Pelican Pool

Pelicans

American white pelicans have a distinctive beak that acts as an expandable net to scoop fish up. The lower mandible of the jaw is very flexible, allowing the throat pouch to hold more than two gallons of water. Contrary to popular belief, pelicans do not actually carry fish in their pouch.

About the Memphis Zoo pelicans

We have three male White Pelicans here at the Zoo. Radar has a red band, Honnicutt has a blue band, and Klinger has a pink band. They were named after characters on the TV show MASH. Radar is our oldest pelican, estimated between 13 – 17 years old. Honnicutt is 10, and Klinger is 8 years old. Honnicutt has the darkest eyes out of the 3. The White Pelican lifespan in the wild is about 30 years. They live in freshwater locations like lakes and marshes, estuaries, bays, and will winter along coasts in North and Central America. They weigh anywhere between 10 and 16 pounds and have a wingspan of 8-9 feet. They are not diving pelicans, but instead, they will float along the surface of water to chase fish into shallow waters to scoop them up to eat. Their bill pouches can hold up to 3 gallons of water! In breeding season, males and females will get a “bill horn” or “breeding casque” (has multiple names) for display purposes and it will fall off once the season is over. Also, during breeding season, they will get dark patches on their pouches and longer head feathers. They are known to be food thieves and will steal from others that are trying to swallow large fish. They are successful about 1/3 of the time and our boys are known to try and steal food from each other.