“I have a crow run over by a bear!”
That was the cry Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society president Merrilee Prior heard when she answered the phone. The caller went on to explain that their dog was in the backyard after a bike ride outing and erupted into emphatic barking.
As the homeowners rushed to see the cause of the chaos, they witnessed a bear running full tilt, leaving an injured crow in its wake. The bear quickly disappeared over the fence and the homeowner called PROWLS.
Upon arrival, Merrilee diagnosed a clean break of the crow’s wing. After returning to PROWLS, she was able to quickly set and wrap it.
Confined to a small cage and unable to fly, the crow was not happy and complained constantly, hopping restlessly back and forth. For its own entertainment the crow discovered it could stack its food dishes after polishing off meat and fish.
Once the break had healed and the wrap was removed, the crow was moved outdoors to a flight cage where it could exercise and strengthen its wing, none too soon for all concerned.
After a couple of weeks flight conditioning, it was returned to the yard where this all began and where its crow family was waiting.
Crows experience strong family bonds and welcomed their family member back with lots of joyful squawks and an offering of nuts.
Contributed photo
