Some more info:
· Over 100 pelicans rescued in California
· Some symptoms resemble poisoning due to an ocean toxin
· Large number of adult pelican deaths perplexes experts
www.guardian.co.uk...
The group is working with California Fish and Game wildlife veterinarian Pamela Swift, who said she is trying to obtain fresh carcasses so samples can
be sent to laboratories for analysis. Results could come by next week. Occasional disoriented birds are not unusual, the rescuers said. Young pelicans
also often turn up starving or debilitated.
But the pelicans appearing along California shores are adult birds, and the sheer number of them is highly unusual, rescuers and veterinarians said.
"This year, quite a few adult birds are coming in starving", Nevill said. "That's not typical."
Dmytryk put the situation in starker terms. "I've been rescuing wildlife on the California coast since 1981," she said. "And I've never seen
anything like this."