About 100 pink pelicans settled near the lake in Congaz. Contacted by IPN for details, Nicolae Ghercioglo, senior inspector of the Economic and Ecological Service (Ecological Agency of ATU Gagauzia), said that fish died in the lake a week ago owing to the lack of oxygen and the birds came to feed themselves.
The previous years, only several pelicans could be seen on the lake. This year there is probably a travelling flock as the birds are much more in number. The people were banned from approaching them. Access to the area is restricted given that a lot of fish died there.
Nicolae Ghercioglo said the pelican is a bird that eats a lot. A bird can eat 5 to 10 kg of fish a day. They pose no threat to the environment. On the contrary, they help clean nature.
The pink and Dalmatian pelicans were added to Moldova’s Red Book. The extermination of these birds carries criminal punishment.
According to the Society for Bird and Nature Protection, the pelicans are the largest birds in Moldova with the dimension of 150-170 cm and a weight of over 10 kg. They are social birds that live in large flocks. They form huge colonies during nesting. The closest colony to Moldova is the one living in the Danube Delta, which is the largest colony of pelicans in Europe.
