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A rare falcon that was found injured in Palo Alto has been euthanized, a Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA spokesman said Monday (Jan. 30).
The Merlin falcon was brought to the PHS’s Wildlife Rescue Center in Burlingame on Jan. 19. It was treated for a large tear to the underside of its right wing on Jan. 24, spokesman Scott Delucchi said.
Seeing Merlin falcons at the center is exceedingly rare, he said. The center only receives one or two of the birds annually. Most of the Merlins brought in with that type of injury have been euthanized on arrival and none has ever been rehabilitated there, Delucchi said.
“We don’t save many birds with that significant of a wing tear. The skin in that area is paper thin,” Delucchi said.
But this time staff thought they would try something different. “We thought the initial prognosis was good,” he said.
The surgery did not take, however, and the falcon was euthanized on Jan. 27. Delucchi said staff members involved in the bird’s treatment and recovery are disappointed.
The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA is one of a few in the nation with its own wildlife rescue center, according to Delucchi. The San Mateo County center treats between 3,000 and 5,000 wild animals each year and has a 30 to 35 percent return-to-the-wild rate, he said.
By Sue Dremann
By Sue Dremann
By Sue Dremann
