange County airport. The bird strutted through the automated glass doors, made its way to the check-in computers and as security arrived, it flew away – into Terminal B. There, it made its way into the women's restroom.

"There they stayed, ignoring the growing crowd of curious onlookers and selfie-takers, until Orange County Animal Control arrived," WWCC staff said. The bird was then transferred to the center's care.

Animal experts at the center said seabirds, like the pelican, are "arriving in droves – disoriented, seizing, and emaciated." They say staff and volunteers work "around the clock, administering medicine, IV fluids and hope."

Ocean experts find that harmful algal blooms and their toxins (domoic acid) are becoming more frequent, severe, and long-lasting, especially with warming ocean conditions.  

Wildlife experts with the Pacific Marine Mammal Center said this is the fourth consecutive year Southern California has seen a domoic acid outbreak, with this event beginning earlier and remaining more severe than experts have seen before.

The recent deaths of two stranded whales in Orange and Los Angeles counties have been confirmed to be caused by domoic acid toxicosis.