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Igor the pelican is hungry
Many of his fellow pelicans are starving
Igor can make a compelling case for food. This year though, many pelicans are starving.
Video:
GOLDEN DREAMS: Igor the pelican is hungry
A funny old bird is the pelican
His beak can hold more than his belican.
Food for a week he can hold in his beak,
But I don’t know how the helican.
That’s Dixon Lanier Merritt, American poet and humorist. And this pelican at my table is Igor. Igor’s interested in doing lunch. We’re at WOW (“Walking On Water,” an eatery run by a Christian couple), and okay, this is several months ago, halfway out along OB’s pier, in the middle of a storm. Waves trucking in so high they’ve reached the pier deck. They roar through under your feet like a freight train. Talk about walking on water!
The one, uh, person who’s not freaking out about the conditions seems to be Igor. Before he padded in here out of the spray and rain, he stood facing the wind, a perfect aerofoil, solid in the buffeting winds. Now he’s expecting something raw. He grabs my arm with his huge beak to make the point. But not too tightly. OK, he does reach out to other passers-by and jab pecks at them, until Marianna, who’s in charge, advances with a wooden chair and starts shuffling Igor out. Last I see of him, he’s waddling nonchalantly down between people, till he decides to turn and come back try again.
As I say, this was months ago. Now I’m worried. Pelicans have been turning up starving all along the coast. And at a time when normal prey fish such as anchovies, sardines, and mackerel are apparently doing fine. Some eco-friends last night pulled a Graduate and said one word: “Plastic. They’re eating fish loaded with plastic. They can’t digest. They’re starving.”
Marianna tries to shoo Igor out, but not get nipped.
And yet, pelicans have navigated and survived through thousands — no, millions — of years. Just to look at them, you’re back in a Jurassic Park movie scene. The oldest fossilized remains go back 30 million years, when they looked pretty much the same. OK, pelicans came another 30 million years after the last land dinosaur, but way before us humans. Whatever, they’re big — about eight pounds heavy, and often with an eight-foot wingspan. They need two to three pounds of fish every day, and can swallow a four-pound fish whole. They dive from 60 feet up and hit the fish at 40 mph, stunning them before collecting them in their lower beak’s pouch, squishing out the water and then swallowing them. A life of Riley.
But a few years ago, the brown pelican — California’s pelican — almost went extinct. How come? There are a lot of theories, but the main ones had to do with mankind: fishermen shooting them because they saw them as competition for their fish, and pesticides — especially DDT. Then, after it was banned, the brown pelican started bouncing back. Then, this year, starvation has returned.
So what happened? Maybe it was late storms hitting the coast this spring, which made it hard for pelicans flying 60 feet up to spot their prey. Maybe the fish are swimming deeper in the water column. Maybe it’s those broken-down plastics. Whatever, we don’t want to lose our most collegial birds — they usually cruise over the sea in “squadrons” or “briefs.” Come to think of it, I guess I should get back to offer a snack to Igor. So long as he’s still a WOW Cafe regular. So long as he’s okay.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Igor the pelican is hungry
Many of his fellow pelicans are starving
Igor the pelican is hungry
Many of his fellow pelicans are starving
Igor can make a compelling case for food. This year though, many pelicans are starving.
Video:
GOLDEN DREAMS: Igor the pelican is hungry
A funny old bird is the pelican
His beak can hold more than his belican.
Food for a week he can hold in his beak,
But I don’t know how the helican.
That’s Dixon Lanier Merritt, American poet and humorist. And this pelican at my table is Igor. Igor’s interested in doing lunch. We’re at WOW (“Walking On Water,” an eatery run by a Christian couple), and okay, this is several months ago, halfway out along OB’s pier, in the middle of a storm. Waves trucking in so high they’ve reached the pier deck. They roar through under your feet like a freight train. Talk about walking on water!
The one, uh, person who’s not freaking out about the conditions seems to be Igor. Before he padded in here out of the spray and rain, he stood facing the wind, a perfect aerofoil, solid in the buffeting winds. Now he’s expecting something raw. He grabs my arm with his huge beak to make the point. But not too tightly. OK, he does reach out to other passers-by and jab pecks at them, until Marianna, who’s in charge, advances with a wooden chair and starts shuffling Igor out. Last I see of him, he’s waddling nonchalantly down between people, till he decides to turn and come back try again.
As I say, this was months ago. Now I’m worried. Pelicans have been turning up starving all along the coast. And at a time when normal prey fish such as anchovies, sardines, and mackerel are apparently doing fine. Some eco-friends last night pulled a Graduate and said one word: “Plastic. They’re eating fish loaded with plastic. They can’t digest. They’re starving.”
Marianna tries to shoo Igor out, but not get nipped.
And yet, pelicans have navigated and survived through thousands — no, millions — of years. Just to look at them, you’re back in a Jurassic Park movie scene. The oldest fossilized remains go back 30 million years, when they looked pretty much the same. OK, pelicans came another 30 million years after the last land dinosaur, but way before us humans. Whatever, they’re big — about eight pounds heavy, and often with an eight-foot wingspan. They need two to three pounds of fish every day, and can swallow a four-pound fish whole. They dive from 60 feet up and hit the fish at 40 mph, stunning them before collecting them in their lower beak’s pouch, squishing out the water and then swallowing them. A life of Riley.
But a few years ago, the brown pelican — California’s pelican — almost went extinct. How come? There are a lot of theories, but the main ones had to do with mankind: fishermen shooting them because they saw them as competition for their fish, and pesticides — especially DDT. Then, after it was banned, the brown pelican started bouncing back. Then, this year, starvation has returned.
So what happened? Maybe it was late storms hitting the coast this spring, which made it hard for pelicans flying 60 feet up to spot their prey. Maybe the fish are swimming deeper in the water column. Maybe it’s those broken-down plastics. Whatever, we don’t want to lose our most collegial birds — they usually cruise over the sea in “squadrons” or “briefs.” Come to think of it, I guess I should get back to offer a snack to Igor. So long as he’s still a WOW Cafe regular. So long as he’s okay.
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