This handsome mallard is still probably asking himself the same thing. When he stepped out on the road last week he ended up getting nailed by a passing vehicle and suffering some serious road-rash. But, he had two things going for him:
1. He got hit right in front of the home of some serious duck lovers, who brought him straight into the Wildlife Services department here at VINS.
2. None of his bones were broken.
You can see in our pictures that we started his care by cleaning out a big laceration on his chest and abdomen, then flushing it with sterile saline to get all the gunk out. We then wrapped him up to keep any new gunk from getting in. Now he is getting daily wound care, antibiotics, and meals from a tube (just until he starts eating better on his own).
Once his wound heal we are hoping send him right back to where he came from, and next time, we hope he looks both ways before he crosses the road.
Hmmm…why didn't he just fly across the road? And above auto windshield height.