I generally don’t like to post photos like this but it’s important to understand the consequences when it comes to human interactions with wildlife. Feeding wild animals is never a good idea. This brown pelican, and many other shorebirds, are often the victims of what some think is an act of kindness — tossing them dead baitfish and fish carcasses. Pelicans that are fed associate people with an easy meal and often mistake a lure for another handout. Undoubtedly, that’s what happened to this brown pelican in the heavily populated seaside town of La Jolla, California. Fortunately, this story had a happy ending, as local authorities were able to safely remove the hook. Many other birds aren’t as lucky. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1250th of a second.
Dude, this completely upends my plans. I’m making branzino, anchovy lasagna and minnestrone all day today, and I’ve got a dozen of my closest shorebirds coming for dinner. What am I supposed to do now when they show up, tell them that feeding them is cruel? What am I going to do with all this anchovy lasagna? Do I take them down to the lake and we all just grab our own dinner? A goddamned disaster is what this is.
An amazing shot, Sean, & I highly endorse your posting it to, hopefully, advance enlightenment. Too often our precious wildlife are harmed & too often die terrible deaths from such injuries. Whenever I am out hiking on the trail of wildlife with or without my cameras, I watch for items that can wind up entangling marine life, birds & mammals. I carry a bag to place, & properly later discard, fishing line, lures, as well as plastics that many times wind up being eaten by the animals. I am glad to learn that this beautiful brown pelican was saved from permanent harm.
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I generally don’t like to post photos like this but it’s important to understand the consequences when it comes to human interactions with wildlife. Feeding wild animals is never a good idea. This brown pelican, and many other shorebirds, are often the victims of what some think is an act of kindness — tossing them dead baitfish and fish carcasses. Pelicans that are fed associate people with an easy meal and often mistake a lure for another handout. Undoubtedly, that’s what happened to this brown pelican in the heavily populated seaside town of La Jolla, California. Fortunately, this story had a happy ending, as local authorities were able to safely remove the hook. Many other birds aren’t as lucky. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1250th of a second.
Dude, this completely upends my plans. I’m making branzino, anchovy lasagna and minnestrone all day today, and I’ve got a dozen of my closest shorebirds coming for dinner. What am I supposed to do now when they show up, tell them that feeding them is cruel? What am I going to do with all this anchovy lasagna? Do I take them down to the lake and we all just grab our own dinner? A goddamned disaster is what this is.
Human’s are the one true virus on this planet.
An amazing shot, Sean, & I highly endorse your posting it to, hopefully, advance enlightenment. Too often our precious wildlife are harmed & too often die terrible deaths from such injuries. Whenever I am out hiking on the trail of wildlife with or without my cameras, I watch for items that can wind up entangling marine life, birds & mammals. I carry a bag to place, & properly later discard, fishing line, lures, as well as plastics that many times wind up being eaten by the animals. I am glad to learn that this beautiful brown pelican was saved from permanent harm.
So beautiful and so, so sad. Proof that a single photo can silently say so much.