POISONED

This handsome and very young male pelican was reported struggling on his own a very short time after some fishermen had cleaned/emptied their nets out.

Pelican poisoned from puffer fish.

Puffer fish caught in pelican's throat

The photos show the innumerable puncture wounds to the pouch,  which consist of a myriad of veins, and the other photo reflects  the fish caught in the throat with the airway in front.  Pelicans are not stupid and there is no way this this bird would have picked up this large puffer fish of his own accord. 

The most likely scenario – a fisherman with no regard for wildlife has thrown this fish to the bird which would have ‘puffed’ up on contact with the bird’s pouch leaving him no way of getting rid of it – the poison going straight  to his gut and blood stream.  The witness stated he died quickly a few minutes after the fishermen left.  With a beak of 41 cm he would have been a good strong breeder.

If the scenario occurred as outlined above, the fisherman has to live with his conscience and I hope he struggles with that as did the young bird struggle.

Betty