Abandoned by its family, a loonlet on a Laurentian lake caused great concern to local residents last summer. One of them called to report that they had been closely observing a loon family with two chicks on their lake since the spring. At four weeks old, one of the loonlets was noticeably smaller than its sibling and had twice been found alone and away from its family. After having reunited the loonlet with its parents for a second time, the concerned caller was seeking advice. It was decided that if the loonlet was found alone again, it should be brought to the Centre. One day later, it arrived at our door. Likely, the chick was abandoned due to its small size, or because its parents noticed some other abnormality in the young bird.
The chick was examined and seemed healthy but was not fully waterproof. Loons spend their entire lives on water and must always be fully waterproof to prevent hypothermia. The loonlet was subjected to weeks of alternating pool and drying time to recover its waterproofing. While out of the water, we were extremely careful to keep the substrate clean, soft and cushioned using memory foam and several layers of fleece. Loons are extremely susceptible to pressure injuries since their bodies are meant to be floating.
In our care, the loonlet has been growing rapidly, from 420 grams when it arrived to over two kilograms today. Though small in size, it is a voracious eater, currently gulping down 600 grams of fish, almost 40% of its weight, every day! The bird was recently released in an area where non-territorial loons are present.
