Shot galah nursed back to health
THE "galah" - with apologies to the winged variety - who shot an adult female galah with an air rifle last week better not let his identity or whereabouts be known to Dr Michael Pyne and fellow staff at the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.
Dr Pyne, the senior veterinarian at Currumbin, last week performed emergency surgery on the injured galah, which had been brought to the hospital by a Mudgeeraba resident who had found the injured bird.
"The galah was close to death so Dr Pyne had to operate immediately to save her life," said the hospital spokesperson, Nancy Ruscitti.
"He found a single pellet that had gone through both the left and right lungs and had lodged in her neck.
"She had only minimal lung capacity and was very close to dying."
Fortunately Dr Pyne and his aids were able to work their magic and save the bird's life.
"Georgie, as we have named her, is well on the way to full recovery," Ms Ruscitti said.
"Her lung capacity is just about normal again and we are hopeful of releasing her back into the wild next week."
Ms Ruscitti said that incidents like the shooting of Georgie "happens a lot" during school holiday periods when delinquent children and teenagers had more time on their hands to wreak havoc on wildlife.
