Pelican stuck in Waukesha County due to shutdown

 

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The partial government shutdown has an unexpected victim. 

An injured white pelican is now stuck in Waukesha County. The bird landed in a yard around Thanksgiving 2018 with a broken wing. It was brought to the Wildlife in Need Center in Oconomowoc. 

Staff treated the pelican but says it has permanent damage and can't fly. They're trying to get the bird to a zoo in Texas, but the shutdown prevents staff from filing the necessary paperwork. 

"We did have that paperwork at the beginning of the year, but unfortunately at that time, the shutdown was already happenign, so we knew it would be a little bit of a delay. But obviously the delay has continued at this point, so it's kind of indefinite," says Mandy Feavel with the Wildlife in Need Center. 

The pelican will likely stay at the center until the government re-opens. It has a daily diet of about 40 fish, which costs the center around $30 a day. They're accepting legal fish from volunteer ice fisherman.