Death of pelican during parade under federal investigation
Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, February 10, 2016
- Float riders hand out beads to the crowd as the St. Paul Carnival Association parade rolls through downtown Pass Christian, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. (Amanda McCoy/The Sun Herald via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (AP) — State and federal authorities are investigation the death of a juvenile pelican after Sunday’s St. Paul’s Carnival Association parade in Pass Christian.
The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1SHQL4U) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks are investigating the death to determine if parade attendees played a part in its death.
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The newspaper reports a video posted on the internet showed a group of float riders throwing Mardi Gras beads at the pelican until it became visibly distressed and walked into traffic where it was struck by a vehicle and killed.
Missy Dubuisson (DOO’-bee-sawn) of Wild at Heart Rescue in Vancleave told the paper the body of the pelican has been recovered and a necropsy will be conducted.
Pelicans are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
