Eco online

Majestic pelicans

As a wildlife carer I am always saddened by anything that negatively affects a country’s native animal population.  Unfortunately, it’s usually our species that is the crux of the problem.

I was recently appalled when watching a television program on the Galapagos Islands.  To see the amount of waste created by the increased visitors to the island was alarming, to say the least.  The resident population of the islands has almost doubled from 18,000 in 2004, as tourism creates new employment and business opportunities.

Often referred to as the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, this paradise is just over a thousand kilometres off the coast of Ecuador, and is now a major tourist attraction.  It is bad enough that introduced species, both plant and animal, lead to habitat destruction and new diseases, but on top of that is the dilemma of mountains of garbage.

All that garbage and where to put it?  The animals will suffer, as if they haven’t endured enough with the increase in human visitors.  Earlier this year over fifty sea lions were battered to death. Legislation in Ecuador now allows seasonal harvesting of sea cucumbers, and illegal fishing, especially for shark fin, is rife.

Many of the animals in this once pristine environment are so trusting and haven’t learnt to fear humans.  The Islands are of course renowned for six species of giant tortoises.  Who could forget beautiful “Harriet” at Australia Zoo?

Here on the Sunshine Coast the WILVOS have seen the death of turtles, platypus and numerous other wildlife, following ingestion of garbage.  The culprit is predominantly plastic bags, from small bait bags in the case of the platypus to larger bags in all sizes and colours. Marine turtles are often observed as ‘floaters’ after swallowing plastic bags – they cannot dive for their food and die unless rescued.

Constantly, seabirds are being entangled in fishing line or have fishing hooks imbedded in their flesh (these hooks do not rust away in a few days).  However, fishing line affects not only seabirds.  We have seen carelessly discarded fishing line in nests of birds such as magpies.  They don’t see the danger in using it as nest-building material, but the young chicks often become entangled and consequently die.

The WILVOS recently held a workshop with Marny Bonner, from Ballina’s Australian Seabird Rescue, made us even more aware of the plight of the pelicans on the Sunshine Coast. Where discarded fishing line often ends up on the water’s edge and affects the waders, pelicans become victims at the heart of the fishing sites. If they swallow a hooked fish or a baited hook, the line is often just cut, and the poor pelican is forgotten.  We saw some very disturbing photos, even lines with two hooks attached, where one hook was in the pelican’s beak and the other in its leg.  The excruciating agony that animals have to go through because of our waste!

Marny also demonstrated the simplicity of dealing with pelicans.  Although they are one of the larger bird species, they cannot seriously harm us.  It is just a matter of catching the pelican (believe it or not, simple effective methods were shown – its’ not rocket science) and removing the hook or line immediately.

Because these entanglements and hook injuries happen so often, Marny impressed on everyone that the answer to the problem is having regular pro-active patrols.  After removing the hook and if no infection is evident the pelican can then be released. The birds quickly recover and very few pelicans need rehabilitation. Better for them, better for us! We can all do our bit towards waste management and make a difference.

Advertisement
 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Related articles:

1. Wildlife: a changing climate is not their only concern
2. Gifts for our wildlife