JOHN FLESHER
AP Environmental Writer
CALIFORNIA BAY, La. – Hounded by hunters and fishermen, driven to near-extinction by chemical pollution, the brown pelican has survived a century of human abuse – only to face another challenge from the giant oil spill threatening to devastate the Gulf of Mexico marine environment.
The odd-looking seabird with a distinctive pouch beneath its foot-long bill was removed from the federal endangered species list only last November. Now its recovery could be undermined by millions of gallons of oil polluting the Gulf since an April 20 rig explosion.
So far, no brown pelicans are known to have died from causes related to the spill. That’s likely to change if the oil fouls their nesting and feeding grounds along coastal and barrier islands, officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say.