Ecolog:
Thanks to all for their on- and off-list responses.
Please note that the initial post was a quote with a link to the source.
That makes it an anecdote, which can be believed or disbelieved. Skepticism
is always warranted, both in terms of whether or not the observations were
correct, complete, or deficient. However, the reported phenomenon might be
testable, and cases of injured birds might or might not reasonably duplicate
the reported event. All opinions, even educated ones, remain speculation,
not proof. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, no? The reported
phenomenon is, if true, likely to be rather rare. Since the islanders have
long since disappeared, and the reported practice likewise long gone, it is
not surprising that recent observations might not exist. In fact, the number
of observations of pelican behavior is likely to be quite small, perhaps
"infinitesimally" so, given the similarly small number of potential
comparable events in the absence of observer's eyes. Conjecture in either
direction is far from conclusive.
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah Frias-Torres" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2011 12:56 PM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Animal behavior Altruism Merciful birds
Interesting...Are you sure it was pelicans? Perhaps seabird specialists in
this list may want to correct me, but pelicans, like many other seabirds,
ingest the fish they catch and then regurgitate back at the nest to feed
their chicks. So if this unfortunate bird was being fed by other pelicans,
it must have been through regurgitated fish. Which will save the bird, but
won't be too appealing for us at first sight. Perhaps the islanders had
found a way to make ceviche or fish soup that tasted good anyway.
Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D. Schmidt Ocean Institute Postdoctoral FellowOcean
Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) 1420 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce,
Florida 34949 USA Tel (772)
467-1600http://www.teamorca.orghttp://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTorres
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2011 10:56:09 -0800
From: [email protected]
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Animal behavior Altruism Merciful birds
To: [email protected]
Ecolog:
Here is an example of such behavior. I'll appreciate comments and
references.
On August 15, the Santo Tomás came to a medium-sized island they called
"La Asunción," after the Ascension of the Virgin Mary. Nubbled with sand
and gravel, the island looked made of plaster. The patina, it turned out,
came from the excrement of pelicans.
Captain Peguero and Father Ascensión took a scouting party ashore. They
found a pelican flapping one wing. The other was tied to its body.
Although it couldn't move, piles of sardines lay around its webbed feet.
Father Ascensión realized that "as he could not catch them by reason of
his captivity," other pelicans had brought the fish, "so merciful are
these birds."
Ascensión also realized that the trapped bird was a native trick for
fishing without getting wet. Once pelicans had brought enough, natives
would leap from a bush, chase the birds away, and "obtain sufficient fish
without great labor."
Ascensión released the bird.
Here's a link to the (secondary) source:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2011/oct/26/unforgettable/
WT
PS: My apologies to the individual with whom I corresponded several months
ago on this subject; I can't find the correspondence in my files, and I
don't remember his or her name.
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