When you work in a zoo, sometimes you never know what is going to happen at work! This is the story of the pigeon named 'Perdido' found in the zoo parking lot.

I was about to leave work one day, when the Director came to my office and said, "There's a pigeon in the employee parking lot and it isn't flying. I think it is sick!" I went out to look at the pigeon in question, and darned if she wasn't right! I saw a pigeon, we approached it, touched it, and it let me pick it up. I brought the bird into the administration building, I had to put it in something, so I used a file box.

Then I called the vet staff to see what they wanted to feed the pigeon and the zoo commissary made a bag of pigeon pellets for me. I stopped by the vet clinic so the vet staff could examine the pigeon.

This pigeon had a band, so in this case of a pigeon having an identifier it means we must attempt to find the rightful owner. I needed to go home, and the pigeon needed to be cared for…so I took the pigeon home with me. I chose to name the pigeon 'Perdido', which means 'lost' in Spanish. Amazingly all 'Perdido' would do is sit there looking at me, it ate and drank water vigorously, so I knew it was hungry and thirsty. I didn't understand why 'Perdido' wouldn't fly.

The next day I brought 'Perdido' back to work but got an upgraded accommodations with a big new crate zookeepers brought to my office. This was much better for 'Perdido' and it was eating and drinking well. I researched the topic of racing pigeons and learned how tired they can get on a long journey, so this explained a lot about 'Perdido's' behavior. There are pigeon breeders that fly homing pigeons, and pigeon racing clubs of people around the world. I was able to find a pigeon rehab and rescue facility, and then I spoke to the Zoo Director about how we could help 'Perdido' by turning it over to the rescue.

Now 'Perdido' was starting to become much more active and was attempting to fly again! This was kinda exciting since 'Perdido' was so inactive only a day ago and it was clear Perdido' was recovering from being exhausted. We arranged for them to bring a smaller crate with them for the pickup of 'Perdido' the next day. I took 'Perdido' home again in the larger crate and tried to make it comfortable with privacy covers at my home.

We were so happy we were able to help 'Perdido' and I learned a lot about racing pigeons. The day the lady came from the pigeon rescue was a very happy day and I asked her to let me take a picture before they left….

Here are some resources to help racing pigeons, or homing pigeons when found in distress. Since the zoo found the pigeon, it had a responsibility to ensure the pigeon went to a facility that was experienced with caring for pigeons.

Pigeons can also be blown off course if a storm happens such as a hurricane or tornado. If this pigeon was from Cuba, the zoo would not be able to export it back so that is why we left it to professionals to handle the situation after we found the right people and facility!

Adios 'Perdido' and we wish you well in your journey…

Some additional help or resources for the readers:

• Care for Found Pigeons: https://www.pigeon.org/pages/carelostbird.html
• How To Return A Lost Pigeon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPHsSJBZSkw
• Life up top: The unseen world of Cuba's rooftop pigeon competitions: https://nujournalismincuba2018.wordpress.com/2018/07/21/life-up-top-the-unseen-world-of-cubas-rooftop-pigeon-competitions/