Storm Boy made Mr Percival famous. Now pelicans like him are under threat

Dr. Greg Johnston, a researcher from Flinders University, has been monitoring South Australia's pelicans for 37 years. He emphasizes the need to protect the pelicans' habitat to aid their survival in the face of the approaching H5N1 bird flu. As an adjunct associate professor, Johnston has been anticipating bird flu's impact on Australian pelicans for years, based on its progression from wild birds to domestic poultry in 2020 in Central Asia, and subsequent spread to Europe, Africa, and North and South America.

He predicts that breeding colonies such as the Coorong or Bird Island could lose between 60 and 70 percent of their population in the first wave of the virus. Johnston mentions that viruses, like other organisms, evolve and adapt, highlighting the European black-headed gull as an example of a bird species that was initially unaffected but experienced a significant population decline in the second year of an outbreak.

He stresses that most species will have survivors if they have safe spaces to recover. The Coorong, a vital breeding sanctuary for Australian pelicans, has witnessed a decline in numbers over the past decades. In the 1980s, it supported 250,000 migrating red-necked stint birds, which dwindled to 25,000 by 2010. Although pelicans are not currently considered endangered, their numbers in Australia's southeast have been decreasing by 1 percent annually for four decades due to the drying up of natural swamps and increased water diversion for human use.

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan, currently under review, is expected to deliver its report to the government in December, and locals are eagerly awaiting its implications for the fragile environment of the Coorong. Locals like Skipper Joel Hirsch, who takes tourists on boat tours of the Coorong, highlight the region's unique beauty and the importance of the pelican as an iconic symbol of the area.

The first Storm Boy movie's scenes were filmed in and around Goolwa and the Coorong, and the pelican Mr. Percival, which played a starring role, lived a low-key life at Adelaide Zoo before passing away in 2009. Mark Koolmatrie, a Tanganekald elder and cultural tour guide, emphasizes the cultural significance of the nori (Australian pelican) and other animals and plants to the Ngarrindjeri Nation, stating that when the nori is sick, so are they.

Koolmatrie urges the government to understand the importance of supporting the Coorong's fragile environment and its bird life during the challenging times ahead.