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Location
Jackson, Mississippi
Start Date
5-11-1995 12:00 AM
Description
Animal Damage Control offices in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi began receiving complaints concerning American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) foraging in commercial channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) ponds in 1990. Because of the relatively shallow pond depth and high fish stocking rates used by most producers, commercial catfish ponds provide a near perfect foraging environment for American white pelicans. Since 1993, pelicans seem to have become more persistent in their foraging efforts and therefore, more difficult to disperse from catfish farms. Damage abatement recommendations have consisted of harassment measures similar to those used for other piscivorous birds, issuance of depredation permits, and draining water from fields used as loafing sites. In order to learn more about pelican numbers and movements Animal Damage Control, Denver Wildlife Research Center (ADC/DWRC) biologists began aerial censuses in the Delta Region of Mississippi and a radio-telemetry study during the winter of 1993-1994. Information provided by these studies will be used to develop American white pelican damage management strategies in the southeastern United States and elsewhere.
Recommended Citation
King, D. T. (1995). American white pelicans: The latest avian problem for catfish producers. In Armstrong, J. B. (Ed.), The Seventh Eastern Wildlife Damage Control Conference (pp. 31-35). Jackson, MS: Mississippi State University.
Included in
American White Pelicans: The Latest Avian Problem for Catfish Producers
Jackson, Mississippi
Animal Damage Control offices in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi began receiving complaints concerning American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) foraging in commercial channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) ponds in 1990. Because of the relatively shallow pond depth and high fish stocking rates used by most producers, commercial catfish ponds provide a near perfect foraging environment for American white pelicans. Since 1993, pelicans seem to have become more persistent in their foraging efforts and therefore, more difficult to disperse from catfish farms. Damage abatement recommendations have consisted of harassment measures similar to those used for other piscivorous birds, issuance of depredation permits, and draining water from fields used as loafing sites. In order to learn more about pelican numbers and movements Animal Damage Control, Denver Wildlife Research Center (ADC/DWRC) biologists began aerial censuses in the Delta Region of Mississippi and a radio-telemetry study during the winter of 1993-1994. Information provided by these studies will be used to develop American white pelican damage management strategies in the southeastern United States and elsewhere.