SAVING PELICAN 895

Saving Pelican 895 is the story of a single bird rescued from the oily waters of the Gulf Coast following BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010. Named after the 895th oiled bird found alive in Louisiana, he offers a glimmer of redemption in the midst of an unprecedented ecological disaster.

Nearly 9,000 birds were picked up in the 4 months following the spill. One of them was bird number 895, a young Brown Pelican found orphaned in the water, covered in oil.

No. 895 is delivered by wildlife biologists to an emergency bird rehabilitation center where he is monitored 24 hours a day by a dedicated staff of both ordinary people and wildlife experts, many of whom travel the world responding to oil spills.

In the midst of 895’s recovery, a tropical storm hits the Gulf Coast and the birds must be evacuated. The rehab team is forced to move more than 200 birds hundreds of miles inland to a safer location. During all of this, No. 895 must be thoroughly and painstakingly cleaned of oil. The team also knows that if he does not learn to feed himself before his release, there will be little hope for his survival back in the wild.

The tale of a single animal and the compassionate people deployed to save him, Saving Pelican 895 shows how the process of saving one life restored a degree of humanity for the rest of us.

Winner, 2012 Emmy Award for Sound and Music
Nominee, 2011 Environmental Media Award
Winner, Best Documentary, Vail Film Festival
Winner, Audience Award, Ashland Film Festival