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From Desley Williams, presently holidaying at the Sunshine
Coast.
I refer to birding-aus message on 22 April 2002 titled
"Pelican Mulitation Qld - Lake Samsonvale". I now report some sad news
regarding the Sunshine Coast's 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. 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 surgery. 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 contritubuted $500 towards the reward for the Warana
attacks.
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