Great White Pelican

Description:

Great White Pelicans are the only larger species of pelican . It has a pure white, rather than greyish-white plumage , a bare pink facial patch around the eye and a long beak with a pouch underneath . Threats – Great white pelicans are exploited for many reasons. The pouch is used to make tobacco bags, the skin is turned into leather, the guano is used as fertiliser, and the fat of young pelicans is converted into oils for traditional medicine in China and India. Human disturbance, loss of foraging habitat and breeding sites, and pollution are all contributing to the decline of the great white pelican.