b'Cleo, The DogWho Loved Pelicans.by Bonnie Georgiadis We were excited about getting 61 winged pelicans. They A few months passed and the Bird Department was becom-were to be displayed in a sanctuary along the Weeki Wachee River ing accustomed to the routine of going down to the pen everyasanadditionalpointofinterestforpatronsenjoyingthe afternoon, thawing 80 pounds of thread herring and hand-toss-Wilderness River Cruise at Weeki Wachee Springs. The Suncoast ing them to the pelicans. We hand-fed them so we could studySeabird Sanctuary donated them to us because they were over- their physical condition. They were fed 80 pounds during thecrowded with pelicans that could never be released back into the summer months, and double that amount in the winter. Theywild.Agreatdealofcarewas were hungrier when it was cold.taken to select the right location ThetypeoffishwefedthemforThePelicanSanctuary.The would change with the seasons,existing steep slope was terraced, basedonwhateversmallishfishcompletewithgentlysloping was available in the marketplace. sand, ramps and tropical landscap- Ourtroublesbeganonaing. Anenormousshallowpool freezing January night. The natu-wasconstructedforswimming ralpredatorsofpelicans(rac-and a fence was added all the way coons, opossums, et al), saw theiraround. A walk-in freezer anda appetitesalsoincreasewiththetub for thawing fish was put in coolerweather,andourbirdsbehind the scenes. It was quite a were easy prey. They couldnt flybig deal to prepare for them.or get up high as a normal pelicanThen came the grand open- would. They were nesting on theing. Ralph Heath, the ubiquitous groundandcouldntdefendfounder of the Suncoast Seabird themselves.ThecaptainoftheSanctuary,broughtmostofhis first WildernessRiverCruiseofstaff and several trucks full of ani- the day, called me and reportedmal flight crates, loaded with one- that he saw a dead pelican in thewingedpelicanamputees.The pen.Ifoundthebirdpartiallyseabirds were injured as a result of eaten. Threedayslateranotherfishing line accidents, when fish- one was killed the same way. Weermen would cut their line if it had an electric hot wire installedbecame fouled in the branches of around the fence but the raccoonmangrove islands. The line would Cleo with Bonnie Georgiadis, supervisor of the Bird oropossum,whicheveritwas,wraparoundabirdswing(not Department, mermaid and choreographer at Weeki Wachee would dig under the exclosure.only pelicans). Unable to fly, they Springs. Photograph taken February 1987 by Olie Stonerook. At the time, we were prac-wouldhangthereuntileithersomeonefoundthemorthey ticing wild bird rehabilitation for birds of prey at the attraction.starved to death. So these birds arriving at Weeki Wachee were the When we received any water birds, a local farmer was brought inlucky ones. They all marched, or I should say waddled, single file to shuttle them down river to the Seabird Sanctuary. On one ofdown to their swimming pool. About half of them kept right on my visits to his farm, I drove into the farmyard and was horrifiedgoing past the pool and waddled up to the fence along the river, to see dead birds and pieces of dead birds scattered about the yard.climbed up the chicken wire which was attached to the split rail The farmer told me that they usually had two large dogs onfencing and jumped into the river. The current in the river is pret- guard, but a week earlier one of the dogs had disappeared. Lastty strong. The pelicans paddled as fast as they could with their night, the remaining dog, still despondent over the loss of hiswebbed feet but couldnt make any headway against it.friend, and shaking from the bitter cold outside, was allowed toWe all dashed for our cars, rushed back to the attraction come inside for comfort. The predator or predators struck. There(about a mile away) to get the work boat and some long handled were chickens and ducks, geese, a peacock and a turkey. All torncatch nets. Meanwhile the maintenance men added another rail apart. Its not Disney World out here. Some critters just kill forto the fence to make it taller. What a day that was. Scoop up a pel- fun. ican, rush back to the pen, put birds into the pen and hurry back As I drove away I kept thinking, everything was all right untilto get another one. the dogs were gone. A dog!Thats what we needed at the pelicanThe office was getting phone calls from residents eight miles pen. I was lucky there was already an existing ten foot high chaindown-river about pelicans floating by.At the end of the ordeal link fence encircling the outer perimeter of the smaller fencedwe took a beak count and there were still 61 of them. Whew. pelican area. 40 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'