Rescuers came to the aid of this injured seagull, hoping that it would survive after they removed the fishhook and fishing line it was tangled in.
Whatever happened to that poor little injured seagull pictured in the October 8 edition of the Cook County News-Herald?
News-Herald staffers on their way into the office had spotted the bird outside the American Legion, bloodied, tangled up in fishing line, and with an injured wing and a large lure hanging out of its mouth. Brian Larsen notified the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, hoping they would be able to do something to help the bird.
A few minutes later, the gull had disappeared and no one knew what became of it. A week or so later, Barb Backlund of Grand Marais informed staffer Jane Howard that she was the one who had rescued the bird.
Backlund works across the street at The Garage and had noticed people stopping to look at the bird. She went over to investigate and decided to take matters into her own hands, returning with a blanket and then going to Buck’s Hardware to get something to get the fishhook out. With the combined efforts of Backlund, Garage owner Jill Terrill, and some customers, the fishhook and fishing line were removed.
Buck’s ended up donating some minnows later, which the bird gulped down.
Backlund called the U.S. Forest Service, which referred her to a woman outside Two Harbors who cares for injured birds. The woman was happy to take the gull in, so Barb drove it down. Unfortunately, the gull died about a week and a half later, but it died warm and safe and well fed.
The “seagulls” around here are technically “herring gulls.”
Leave a Reply