See the Pelicans | Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Conservation Status Secure
Distribution Inland and coastal waters of Australia
Life Span They can live to over 15 years
Gestation Approx 15 days

A Pelican Can

Pelicans are the largest water bird in Australia. The stretchy pouch inside their bill is used to hold food until the pelican has positioned it right to swallow.

When extended, a pelican’s bill can hold up to 13 litres. The Australian Pelican mainly feeds on fish, crustaceans and occasionally small turtles.

Get to know one of the most famous animals at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Marlin the Pelican, and see him at the WildSkies Free Flight Bird Show.

Several pelicans and other water birds stand together on a sunlit, dirt path near a pond in a green, wooded area.

Fun Fact

When they spot a school of fish, they dive and scoop them up with their stretchy throat pouch, then tip their heads to drain out the water before swallowing their catch whole.

A pelican with a long beak and black-and-white feathers floats on calm water.

See Pelicans

Map Locations

N13

Best time to see me

10am

Keeper Talk Times

10:00am Pelican and Eel Feeding

Get Up Close

A person stands near the edge of a pond, feeding a group of pelicans and cormorants gathered on the shore.

Pelican and Eel Show

Electrifying Experience

The Pelican and Eel feeding show offers something unique.

Find Out More

See More Animals

This Way

Jingeri – Hello

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the greater Yugambeh language region, the Country on which Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Hospital are situated today. We recognise their continuing connections to the land, sky, waters (waterways), and wildlife. We thank them for caring for this Country and its ecosystems.

We celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and we pay our respect to Elders past and present.

Pelicans