From Desley Williams email: c/- my brother
Norris
I refer to birding-aus ...."Pelican Mutilation Qld
" at Lake Samsonvale on 22 April 2002.... I report
some sad news regarding the Sunshine Coast's favourite pelican population;
perhaps the Samsonvale Mutilation and the Sunshine Coast Mutilation are
connected.
Two pelicans are dead after a depraved attack
in which at least one bird was tied to a car by its beak and dragged along the
road. Volunteers from the Sunshine Coast Seabird Rescue Group found
the dead pelican near a Warana construction site with cuts to its feet and rope
tied around its beak. Then a second pelican was
spotted on a canal; when the rescuers reached the bird they found it bloodied
and unable to fly. Suffering two broken legs it was put down at a local
vet survery. The Rescue Group's secretary Ailsa Watson was sickened by the attacks which she suspects could
have been linked. "If the sick one had broken legs, they could have tied
it to the car by its legs and done the same thing as they did to the
other.". She said both pelicans were probably older ones because,
being unfamiliar with people, younger ones were harder to
catch. Two businesses, Environmental Protection Services and
Bill's Boat Hire have each contributed $500 towards the reward for the Warana
attacks.
Desley Williams
|