Caretaker Raising Reward Money To Find Killer Of Rare Albino Raven

THOUSAND OAKS (CBSLA.com) — The caretaker of an albino raven that could talk needs help to find the person who fatally shot the rare bird.

Madena Bennett of Thousand Oaks has previously joked that caring for the raven, named Pearl, "was like living with a unicorn that could talk."

Pearl was a permitted sanctuary/education animal and was one of only four other known albino ravens in the world, Bennett said.

"Their white feathers make them weak," she said.

Pearl's untimely death happened after she flew out of her handler's grip May 13 and was mobbed by crows protecting their nest. The last Bennett saw of Pearl was the bird flying away from that situation and out of view.

Bennett said she searched for days, then learned – just hours after Pearl flew away – she was found shot by a pellet gun on Los Robles near a shopping center.

Bennett is now raising money on youcaring.com for a reward to find Pearl's killer and bring that person to justice. While killing a rare bird like Pearl is illegal in California, the U.S. Federal Wildlife Service is unable to investigate the bird's killing without any solid leads, according to an update Bennett posted on the fundraising page.