Florida wildlife officials and Brevard County law enforcement are investigating after a person in a truck struck and killed a large group of birds at a Port Canaveral cargo dock last week.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers responded to a call from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 10, according to a FWC news release.
Officers learned that a person drove a truck through the birds, killing 35 at the scene. Another 13 birds were euthanized due to injuries. One bird survived, according to the release.
Members of the Florida Wildlife Hospital and Wild Florida Rescue, a local nonprofit, helped to provide care for the injured birds.
Officials have not announced an arrest, but said they have interviewed a suspect.
Ken Smith, a trained wildlife rescue responder with Wild Florida Rescue, told the Tampa Bay Times he received calls that morning to respond to a lumber area on the north side of Port Canaveral.
Smith arrived to the scene and saw multiple birds crushed and injured on the dock.
Smith credits wildlife officials with quickly responding, helping to place injured birds onto blankets and load them into trucks.
Among the birds killed were herring gulls, sandwich terns and juvenile royal terns, Smith said.
The birds were taken to Florida Wildlife Hospital in Palm Shores.
Megan Stolen, a research scientist who is on the board of Florida Wildlife Hospital, helped triage the broken legs and wings of the birds.
“I had not personally seen anything like this,” Stolen said. “The injuries were really graphic.”
Heather Pepe, co-founder and chief operations officer of Wild Florida Rescue, told the Times that local wildlife lovers are hoping for an arrest.
“There are a lot of angry people that want to see that person pay a consequence,” Pepe said.
Said Smith: “All you’ve go to do is beep your horn. There’s no excuse for plowing through them. We care about our wildlife. It matters.”
Wildlife officials said they have reviewed video evidence, collected physical evidence and talked to witnesses.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is assisting in the investigation, according to the news release.
Any charging decisions will be made by the Brevard County State Attorney’s office.
