Volunteer Refuses to Give Up on Injured Cormorant Fighting to Stay Out of Reach

A dark-feathered cormorant with a yellow beak investigates its tiger-print bandaged wing inside what appears to be a wildlife rehabilitation clinic.

Rebecca Orr

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog!

Meet Fisher, a double-crested cormorant who came into the care of Hoosier Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Indiana after a serious wing injury.

If you’ve never tried to catch a cormorant, I can promise you it’s probably not something you’d want to add to your bucket list.

These birds are incredible swimmers, capable of diving underwater to catch fish, and they’re remarkably good at avoiding people. Unfortunately, that makes rescuing an injured one pretty challenging.

A dark-feathered cormorant with a yellow beak investigates its tiger-print bandaged wing inside what appears to be a wildlife rehabilitation clinic.

Rebecca Orr

One of our volunteers, Kaylee, found that out firsthand when she worked tirelessly to capture Fisher and get him the help he desperately needed. Despite his injury, he wasn’t particularly interested in being rescued. Honestly, we can’t blame him.

Thankfully, Kaylee didn’t give up.

When Fisher arrived, we discovered that he had a broken wrist. Something many people don’t realize is that birds have wrists, too. Injuries to this part of the wing can be especially concerning for birds that depend on flight for survival.

For Fisher, being able to fly again isn’t just about getting from one place to another. It’s essential to his ability to survive in the wild.

We’re currently working to give him the best possible chance at recovery, but his future is still uncertain.

Wildlife rehabilitation isn’t always a story with a guaranteed happy ending. Sometimes, it’s a volunteer refusing to give up on an animal that doesn’t understand it’s being helped, and a team of people doing everything they can to give that animal another chance.

We hope Fisher’s story helps people appreciate these incredible birds and understand how much work goes into saving even one wild animal.


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Story submitted by Rebecca Orr.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!

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