Kangaroo Island lies off the south central coast of Australia, near Adelaide. It’s Australia’s third largest island but has only 5000 inhabitants, about a third living in the town of Kingscote (most of the rest live on farms about the island)
A tradition of feeding the pelicans has developed over the years, albeit one that is illegal as you are not allowed to feed wildlife. That does not stop the “pelican man” (Mr. Ayliffe) from feeding these birds, an activity so popular with tourists that it appears in travel brochures. Law enforcement officials have learned to turn a blind eye to the activity, which seems harmless enough to me.
Not only is the feeding popular with tourists, pelicans and seagulls seem to like it too, showing up in large numbers and knowing to the minute when to arrive for their free fish handout (5 pm). A box of fish is dispensed to the birds who then leave just as quickly as they arrived.
