Zoo pelican swallows cell phone

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) - August 5, 2009

A pelican at the Tautphaus Park Zoo took something other than food in his bill when a cell phone that had been dropped in a pool at the exhibit made its way down the hatch.

The flock in the exhibit were playing with the phone Monday until one of the birds swallowed it. For three hours, zookeepers couldn't figure out which bird did it until the culprit coughed up the goods.

"Luckily, the bird regurgitated it so it wouldn't harm him," zoo superintendent Bill Gersonde said. "We just need folks to be really cautious when they're in the zoo and remember that they're guests in the animals' homes and they need to keep their personal belongings as close to them as possible."

Officials haven't figured out who owns the phone.

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