Pelican Couple Wait Six Years For Babies — Become Overjoyed As Egg Finally Hatches

Oct 16, 2020 by apost team

Two birds in residence at Australia's Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue gained international fame when their dream of parenthood finally came true.

Mr. Percival and his lovely Pelican partner who we'll call "Percivalla" have been trying to have a little one for more than five years, but to no avail. Ms. Percivalla laid eggs but none ever hatched. Yet, they never gave up hope.

After seeing the pelicans in the colony give birth year after year, it was heartbreaking to watch that one unhatched egg. The caregivers also noticed how much Mr. Percival wanted a baby chick and decided to help the couple out.

One of the caretakers took an egg from another of a pelican's nest and put it in Percivalla's nest, according to their Facebook post. Then a miracle happened: the egg hatched and the couple, without knowing the origin of the egg, took the baby under their wings and loved it tenderly. 

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Caring for the new bundle of joy is a delicate balancing act for the new parents. They each take turns babysitting and bringing food. In their popular video below, they both lovingly stand over the baby, moving very carefully, as if to admire it and protect it with their long beaks. Slowly the mother backs away and heads off the get food, leaving the proud dad with babysitting duties.

In the last Facebook update, the baby chick was growing normally and doing fine. Mr. Percival can be seen attempting to sit on the chick, as is routine to warm it up, but the feisty little chick was not having it. When dad wiggled to get in position over him, the chick just turn his head to the side and moved slightly to get out from underneath his father. He is quickly becoming independent.

This story has a happy ending in more ways than one. The update also explains that Mr. Percival lived freely in the wild but kept getting trapped in fishing lines. He had to be rescued several times, until one time the resulting injury was too severe. He lost his wing because of it. At that point, Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue applied for and received permission to care for him at their facility. That first miracle was 18 years ago. Miracle #2 is that there will be another Percival who will carry on his legacy.

What a great ending for a dad who lost so much in life and has now gained something that he treasures so much. The parents' priceless expression clearly indicates that the six-year wait was worth it. It also signals that their long wait is over and their collective dream has come true. The little chick will know what true love feels like, and so will its parents.

This story relays how powerful holding on to a dream and never giving up can be. Have you ever experienced the fulfillment of a dream that was very difficult to achieve? Let us know.