Watch out for Naughty Boy, the pelican

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Another more upbeat news item told of a young pelican in Kalbarri, Western Australia, that is wowing the tourists with his tricks. Pelicans at Kalbarri can be fed by tourists at a set time each morning. They are only given a small number of fish, not enough to deter them from finding their own food. You can read about it here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-29/naughty-boy-pelican-delights-tourists-kalbarri/106073082 Naughty Boy, as he is known, is the youngest and newest of a new batch of pelicans. He has been entertaining the crowds that come to watch or participate in the feeding. One of his tricks is to play dead, lying prone and ignoring everything going on around him. He is very vocal and very active, running around with his wings spread and demanding food. A less endearing habit is that of grabbing unwary seagulls. He would make a meal of them if the volunteers didn’t step in quickly enough to save the gulls. He also grabs the beaks of other pelicans, and the hands of people, when competing for food. However, their beaks are not strong enough to hurt. Naughty Boy is three years old but Kalbarri residents are expecting him to migrate some time soon. In the meantime, he continues to draw the crowds. So Australia now has snakes, spiders, crocodiles AND pelicans to worry about. The photo was taken in Kalbarri some years ago.