Anacapa Odyssey

The prodigal pelican has come home at last.

He had roamed all the way to the Gulf of Alaska, more than 1,000 miles to the north--farther than a California brown pelican had ever been known to travel.

He had grown weary, emaciated, lost. On top of all that, the humans who took him in thought he was a female and named him Penelope.

But at 11:32 a.m. Sunday, the web-footed wanderer was released from a dog carrier perched on the stern of a tour boat anchored off this rugged island 13 miles from the Ventura coast.

A crew member named Viktor Grigaliunas slid open the cage door, grasped Penelope’s capacious beak and coaxed him onto the vessel’s railing.

At the verge of dizzying freedom, Penelope shook his head, spread his wings and, for a few seconds, did absolutely nothing--as if considering his options.

With three dozen cameras poised, tourists watched as Grigaliunas placed his hand under Penelope’s belly and lifted.

A student from a marine biology class at Valley College jokingly whispered about “the National Geographic moment.”

Penelope flapped his wings, and a cheer went up. Grigaliunas launched into a rousing rendition of “Born Free.”

Penelope gracefully flew a couple of hundred yards along the west Anacapa shore line and circled back, executing a smart fly-by right over the boat. Then he headed for the cliffs, where dozens of other pelicans circled--either waiting to hear about their old pal’s adventures or just waiting for a beakful of fish.

Penelope’s odyssey had finally ended.

Just when it began nobody knows. Nor does anyone know for sure that Penelope, who is about 2 years old, began his life on Anacapa. However, the island is far and away the biggest pelican rookery on the West Coast, so wildlife experts presume that he had either been born on its rugged bluffs or at least could make a good life for himself there.

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Penelope was discovered last fall on a cargo barge making its way from Alaska to Seattle. Whether he had been disoriented by El Nino storms or undone by one too many a low dive is uncertain. Near death, he was brought to mend at a Washington wildlife center, where he spent three months.

United Airlines then gave him a complimentary flight to Los Angeles late last month, where he was met by June Taylor, a volunteer with the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. For two weeks, he recovered further on a freshwater pond at Taylor’s home in the Goleta foothills.

Sunday morning, he was driven down to the Island Packers dock at Channel Islands Harbor. The company regularly transports wounded seabirds and seals from mainland animal clinics to various spots in Channel Islands National Park. However, the company had never handled one with the celebrity status of Penelope, who has been featured on TV and in newspapers from Seattle to Santa Barbara.

Penelope settled into his cage during the hourlong crossing. As the tour boat Sunfish neared Anacapa, sea gulls and pelicans wheeled overhead. Three whales spouted; at this time of year, thousands of California gray whales pass through the Santa Barbara Channel, making it a kind of cetacean Grand Central.

When it was time for Penelope to take wing, he surprised the Sunfish’s captain, Keith Brovold: “Mainly, the pelicans we release just kind of flop into the water, like, ‘Uh, where am I?’ ”

But after his initial hesitation, Penelope was graceful, strong and sure as he glided over Frenchy’s Cove and headed toward the cliffs.

“He’s got a mama and a papa somewhere out there,” ventured crewman Grigaliunas.