Skip navigation

Bam! Diving pelicans plague Arizona streets

Endangered birds mistake sidewalks, roads for lakes

Video: Weird news
A 'green' donation of a different kind
Nov. 30: A Goodwill in Ohio discovered more than a thousand dollars worth of marijuana in a donated water jug. Msnbc.com's Keva Andersen reports.

Slideshow
Image: World's stretchiest skin
  Guinness World Records
See the biggest rubber band ball, oldest bungee jumper, longest ear hair and much more.

more photos

updated 9:49 a.m. ET July 9, 2004

PHOENIX - 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.

“They try to land on the water, but it’s asphalt and it’s ‘Bam! That doesn’t feel so good,”’ said Sandy Cate, director of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s wildlife center at Adobe Mountain in north Phoenix.

During the past two weeks, the injured pelicans have been found from Yuma to Phoenix, the department said Thursday.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

The pelicans have been treated mostly for dehydration and emaciation.

Wildlife experts believe the endangered birds are experiencing a food shortage along the West Coast and are heading to Arizona to find fish.

The sun’s reflection, mixed with hot and cool layers of air create mirages, and the birds mistake smooth pavements for water.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored LinksGet listed here
Online College Courses
Boost your career with an online Degree. Pick from Leading Colleges!
www.EarnMyDegree.com

Sponsored links

Resource guide