It may seem a small thing, but I have never seem a Pelican in the wild. Here is one on our hols in Cyprus. I always thought that they were white but this was definately pink.



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This post was last modified: 03-08-2007 01:13 PM by tibbar.

Great pictures, thanks for sharing! I envy you going to Cyprus

Where was the second picture taken? It looks like they are coming right up to a restaurant, very bold.

Hi Riana , the second pic was what we presume to be the male as he had a crest on his head ,walking between the restaurant & the harbour side tables. He did this every day but never came back past. We think he went to the back door of the restaurants to be fed. He was a big thing & not frightened at all.
Coincidentally there was a restaurant called 'Pelican Restaurant' right there.
Does anyone know any interesting bits about Pelicans?

This post was last modified: 03-08-2007 03:11 PM by tibbar.

I never would have thought pelicans would come so close to humans, he does look a big bird though so I'm not that surprised he was quite bold. It sounds like he was getting a good deal at the restaurant!

It seems as if the two pelicans are quite the tourist attraction! I have read that they are not wild, but actually owned by the people who run the Pelican Restaurant.

I would suspect that the two are fed shrimp, or beta carotene (that's what makes flamingoes pink, also).

These are Great White Pelicans, sometimes called Roseate Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus).

Kingfisher

Funnily enough , The guy did say that but we didn't believe him as we didn't think that he could own 2 apparently wild birds. It's good for business though.
I agree about the shrimp making birds pink but I really did think that they should be white. We enjoyed seeing them though.

This post was last modified: 04-08-2007 12:16 PM by tibbar.

Wow, pet pelicans, now that is an exotic pet. I wonder if he bought them, or whether he has fed them so much they have become such a common sight at the restaurant they are now considered his pets.

I had the same thought about the pelicans. I know that only accredited zoos/wildlife rescue groups, etc., would be allowed to 'own' pelicans in the US, and probably the UK as well. Perhaps Cyprus does not have strict controls over ownership of wild animals?

Kingfisher

This post was last modified: 05-08-2007 03:25 PM by Kingfisher.

I would think that they are as Moufflon are protected & also they do a lot for green turtle conservation as they have a beach at Lara Bay where they come to lay.