A Pelican Rescued in Eastern Iowa is Headed to the Detroit Zoo [VIDEO]

A local veterinarian has nursed a bird back to health and is ready to send him on his way!

A new article from KCRG says that Dr. Jennifer Doll of Solon has been busy taking care of a pelican that she discovered on a reservoir near Shueyville back in November. After speaking to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Dr. Doll, her son, and a friend used kayaks to reach the bird, which she knew had to be hurt. The article reads:

"For about a month Dr. Doll says she noticed the pelican, now called Nigel, on the reservoir. She said he would have died if he didn’t get help soon and she knew Nigel had to be injured, otherwise he would have migrated with his friends to a warmer location for the winter."

The rescue was difficult, but successful, and after further investigation, Dr. Doll discovered that Nigel was underweight and suffering from a broken wing.

After a few months of recovery, Nigel's situation has GREATLY improved! The article says he's now up to 17 pounds and is able to flap his wings. The bad news is that he won't ever be able to fly again. Because of that, Dr. Doll has been looking for a new home for Nigel, and she's finally found one! In a few weeks when all the paperwork is complete, he will be headed to Detroit to join the other flightless birds at the Detroit Zoo. I'm from the Detroit area, so I've been to the Detroit Zoo about a hundred times. It's a wonderful place and I'm sure Nigel will enjoy his new family there!

Dr. Doll has been posting video updates of Nigel's recovery process on Torben Platt's Facebook page! You can check out a few of those below: