For six brown pelicans, freedom was only a few flaps of their wings away. Two adult and four juvenile pelicans were released back into the wild last week by Busch Wildlife Sanctuary.  Busch Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife hospital and education center headquartered in the Town of Jupiter since 1983.

For nearly two months, the pelicans were patients at the sanctuary's wildlife hospital. Some had been treated for injuries incurred after they became entangled in fishing gear. The others were treated for exhaustion because of migration.

The pelicans were transported to the beach at Carlin Park in small carriers, one bird per carrier. As soon as their doors were opened the pelicans immediately flew due east, landing softly on the flat, calm, turquoise water of the Atlantic Ocean only two dozen yards from shore.

It is the goal of the hospital to return all animals back to the wild. If the animal is injured beyond the point where it cannot survive it will remain at the sanctuary.