Pelican makes a pal in London park

An unsuspecting visitor to London's St James's Park has made himself a four-foot-tall pelican pal after the sneaky creature perched beside him as he completed a crossword.

Willy the pelican now follows Michael Ellis where ever he goes through the leafy venue.

'The park's been something of a hotbed of pelican activity lately, it would seem, what with the pigeon-eating specimen we stumbled upon last month. '

Is Mr Ellis' face not a picture in this picture? Demotix/Craig Shepheard

The park's been something of a hotbed of pelican activity lately, it would seem, what with the pigeon-eating specimen we stumbled upon last month.

In that instance, the hapless pigeon was minding its own business nibbling some crumbs near a lake in the park when it was scooped up by a hungry pelican predator.

Adults and young children alike gasped as the pigeon tried desperately to escape from its captor's jaws for 15 minutes.

At one point it looked like it was going to break free as the pelican opened its beak, allowing the pigeon to gaze out to the distance.

But the startled creature missed its opportunity and, after running out of energy, was swallowed whole.

Photographer Paul Mansfield, who captured the remarkable scene while on a day trip to the capital with his family, described how visitors in the park willed the pigeon to fight for its life.

'The pelican would gulp and the pigeon would be sucked down and almost immediately the pigeon came up flapping its wings manically,' he said.

'The pigeon was wriggling this way and that, sometimes placing its head outside of the beak.

'The crowd was willing it to escape, with shouts of "Come on, you can do it!".'

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/846255-pelican-makes-a-pal-in-london-park#ixzz14W8D9a6D