Florida Pelican Dying In Serial Slashings

Someone in Tampa, FL is going around slashing the gullets, throat pouches, under the beaks of brown pelicans. 10 have died and 4 were injured.

Someone is murdering Pelicans

Brown pelicans with slit throat pouches have been washing up this month in south Florida, triggering community outcry as authorities investigate what they suspect are serial slashings.

About 10 birds have died, and another four were injured, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The culprit apparently used a knife to slit the large gullets beneath their beaks, spokesman Robert Dube said.

The birds use the oversized pouches to swallow fish skimmed from the water. Once slashed, they can starve to death.

"It's a slow, agonizing death for these animals," Dube said.

State wildlife officers are seeking tips about the slayings, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also investigating.

While no longer endangered, brown pelicans are protected by state regulations and the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Perpetrators can face fines and even jail time for harming the birds.

Local residents have been offering reward money since officials issued an alert last week about the deaths.

Wildlife officers suspect teenagers or irate fishermen could be behind the attacks. During winter months, the region also sees many part-time residents from northern states, Dube said.

I REALLY hope they catch these bastards before more birds die. No one deserves this slow agonizing death just for living their life.

a reply to: Anyafaj

This is sick. Teenagers? Irate fisherman? Why?
Whoever is doing it, I think they're alone. I can't see this being something a group of teenagers would do for fun. Maybe a creepy old fisherman with a hook for a hand and an eye patch. That's the profile if be looking for.

originally posted by: JessicaRabbitTx
a reply to: Anyafaj

This is sick. Teenagers? Irate fisherman? Why?
Whoever is doing it, I think they're alone. I can't see this being something a group of teenagers would do for fun. Maybe a creepy old fisherman with a hook for a hand and an eye patch. That's the profile if be looking for.

It could even be one psycho teenager just getting started on his path to life.

Though truthfully I hope not!

WHY would anyone kill a pelican?? I've had interactions with them my entire life, it's not like they have a penchant for being aggressive when they want a handout. They, like any other animal, can be, but it's not prevalent. We're not talking about hellbent seagulls here. The tame ones just follow you around, waiting for a toss if you have something.

This really pisses me off. Pelicans are like giant cats in some ways, very nice animals to have the pleasure of interacting with.

originally posted by: Nyiah
WHY would anyone kill a pelican?? I've had interactions with them my entire life, it's not like they have a penchant for being aggressive when they want a handout. They, like any other animal, can be, but it's not prevalent. We're not talking about hellbent seagulls here. The tame ones just follow you around, waiting for a toss if you have something.

This really pisses me off. Pelicans are like giant cats in some ways, very nice animals to have the pleasure of interacting with.

I agree. Whomever is doing this is truly evil personified.

2nd

a reply to: Anyafaj

I wouldn't be surprised if it's teenagers doing this. Years ago a buddy and I were fishing for trout in a local stream. Two teenagers were wading through the stream holding a long stick. It looked like there was meat on the stick. So as they passed by we notice they were catching sucker fish, cutting their lips off and threading their lips through the stick. There must have been 30 of them. They were than throwing the sucker fish back in the water without lips.

originally posted by: WeRpeons
a reply to: Anyafaj

I wouldn't be surprised if it's teenagers doing this. Years ago a buddy and I were fishing for trout in a local stream. Two teenagers were wading through the stream holding a long stick. It looked like there was meat on the stick. So as they passed by we notice they were catching sucker fish, cutting their lips off and threading their lips through the stick. There must have been 30 of them. They were than throwing the sucker fish back in the water without lips.

Some kids are just bastards!

How mean!

Unfortunately, Pelicans are known as pests in the Keys, especially around Marinas, because they mess on the docks and get in everyone's way. Still there is no excuse for this sadistc behaviour.

One thing about the Keys is you get a lot of strange people down there. It's like when someone gives up life, they drive and drive until they can not drive anymore. That lands them in Key West.

Sick human beings. I hope they catch whoever is doing this.

originally posted by: ogbert
Unfortunately, Pelicans are known as pests in the Keys, especially around Marinas, because they mess on the docks and get in everyone's way. Still there is no excuse for this sadistc behaviour.

One thing about the Keys is you get a lot of strange people down there. It's like when someone gives up life, they drive and drive until they can not drive anymore. That lands them in Key West.

Thanks for the on how things are down there. Gives a little insight to a few of the people in the area. (Not all, mind you, a few.)

Double Post

a reply to: Anyafaj

Sounds like this is in the keys, and the story is out of Tampa.

Could there be a fish species they have been scooping up that slices them?
...the invasive lion fish, pufferfish, or the nasty barbed catfish.

They are all over down here. They crap all over docks and boats.
I don't see how you could even catch one, they fly off if you get too close to them.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: Anyafaj

Sounds like this is in the keys, and the story is out of Tampa.

Could there be a fish species they have been scooping up that slices them?
...the invasive lion fish, pufferfish, or the nasty barbed catfish.

They are all over down here. They crap all over docks and boats.
I don't see how you could even catch one, they fly off if you get too close to them.

It says in the article they're washing up in the Keys. Currents? I don't know the area that well but can someone kill the birds in Tampa, dump them in the ocean and have the currents drift them down to the Keys? Anyone from the area know? Could they be using a net to catch them before they fly off?

a reply to: Anyafaj

I live in the Tampa Bay Area. That article is kind of confusing how it's been formatted, opening w Tampa, Florida, then talking about them washing up in the keys.

The current is kind of odd here. It comes in and up. If they took that route, it would take a while. I would think they would be shark bait before reaching the keys.

Here's a quick diagram of the currents. The wind pattern is west to east in the bay most of the time.




I would think its a fish species or punk kid doing it. Fisherman like em' they're like a set of eyes in the sky, pinpointing schools of fish.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: Anyafaj

I live in the Tampa Bay Area. That article is kind of confusing how it's been formatted, opening w Tampa, Florida, then talking about them washing up in the keys.

The current is kind of odd here. It comes in and up. If they took that route, it would take a while. I would think they would be shark bait before reaching the keys.

Here's a quick diagram of the currents. The wind pattern is west to east in the bay most of the time.




I would think its a fish species or punk kid doing it. Fisherman like em' they're like a set of eyes in the sky, pinpointing schools of fish.

Thank you Mandroid.

That helps a lot. It helps me to have a better understanding of the area. I'm only familiar with the Kings Bay, GA/Jacksonville, FL area.

a reply to: Anyafaj

You bet, glad I could help.
I've been living here for 3 years and visiting the keys for 20 and I find myself learning something new every day.
The ocean is an exciting place to visit.
Have a good one!

Maybe its the ones flocking around the Russian subs docked just outside of Florida so to deter them from congregating around the subs in the day they slice there throats and let them leave so that the others learn.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: Anyafaj

You bet, glad I could help.
I've been living here for 3 years and visiting the keys for 20 and I find myself learning something new every day.
The ocean is an exciting place to visit.
Have a good one!

I LOVE the ocean.

I got to take a wonderful boat tour up in Boston to see some humpback whales up close. (New England Aquarium Whale Watch) It was the most breathless and amazing thing I have ever done and I would love to do it again, only this time take my daughter so she can experience it with me. After the tour, there's a tour of the aquarium itself which is also fun. I saw a 50 pound lobster last time I was there, (10th grade, so about 1988???), oh I so wanted to dip that bad boy into butter! LOL I don't care if he is technically the cockroach of the sea or not, he tastes mighty fine to me! LOL

This is happening in the keys.....I live in the keys and the same thing happened last year too.

a reply to: Anyafaj

I hope they catch the one who is responsible for all this. I love animals, and this just broke my heart.

Why would someone torture pelicans?

Weirdly enough, pelicans are symbol of christianity, of Jesus Christ.

In medieval Europe, the pelican was thought to be particularly attentive to her young, to the point of providing her own blood by wounding her own breast when no other food was available. As a result, the pelican came to symbolise the Passion of Jesus and the Eucharist,[105] and usurped the image of the lamb and the flag.[106] A reference to this mythical characteristic is contained for example in the hymn by Saint Thomas Aquinas, "Adoro te devote" or "Humbly We Adore Thee", where in the penultimate verse he describes Christ as the "loving divine pelican, able to provide nourishment from his breast".[107] Elizabeth I of England adopted the symbol, portraying herself as the "mother of the Church of England". Nicholas Hilliard painted the Pelican Portrait in around 1573, now owned by the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.[108] A pelican feeding her young is depicted in an oval panel at the bottom of the title page of the first (1611) edition of the King James Bible.[106]

wikipedia source