Pelican Harbor Gets New Wildlife Ambulance

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - It may just look like a nice, new SUV, but this is actually an "ambulance" used to rescue injured wildlife. 

It was just donated to Pelican Harbor Seabird Station.

"It's with great pride that we present this vehicle as a donation, as a gift to Anna, Chloe and all the folks here at Pelican Harbor Seabird station. So, they can go out and continue to recuse and rehab injured animals," said Zoo Miami's Ron Magill.  

The Ron Magill Conservation Endowment along with Bean Automotive group donated the car to Pelican Harbor and it came at just the right time.

"Our old vehicle was a clunky, kinda scary to drive, not very maneuverable. Thankfully, now we have this new ambulance. We'll be able to go on more rescues, more education events and just make it easier to do our important work in the community," said Hannah McDougall from Pelican Harbor.

They do a lot of work, treating about 1,500 animals a year.  

"This is an amazing gift, which really allows us to expand our mission to treat and rescue native wildlife," said Pelican Harbor's Chloe Chelz.

The name "Pelican Harbor" is a bit deceiving. It's not just birds they treat. Their clinic is open to all kinds of wildlife.

Holding an opossum, Stephanie Moure said, "As you can see we treat many species here at Pelican Harbor.  Sometimes we get hundreds of calls every month, so lots of animals in need of help all over Miami."

The vehicle will not only be used as an ambulance but in educational programs as well.