Flying the Friendly Skies, Once Again

I was fortunate to spend the earliest part of my morning with a sweet animal named Kermit. The name Kermit conjures up an image of a singing, dancing little green frog for most people, myself included.  However, this Kermit is a one-winged pelican that was recently rescued by the Virginia Beach SPCA's Wildlife Program. He is just as endearing as Mr. Jim Henson's frog, which explains why so many people participated in the series of events all leading up to his successful flight at 7 am on July 3rd.

 The old adage, "it takes a village to raise a child" should be augmented to include "and rehabilitate wildlife." Especially in the case of Kermit (the non frog). There were a lot of participants involved with the bird's rescue such as: "Mo"-the Navy Ship Captain that called the VBSPCA hotline when he discovered the injured bird; Karen and Noah who went and tackled the logistics of capturing an adult pelican; Pearl who immediately began caring for him which included administering antibiotics; Jason who was willing to report on the story for WVEC 13 despite the lack of notice; and the Virginia Aquarium for putting Kermit on a national registry. I am quite certain there were many other hands involved in getting Kermit to his flight this morning, and each role was instrumental in the carefully orchestrated transfer.

Now, the primary goal for rehabbers and the VBSPCA Wildlife Program is release, but with Kermit's wing amputation he was unable to be returned to the wild. So, Kermit flew on a Commercial Airline out of Norfolk International rather than his traditional flight pattern. He will arrive at his destination, Sea World, where he will live out the rest of his life with ten other pelicans.  We certainly would have preferred for Kermit to fly with his pelican bretheren during their migration cycle, but we know that this is the best alternative that we have to offer the gentle bird.  And, one can't ask for more than our collective best.

So, as I type this blog, I hope that Kermit is enjoying his peanuts and pretzels as he flies to his forever home at Sea World, Orlando.  Safe travels, Kermi.
xox

Amy