Mary Ellen Rogers doesn’t understand why anyone would abuse a pelican.

“Pelicans are not like hawks,” said Rogers, founder of Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter in Oak Island. “They’re just big goofy birds.”

But someone has maimed and killed brown pelicans over the years, to the point where Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The offer expired March 1, and the shelter hasn’t had any injured pelicans this winter. Rogers said the culprits might have stayed away because of the cold weather.

The shelter took care of more than 1,100 birds last year, and 90 of them were pelicans.

“I’m really, really glad,” Rogers said, “we didn’t get any banged-up birds this year.”