A pelican that landed near docks in Rhode Island will likely remain stranded in chilly New England until after the end of the partial federal government shutdown.
The Providence Journal reports that the juvenile brown pelican, who may have been steered north by recent high winds, had become a local sensation delighting local bird watchers and dock workers who nicknamed him "Bert.''
But as temperatures dropped, the bird was taken from the area by the Department of Environmental Management to a wildlife sanctuary.
Now, Bert may be stuck.
Kristin Fletcher, executive director of Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island, the group caring for the pelican, said they can't get the needed federal permits to move him across state lines to a more southern location.
