PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A Palm Beach Gardens woman reached out to us concerned about an injured sandhill crane in her community.
"Friday, we were out here walking the fence line, and we saw that it was injured. It looks like it has a broken leg," she said.
Connie Goldberger spotted the bird on the side of the road near PGA National. The bird has a severely injured left leg.
Goldberger said the first thing that came to mind is, how can I help the bird.
"Who should I call to come help the poor bird because it seems it's isolated now out here by himself," she said.
In a landscape where development is ongoing and wildlife continues to lose its natural habitat; it's no coincidence humans and animals are crossing paths more frequently.
If you happen to come across an injured animal like Goldberger, there are a few things you need to know.
First, sandhill cranes are protected in Florida. They are also protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This means they are legally protected from hunting and cannot be harmed.
According to the Florida and Wildlife Conservation Commission, keeping any sick, injured, orphaned or otherwise impaired wildlife beyond the time necessary to transport to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator is a violation of Florida law.
Goldberger said something has to be done for the bird.
"I'd like someone to pick it up and fix the leg. And also, we're concerned that it might not be able to fly and maybe it now has to live in a facility and not in the wild," she said.
WPTV sent video to Busch Wildlife Sanctuary and reached out to the Palm Beach Zoo to see if there's anything that can be done to help the injured crane.
