Volunteer Brianna Settle is served a scrumptious plate of capelin!
If you’ve been following our Indiegogo Pelican Aviary Project campaign, you may have noticed that we A) met our target goal for aviary renovation funds, and B) we have launched an encore campaign to feed the pelicans that will inevitably be brought to our centers in California later this year!
We call this campaign “Fill the Bill,” and we still have plenty of thank-you gifts for bird lovers who want to join this project.
So… How much fish does a pelican eat?
Here, San Francisco Bay volunteer Brianna Settle cozies up to a plate at the “Peli Café.” On the menu today: 6 lbs of capelin, or the daily food eaten by the average ravenous pelican.
Last year at our San Francisco Bay center alone, we treated 350 sick and/or injured brown pelicans for about 9,800 collective days (or an average of 28 days per pelican).
The fish bill for capelin plus vitamins (known as SeaTabs) amounts to about $4.60 per day per recuperating pelican–this cost fluctuates, and the cost of other types of fish used to feed these birds can vary as well. Add the cost of medication and rehab supplies, and we estimate the cost to be about $10 per pelican a day. You can help directly support their care with a donation today.
Want to help? Visit our Indiegogo page for more information as well as a running tally of our goal, updated daily!
Thanks to Ann Yasuda, Linda Cherne, Brianna Settle, Isabel Luevano and Suzie Kosina for the great “café” photos.
