DURBAN - A white-throated cormorant with a fishing hook and line wrapped around its left wing was cared for and released hours later by the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr).
According to Saambr’s Ann Kunz, a local car guard had seen the cormorant earlier on Wednesday on Mahatma Gandhi Road with a fishing hook and line wrapped around its left wing.
“Even though the hook and line had not caused any permanent damage, the bird was unable to fly due to the restriction caused by the tangled line,” Kunz said.
She said metro police search and rescue were alerted and managed to successfully catch the cormorant and safely transport her to uShaka Sea World.
“Once she had settled down in the clinic, we removed the fishing line from her wing, checked her overall physical condition before administering fluids and left her to rest for a few hours. Prior to her release we took radiographs to ensure that she had not ingested a fishing hook in an attempt to free herself,” Kunz said.
She said after spending a few hours in the care of Saambr Animal Health staff, the cormorant was taken to a local Durban beach and released on Tuesday afternoon.
“As she passed her health checks and was strong and feisty, she was taken to the beach and released. As expected, once the crate was opened, she took off and flew into the distance without a second glance,” Kunz said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Magma Security and Investigation response officers found a fish eagle that had been injured and was unable to fly.
Magma said it contacted Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife who collected the eagle to care for it and nurse it back to health while keeping them updated on the eagle’s progress.
“Fittingly, the eagle will be named after the response officer who found it,” Magma said.
Daily News