JUPITER, Fla. -- A white ibis has been found painted orange in Boca Raton.
Florida Fish and Wildlife is now investigating who may have done this. The ibis, a protected species, has been taken to Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter for treatment.
The bird was first spotted Thursday and was caught Friday. It appears to be in good condition, however Executive Director of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary Dave Hitzig says he could potentially have his work cut out for him treating the bird.
"What we'll do is we're going to try and see if we can wash any of it off. If we're successful in getting paint off that we'll be an easy solution. The way it appears right now though this paint is deeply embedded in the feathers and this may take months and months to wait those old feathers to fall off and then grow into new feathers before it can be released back out into the wild," says Hitzig.
Keep in mind it is against the law to paint these birds. This is an ongoing investigation and FWC is asking anyone with information to come forward by contacting their Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).
FWC have also had to treat several turtles and tortoises that have been painted.