Pelican Predator Problems

The two species of pelican that occur in North America have very few predator problems as adults. The American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynhos) and the brown pelican (Pelacanus occidentalis) suffer from predation most when they are chicks.

  1. Advantages

    • The American white pelican is a large bird, making any predator think twice before expending the effort to try to kill it. The bird can be 70 inches in length and possess an 8-foot wingspan. Its flying skill and the fact that it lives in groups and on the water the majority of the time make it tough for any land-based predators to target.

    White Pelican Nests

    • The white pelican frequently builds its nest on islands with others of its kind, typically constructing them on the ground. This makes the chicks safer, with only ground mammals that occur on the island able to hunt and kill them, notes the International Bird Rescue Research Center.

    Vulnerable Chicks

    • Brown pelican chicks can die from exposure, but their major worries come from the advances of animals such as feral cats, skunks and other water-going bird species, including gulls. The newly hatched brown pelicans cannot see and they lack the ability to walk or swim.