The Mystery
of Pelican Island

Monticola films

There is a very special island in the steppe in the south of Russia. Up to 2,000 breeding pairs of great white pelicans migrate there every year. The only colony of great white pelicans in Russia and one of the largest in all of Europe is located on the small island in the middle of the Manych reservoir. But what attracts birds to this area between the Caspian and Azov Seas to breed and raise their offspring?

But the future of the pelicans on the island is in danger. Because of climate change, and above all due to the increasing withdrawal of water for irrigation in agriculture, the water level is constantly falling so that parts of the lake dry out and islands become peninsulas — and therefore accessible to foxes, which cause real massacres among the pelicans.

Rarely have wildlife filmmakers come so close to pelicans. During the filming, unique footage of the animals' behavior was captured, from breeding to the young birds' first attempts to fly, from the perfectly organized hunt for fish and the chicks' fight against the heat and enemies.

52 minutes, 2023
Written and directed by: Nadya Dorofeeva & Annette Gourdon
Camera: Mikhail Rodionov, Nadya Dorofeeva, Oleg Kugaev
Additional camera: Sergej Tsikhanovich, Georgy Mazurov, Andrej Maximov, Vasilisa Osinskaja
Editing: Marc Schubert
Music & Sound mix: Olivier Lafuma
Graphics: Nadya Dorofeeva
Consultant: Roman Anoschin
Executive producers: Thomas Weidenbach, Sarah Zierul
A production by Längengrad Filmproduktion
Broadcasters: ZDF, arte
International distribution by Albatross World Sales
Languages: English, French, German