Abandoned by his flock, Big bird the pelican stumbled ashore after a storm and was taken in by the staff of Greystoke Mahale in Tanzania.
It is believed that he may have been sucked into a large cumulonimbus storm cell which carried him to Lake Tanganyika from Katavi national park around 150kms away. Although he’s quite large he may only be about 3 months old. This species of pelican can only fish with a flock as they do not dive, they work together corralling up the fish and then scooping them into their large pouches below the bill. The park authority Tanapa had to give permission to Greystoke Mahale to feed him.
“Big Bird” As he has been named, didn’t fly for many weeks, so it was up to the staff to encourage him. They would run up and down flapping their arms to get him to do the same, it took some time and a good few crash landings before he eventually got the idea.
Thanks to the help from the staff at Greystoke Mahale, Big Bird can now fly. Simply Awesome!
