The Pelican

I was doing some maintenance on my boat the other day when I came upon a curious pelican.  I usually see these things floating around in the water, looking for fish to snatch up, but I’ve never had one come onto my boat.  Maybe it smelled some fish I caught earlier in the day or maybe it was just curious about the floating machines we use to navigate through the water.

I know pelicans aren’t usually aggressive unless they feel like they’re being attacked but I saw that this particular pelican was looking to start some trouble.  It began rummaging through my deck; knocking over buckets and sifting through some bags I had laid out.  It got a hold of some outboard motor oil and spilled an entire gallon of it all over the deck.  I’m usually not violent towards animals but I had to do something before this pelican made even more of a mess.  I trapped it in a fishing net and threw it overboard.  At least next time I know not to leave stuff out on my deck.