Distressed Brown Pelicans released

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BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - You may remember a story we aired on WLOX News a few weeks ago about a wildlife organization saving a group of distressed pelicans. Sunday, many of those birds were released, but rescue workers have a favor to ask of South Mississippians.

Hurricane Gustav washed up more than 30 distressed brown pelicans to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The birds were beaten and battered from the storm.

Two weeks later, after being doctored by people like Alison Sharpe and other workers with the Wildlife Care and Rescue Center, some of the birds are ready to return to their natural habitat.

"They are going to have to make several trips in and out of the water to preen themselves and condition their feathers," Sharpe said.

This is Sharpe's second attempt to release the birds back into the wild. She said when she first tried last week, people were so excited to get close to the birds, that they began to take pictures and play with them. That only stressed the birds out again, so she had to take them back to a safe place. Read the full story

Apparently Gustav also pushed a Brown Pelican to northern Colo two weeks ago, a very unusual bird anywhere in this state.

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