A Pelican Story

[Glen]

It must have been about 15 years ago I was driving my old beater green Jeep Cherokee hatchback with my friend Tommy G. to go check out The Waves out at Playa Linda on the North side of Ixtapa, the resort town to the north of Zihautenejo, Guerrero, Mexico. We decided to let this session go as there was little too much bump on the water, it was already getting pretty late and we thought the better plan was just to head back home 20 minutes north and chill at Casa Delfin Sonriente, my B&B in Troncones, and get up early to surf our favorite surf spot in the morning, dawn patrol. On the walk back from the wave check I saw this feathery grey lump of distressed and exhausted bird hunched down in the sand slightly canted head and long neck slightly tilted over and head settled into its body, one eye looking at me. As I approached, I could see that it had a fishing line wrapped around its neck and body and a hook, rendering it unable to move, flap its wings or open its beaks. One big eye wearily looked in my direction without the strength to even hold eye contact while I looked at it and thought about how to help this wounded and sorry pelican. Any course of action required staying away from the 6 inches of beak and not hurting it. It was a big bird with a good five- or six-foot wingspan and large body and two black webbed feet. Getting it into the back of the jeep and the 20-minute drive could be interesting.

I called out to Tommy G. who was standing off to one side and asked him to get me one of the beach towels and to leave open the hatch back on the jeep. While he was doing this the bird and I just looked at each other. I could see that he had picked up a zillion gnats and sand bugs of all kinds when laying there for who knows how long wrapped in fishing line and struggling to get free of it and by now too exhausted to resist or react to our interest in him. While I crouched down low and thought about how I'd do this Tom came back from the jeep after a minute and found me still crouched about a foot away from the obviously exhausted bird.

I remember he asked me, "What are ya thinking? " and I don’t remember what I said as he handed me a towel. Without much more thought I very quickly covered the pelican in the heavy beach towel and in a quick movement he was swaddled and only his head stuck out from the towel as I picked him up while keeping g him at arms extended length my face with his body and feet wrapped in the towel and his head and beak pretty much shut tight because of the fishing hook and nylon fishing line that was visible tightly wrapped all around his neck and beak and body. He didn’t seem wounded anywhere. I assumed he was too worn out to resist and I was surprised at how easily he went into the back of the jeep and wrapped up as he was he fit in there and stayed without protest when we closed the hatchback. I thought he'd be flapping and struggling the whole drive home but it was an easy drive with him quiet and trapped swathed in the beach towel with Tommy looking in on him the whole way home to Casa Delfin Sonriente. When we arrived at the house compound three of us held him down on the picnic table in the front yard while I took a pair of plyers and removed the fishing hook from his beak and carefully removed the nylon line. When he was free off all that we gently hosed him down trying to rid him of all the annoying little bugs that had taken up residence in his large feathered body. He seemed quiet and content next to a big bowl of water and a plate of bread and pieces of fish. We locked him in for his own protection and there he spent a quiet night safe from attackers of all kinds.

The next morning we woke up and as breakfast was being served I started telling our guests about how we came to have a pelican in the tool lock up. After breakfast we gathered around as I carefully balled him up in another big towel and gently carried him over to the pool.

He stayed in the pool swimming about while we all watched him from the central area of the house. He seemed comfortable and relaxed and I was beginning to think he might stick around and maybe I'll have a pet pelican hanging around as a new member of the family when suddenly we heard the whoosh and flap of his wings and saw him lift from the pool and glide above the garden and gently bank to north and out to sea. And there flies out an ending worthy to a story of a big bird saved and back into the wildlife with the wind and sea to see to all his needs.

[billie_morini]

Glen, you're a Hero!

[oldmansurfer]

Yes this is a great story