As of: March 17, 2024, 7:48 a.m
By: Nadja Zinsmeister
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An angler could hardly believe his eyes when he spotted a rare but tame bird on the Spree.
The animal has apparently lost its way.
Beeskow - The 74-year-old fisherman Heinz Kraemer will not soon forget this visit: In the middle of the Spree in Beeskow, a pelican is currently swimming in Kraemer's hometown.
The pensioner spotted the animal right in front of his house.
“There's never been anything like this here before,” he told the
German Press Agency (dpa)
.
He himself had already heard of sightings in the Oder-Spree district south of Frankfurt on Monday (March 11th) and Tuesday (March 12th).
It was only at the end of 2023 that prehistoric birds found their way to the North Sea - it became life-threatening for them.
Tame pelican spotted on the Spree – experts are puzzled as to where the animal originally comes from
Is this an absolutely exceptional case in Germany – or is it an animal that has escaped?
Kraemer suspects the latter.
The animal has no ring and can fly well, is tame and not afraid of people.
He was even able to feed the bird a few fish on Wednesday (March 13) and Thursday (March 14).
According to Kraemer, he has been a fisherman all his life and, in retirement, still fishes part-time for the Storkow fish cooperative.
He thinks the animal escaped somewhere.
The pensioner and fisherman Heinz Kraemer feeds the pelican on the Spree in East Brandenburg.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
On Thursday, many onlookers were out and about to see the rare find with their own eyes.
The Märkische Oderzeitung
had previously
reported on the sighting.
The Berlin Zoo assumes that it is a young great white pelican.
“This even occurs occasionally in Europe,” said a spokeswoman.
But Germany is not one of his home countries.
Great white pelicans are mainly found on the Black Sea, including in Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova, but also on the Adriatic, for example in Albania.
There are also great white pelicans in Asia and Africa.
Great white pelican spotted in Germany – could the cold season be its downfall?
According to the zoo's assessment, the pelican did not necessarily escape; it could just as easily have gotten lost.
Pelicans are considered the largest flying water birds in the world.
It cannot therefore be ruled out that “the pelican originally came from the breeding areas in Europe and found its way to Germany,” the spokeswoman continued.
The low temperatures shouldn't cause him any major problems because great white pelicans are adaptable.
The last exciting discovery of such an animal in Germany was in 2019: At that time, a pelican swam surrounded by snow on the Isar through downtown Munich.
Instead of ducks and swans, residents in the Oder-Spree district found a pelican.
(Symbolic photo) © Jürgen Ritter/IMAGO
Contrary to what their name suggests, great white pelicans are not pink, but white.
According to the zoo spokeswoman, their flight feathers on their wings are even black.
Only during the courtship period is the plumage actually colored pink.
The color is produced by the so-called preen gland and then distributed over the entire body when preening the feathers.
The more intensely pink a bird shimmers, the more attractive it appears to its peers.
(nz/dpa)