Six refugees from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico took up residence in Nebraska on Friday.
The Henry Doorly Zoo's Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari welcomed 11 American white pelicans, in all, to the park on the same day it opened a new Eagle Aviary.
Six of the new pelicans came from the Jackson (Miss.) Zoo where they were rehabilitated after being damaged by the oil spill. The others came from the Racine (Wis.) Zoo and the Scovill Zoo in Decatur, Ill.
None of the birds can fly and all were deemed unreleasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because they couldn't feed in the wild. What the Wildlife Safari Park offers them is close to what they would experience in the wild, except the fish will be provided.
The new birds were launched in one of the mossy ponds, and it didn't take long for the resident pelicans to check them out.
American white pelicans breed in colonies, and the Wildlife Safari colony is believed to be the largest captive flock in a U.S. zoo, said Dennis Pate, director of the Henry Doorly Zoo.
“Not many places have a water body this size that would accommodate this many birds,” said Lee Simmons, former zoo director and chairman of the Zoo Foundation.
These are big birds. Adults' wingspan can be 9 feet. Their bills can hold 3 gallons of water.
There is some question about the sex of the new arrivals. A feather sex test showed them all to be male birds.
The sex of the birds already in residence wasn't known, either, so all the birds will be retested after the newcomers have settled in, said Gary Pettit, superintendent of the park.
Several visitors and dignitaries were on hand a short time later for the opening of the nearby Eagle Aviary. The new half-acre aviary was completed in partnership with the Nebraska Environmental Trust, the Omaha Zoo Foundation and the Henry Doorly Zoo.
Originally planned as a whooping crane sanctuary, it was easily converted when cranes weren't available, said Mark Brohman of the Environmental Trust. He said the trust works closely with the zoo to show off the state's native animals.
The mesh-covered aviary boasts a brook, a pond and plenty of trees, grass and bushes. It is home to six bald eagles, one golden eagle and numerous cattle egrets. All are on loan from the Fish and Wildlife Service.
When asked what would prevent the eagles from eating the smaller cattle egrets, Betsy Finch of Raptor Recovery Nebraska replied, “Nothing.” But she explained that since the eagles all have some form of wing damage and cannot fly and the egrets can, the egrets have the advantage.
Contact the writer: 444-1067, carol.bicak@owh.com
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