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A pelican passport would fit the bill Off course, this bird awaits permit to U.S. By PAT LEE Chronicle Herald, A1-A2 Staff Reporter January 24, 2011 A wayward pelican named after a Dartmouth strip club, blown off course during hurricane Earl, is having a bit of an emigration problem. Wildlife rehabber Hope Swinimer has been unsuccessfully trying to get Ralph sent to a bird sanctuary south of the border since he was spotted on the roof of Ralph's Place a couple of days after the Sept. 4 storm. Swinimer, founder of Hope for Wildlife in Seaforth, said she can't get wildlife officials in the United States to return her calls about getting an import permit for the brown pelican. Nova Scotia's Natural Resources Department has issued the required export paperwork. Needless to say, it's a bit cold for Ralph these days. "A pelican is used to the warmer climate," she said Sunday. "But we keep it warm enough in his room so that his water never freezes, and he seems to be coping with it quite well." Swinimer said Ralph's bit of bad navigating in the fall was brought to her attention while at her job as manager of the Dartmouth Veterinary Hospital on Tacoma Drive. Someone called to say a pelican was on the roof of Ralph's Place on nearby Main Street. "I kind of thought it might be a joke, or sometimes people get their birds mixed up," she said, but she wandered over with a blanket, just in case. Sure enough, it was a pelican, but the good folks at Ralph's thought she was "crazy" and wouldn't let her on the roof. "They basically escorted me out," she remembered, laughing. As Swinimer was leaving the strip club, Ralph decided to head up Main Street for a bite to eat at the Golden Arches. Unfortunately, by this time he had drawn an audience and created a bit of a traffic jam, almost being hit by a car a couple of times. He flew away from McDonald's with a crowd in tow and ended up over at the plaza on Tacoma Drive. There, he smashed into the front window of the Dollar Store and knocked himself a bit senseless. Swinimer said she was able to toss a blanket over him at that point and rush him across the street to the vet clinic for X-rays and a checkup. "He had nothing broken, thank heavens," she said. Since then, the 3.3-kilogram pelican has been cared for at her wildlife sanctuary, living in a barn and fed a steady diet of herring. Swinimer said the barn is unheated but a heat lamp keeps him relatively comfortable and he has a big tub for a daily dip. Ralph's age is unknown, but he's thought to be young as his adult colours haven't come in yet. It may also explain why he got confused and off course during the hurricane Swinimer said she tries to keep animals in her care wild in preparation for release, but it's been difficult with Ralph as he has to be hand-fed - or hand-tossed, as it were, as he likes to catch fish in the air - several times a day by staff and volunteers. They tried putting his fish in a bowl so he could feed himself, but he refused. "He's just got used to hanging out with us and following us around." Several years ago, Swinimer sent another pelican to Florida without a hitch and she thought Ralph would get the same treatment. A bird sanctuary in Florida was set to take him, but no one from the state ever responded to her calls about a permit. She's looking at a sanctuary in North Carolina, but is having the same problem. She said there are Canadian zoos that will take the pelican, but she prefers to see him sent to a sanctuary for rehabilitation and eventual release back into the wild. "We just need a yes or no from the U.S. government." ...... Ralph, a pelican blown off course by hurricane Earl in September and rescued in Dartmouth, is having trouble getting back into the United States. He's being cared for at Hope for Wildlife in Seaforth.
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