EPJ - 1st Place Winner
by Phil Pogledich
Tangled
I came upon this scene during a recent hike at Point Reyes National Seashore, a bit north of San Francisco. The way that the frayed rope (or net fragment) was wrapped around the remains of this cormorant, I can't help but think it was the obvious cause of death.
Canon 5DII, 17-40L at 36mm, f/16 for 1/60 (ISO 800).
Comments
15 commentsI've seen cormorants trying to swallow long lengths of fishing ropes and lines, perhaps thinking the fishy-smelling and tasting things are food.
Sandy
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Sandy
As a postcript of sorts, I thought I would mention that shortly after posting this shot last September, I did a bit of online research and found that cormorants and other seabirds often fall victim to fishing nets (including discarded nets and net fragments, as was the case here). Hardly surprising, I suppose. There are some estimates that over 250,000 seabirds die after becoming entrapped worldwide each year. Of course, as Lorna mentioned, seabirds are only a small part of the bycatch problem.
It's not easy to tell at the posted size, but on the scene it was quite evident that this bird met its fate upon encountering the net and becoming entangled in its many loose strands. It was bound so tightly that even though scavengers and decomposition had separated its wings from the body, the net continued to hold all of its various parts in very close proximity (as shown).