Pelicans mistake Arizona asphalt for lakes

The pelicans are going crazy lately. Mistaking asphalt for lakes and crashing into them? Something's up, I can feel it.


www.cnn.com...

Pelicans mistake Arizona asphalt for lakes

Monday, July 12, 2004 Posted: 9:51 AM EDT (1351 GMT)

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- More than 30 endangered brown pelicans have crashed onto sidewalks and roads in Arizona, mistaking the heat-induced shimmer of the paved surface for lakes and creeks.

PHOENIX, AZ (AP) In other news, a coalition of environmental groups including the Sierra Club, PETA and ELF have filed suit in federal court seeking an injunction to require the removal of all asphalt and concrete from public and private lands.

"If we don't act quickly, it won't just be pelicans in Arizona, but thousands of species throughout the United States who are decimated each year by roadways, sidewalks and other dangerous structures thoughtlessly built by humans. We must act, and we must act now," said Lisa Dyke, spokeswoman for the Sierra Club.

A hearing has been scheduled for July 26 at the Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix.

It's called natural selection. If the Pelicans are unable to tell the difference between asphalt and lakes... then another, smarter, more visually acute species will take their place.

What a site that must have been watching a bunch of dumb arse pelicans hitting the asphalt at 30 mph idiotic pelicans

clearly none of you see the irony of having pelicans in the desert at all.
something is very strange if you ask me. i think nature is the thing to watch in the coming days.

back in the 60's there was a famous commercial quote:
"it's not nice to fool with mother nature!"

Kudos to the ATS board. I learned about the pelicans here. Unfortunately, I had no visual sightings of the poor, misguided birds splatting on to our hot, hot asphalt.
I think one thing that may have "confused" them is that we are going into monsoon season..which is a weird season. Although we are a desert area, during monsoon season, we get tropical waves from Baja. Maybe they got swept up in the monsoon atmosphere. Heck if I know
I'll let you know if we have any pelicans hitting our street LOL
joey

If these pelicans are hitting the pavement with the intent of landing on water maybe they should be drug tested.....A bird flew into my front window the other day, perhaps thinking it was a portal to another bird-universe....should we ban all windows in public and private facilities immediately? On this same downward slope of the intellectual learning curve, maybe we should make bug lights ("bug zappers" if you will) illegal because bugs ACTUALLY FLY INTO THEM ON PURPOSE!! The owner should be charged with a crime because of their intent to harm the bugs by purchasing and using said method of critter-execution. The government should also allocate millions of dollars to learn why the bugs are suicidal, and provide them with mental health services...sheesh....

Do not worry folks as it is merely the Stunt Pelican Training Center freshman summer school. They will learn................in time.

Funny (but sad) thing this is.

In order to eradicate pelicans,
� we can lure them to dive suicidally onto asphalt strategically situated in their native habitat.

To reduce bird populations we can make clearer windows and better glass cleaner,
� luring them into plunging to tragic deaths into unseen glass.

To exterminate flying insects like mosquitoes, fruitflies, etc.,
� we have devised the heinous bug zappers which
� employ black-light bulbs to seduce them into embedding themselves
� in a couple of screens charged to several thousand volts.

This begs the question:
� there are many environmentalists out there which are a fine tribute to the human species.
On the other hand,
� there are many more which continually waste precious oxygen, water, and many other valuable resources.
What kind of device could we construct to Darwinize those critters?

...X...

[edit on 2004-7-14 by Teknik]

Already covered on the below thread.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

And also here is the latest information on the pelicans, which are still gone.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 14-7-2004 by Muaddib]

I just find it rather odd all these occurances with these pelicans. I read recently that the bird population is down 11%, can anyone confirm this? Why are all the birds dying off, and getting stupid.

It's because of the "heat-induced shimmer". Mirages can fool even humans so I don't wonder. And the article says they come to Arizona because of food shortages on the West coast.

Teknik: The answer to your question is "Marxism".