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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 06/24/2006 : 14:12:13
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And the birds-smacking-into-things pandemic continues to escalate. Now we begin to suspect a common root cause: drug abuse.quote:
Pelicans' behavior blamed on acid
Domoic acid poisoning blamed for bird flying into windshield
Saturday, June 24, 2006; Posted: 4:03 p.m. EDT (20:03 GMT)
LAGUNA BEACH, California (AP) -- The driver was sober. The bird he hit may have been under the influence.
A California brown pelican flew through the windshield of a car on the Pacific Coast Highway on Thursday, and wildlife officials said the bird was probably intoxicated by a chemical in the water, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
Though toxicology tests take several weeks, the odd bird behavior was likely the result of poisoning from domoic acid, which has been found in the ocean in the area, Lisa Birkle, assistant wildlife director at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, told the Times.
Birds can be poisoned through eating algae tainted by the acid.
The driver was not hurt. The pelican needed surgery for a broken foot, and also had a gash on its pouch.
"She's hanging in there," Birkle told the paper.
The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center has received 16 calls of strange bird behavior in the past week, and was holding three other birds found disoriented and wandering through yards and in streets, the newspaper reported.
Domoic acid poisoning was the most likely cause of a 1961 invasion of thousands of frantic seabirds in Northern California that inspired Alfred Hitchcock's film "The Birds."
Those birds flew into buildings and pecked several humans.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
Edited by - HalfMooner on 06/24/2006 14:20:15
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Zebra
Skeptic Friend
USA
354 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2006 : 23:46:04 [Permalink]
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quote:
The driver was not hurt. The pelican needed surgery for a broken foot, and also had a gash on its pouch.
And a lawyer to fight the FWI charge (flying while intoxicated). If it's a first offense, maybe they can try for a rehab program instead of jail time. |
I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone* -Dick Cheney
*some restrictions may apply |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2006 : 11:48:26 [Permalink]
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Here's a video about the tripping pelican problem.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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