There’s a renewed effort underway to help pelicans and other birds that are getting tangled up in fishing line and hooks around the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Recently, a group that’s been helping those birds for years hired a paid worker to rescue the animals.
What they soon realized is that the situation was actually far worse than they thought.
“People love pelicans. They don’t want to see this happening to them,” said Kim Begay.
Begay and a small army of volunteers are part of a group called Friends of the Pelicans.
They focus a substantial portion of their rescue efforts especially around the Sunshine Skyway bridge pier, which is a favorite spot for anglers, and, as it turns out, a terrible place for pelicans, egrets, and other birds that make their home in nearby mangroves.
