Great escape pelicans decide it’s nicer at Fota
After 21 weeks of freedom, feathered fugitives fly back for free fish
THEY are the Bonnie and Clyde of Fota Wildlife Park but this pair of giant pelicans have had enough of fugitive life, it seems, as they’ve voluntarily returned to their enclosure after five months on the run.
The great white pelicans, which can grow up to two metres in length, stunned rangers by taking flight in June, even though they had their wings clipped.
But the Rebel County renegades are now back in the animal sanctuary having spread their wings in the wild for 21 weeks. A third pelican took to the air but decided against leaving the confines of the park. The fourth and final one was unable to join its friends and remained grounded.
The two escapees were subsequently spotted enjoying their first taste of freedom near Belvelly
Bridge in Cork Harbour, and continued living in the wild for almost 21 weeks before making a surprise return to Fota on November 19.
Great whites are the world’s second-largest species of pelican, with a wingspan that typically exceeds three metres.
They are native to Africa, Asia and south-eastern Europe.
The birds’ diet mainly consists of fish, although they are opportunistic foragers and can also eat other birds and their young. They need to eat up to 1.4kg of fish per day in the wild to survive, so perhaps it was the free food at Fota that drew them back.
The feathered fugitives were first spotted missing from their habitat in Fota at feeding time on June 26 last year. Their dramatic escape was reported to the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht two days later.
‘They are not a danger to the
public and will fly away from people if approached,’ the park wrote in an email to the department, which was released under the Freedom of Information Act.
‘These two birds are featherclipped and flew off when some of the feathers grew back and allowed them to take flight,’ they explained.
‘It is hoped they will return within the next few days when they become hungry and will want
to come back [to] the wildlife park for food.’
There was no sign of any such return, however, and the birds continued to live in the wild for five months before making a surprise reappearance at Fota on November 19, allowing park rangers to capture them.
‘The pelicans were examined by the vet and are fit and healthy,’ said a spokeswoman for Fota.
‘The welfare of the birds and
animals that reside at Fota Wildlife Park, along with the safety of all our staff and visitors is paramount to the park,’ she added.
There have been a number of daring animal escapes from the popular visitor attraction in recent years. An ape, a penguin and a monkey were among the species that went AWOL in 2015.
In January of that year, a macaque monkey called Stevie Wonder absconded from an island enclosure several times in one day. An incident report noted that he was ‘getting very bold and [is] obviously not frightened of people and is getting very close to them’.
‘Fled after feathers grew back’ Ape, penguin and monkey escaped
TWO great white pelicans who escaped from Fota Wildlife Park in June to live in Cork Harbour have returned to the sanctuary. Perhaps they realised that having a proper fish quota was desirable after all, and that they were better in than out.
Who knew that these magnificent birds could offer such a mature example to our neighbours across the water as Brexit approaches?