JUPITER — For six brown pelicans, freedom was only a few flaps of their wings away.
Two adult and four juvenile pelicans were released back into the wild April 9 by volunteers and friends of the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, a wildlife hospital and education center headquartered in Jupiter since 1983.
For nearly two months, the pelicans were patients at the sanctuary's wildlife hospital. Some had been treated for injuries incurred after they became entangled in fishing gear. The others were treated for exhaustion, probably as a result of migrating, explained Stephanie Franczak, hospital director at Busch Wildlife.
Freedom Friday
The release was the end of a week's worth of wildlife releases by sanctuary staff, Franczak said. Prior to the pelican release, staff had turned loose four screech owls, about 15 squirrels, 15 possums and a few songbirds.