Photo via Daily Mail

Say cheese! Hilarious photos show pelicans playing with a ball

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗
Cite

Leng, C. (2026, October 20). Say cheese! Hilarious photos show pelicans playing with a ball. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16222143/Say-cheese-Hilarious-photos-pelicans-playing-ball.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-20 · by Caitlin Leng

Quick Summary

Photographer Lea Scaddan captured a series of playful images showing two pelicans interacting with a dog ball that resembles teeth, giving the illusion of the bird smiling. The photos depict one pelican picking up the ball from the sands of Safety Bay beach in Western Australia and passing it to another pelican, who accepts it enthusiastically. Ms Scaddan noted that the birds were simply investigating the abandoned toy rather than intending to eat it.
Written by AI on 2026-10-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Lea Scaddan, a wildlife photographer in Western Australia, captured pelicans playing with an abandoned dog ball on Safety Bay beach. One pelican picked up the ball, and due to its teeth-motif design, it appeared as though the bird had a human smile. The pelicans then passed the ball back and forth, engaging in playful behavior rather than eating the toy. Ms Scaddan noted that the birds were just investigating the object before starting to play with it on a tidal sandbank that is accessible at low tide but cut off by rising water. This unique scene has garnered attention for its humorous depiction of wildlife interaction.

Written for “Pelican Playing With Ball Photos” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Pelican Playing With Ball Photos
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
7
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 9101 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Caitlin Leng
54 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 She said: 'I could hear a lot of noise and so I looked out from an upstairs window and I could see a lot of teenagers further up the road outside a neighbour's house.
🔮 Mr Rees-Mogg labelled 'mogging's' win as 'excellent news,' that will 'transmogrify our vocabulary'.
🔮 It has also left the couple - who have never experienced aggression in their neighbourhood before - fundraising to repair the damage, and fearful the arsonists will return to finish the job, or set alight more homes on the street.
🔮 The now 18-year-old, who suffered from depression and anxiety, was employed at the Royal Thurso Hotel from May to June 2024 earning £7 an hour.
🔮 The Association of Convenience Stores also said there was no 'meaningful change' in weekend sales, but sources warn some shoppers may take the stockpiling advice to extremes.
🔮 Aerial images have revealed the detailed outlines of dozens of limestone cottages that once housed more than 100 people, offering a rare glimpse of villages which disappeared beneath the water more than half a century ago. The abandoned villages of Derwent and Ashopton have been uncovered after droughts hit the Ladybower Reservoir (Pictured: An aerial image of long-lost streets and foundations belonging to the villages) The villages were deliberately flooded in the 1940s to make way for the Upper Derwent Valley reservoir (Pictured: Remnants of brick walls exposed after water levels plummeted) The outlines of dozens of limestone cottages that once housed more than 100 people have been exposed A brick wall stands as a reminder of the villages which disappeared beneath the water more than half a century ago The discovery comes as England's drought issue continues to worsen, with ministers secretly warned this week reservoirs could run dry - causing chaos for families in the run-up to Christmas.
🔮 It is not clear which leopard was involved in the attack Mr van Hees also confirmed the leopard involved in the attack will not be put to sleep.
🔮 But the Celebrity Traitors castle has a dark past of its own - which the BBC would rather its viewers did not know.
🔮 Anthony Lee - the Tories' former director of campaigning - used 'inside information' from a private meeting called by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to bet on the general election date months before it took place. Lee, 49, and his wife, parliamentary candidate Laura Lee, 38, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to placing more than £2,000 worth of bets from March 10 and May 21, 2024, standing to win more than £23,000 had their cheating not been unearthed.
🔮 Ahead of Storm Austen's arrival in Somerset, an incredible snap at Glastonbury Tor has captured the site's full majesty as a rainbow appears from an illuminated sky The beautiful scene was also photographed from inside St Michael's Church upon the hill The shots come as Storm Austen is forecast to bring gusts of 50 to 60mph to Somerset from Thursday night into Friday, with gusts exceeding 70mph possible in exposed coastal areas.
Also by Caitlin Leng
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 54 articles by Caitlin Leng →

Topics

Australian Western Australia

Subjects

Australian NORP · 2× Lea Scaddan PERSON · 2× Western Australia GPE · 2× Scaddan PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Pictures of the birds - taken by wildlife photographer Lea Scaddan - show them jovially playing together at a beach on Safety Bay in Western Australia, with one scooping up an abandoned dog ball from the sands. The pelican is then shot in a hilarious moment with its mouth agape and the ball inside - with the teeth-motif imprinted on the toy giving the illusion of the bird having a human smile.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-20
2026-10-20 · Daily Mail
Say cheese! Hilarious photos show pelicans playing with a ball · assertive framing

Claims (7 extracted, 0 hedged)

A pair of pelicans have proven a smile is the best accessory to wear after being captured in a hilarious moment playing with what appears to be a grinning ball. asserted
what → prove → moment
Pictures of the birds - taken by wildlife photographer Lea Scaddan - show them jovially playing together at a beach on Safety Bay in Western Australia, with one scooping up an abandoned dog ball from the sands. The pelican is then shot in a hilarious moment with its mouth agape and the ball inside - with the teeth-motif imprinted on the toy giving the illusion of the bird having a human smile. asserted
bird → take → smile
The bird then passes the ball to its companion, who keenly accepts. asserted
who → pass → companion
Talking about the scene, Ms Scaddan said the birds had 'investigated' the dog toy, and rather than eat it, appeared to be 'playing' with it. asserted
birds → talk → it
She said: 'Two Australian pelicans investigated an abandoned dog ball on a tidal sandbank. asserted
pelicans → say → sandbank
The sandbank is accessible to people and their dogs at low tide but becomes cut off as the tide rises.' asserted
tide → cut → tide
A pelican was snapped on an Australian beach scooping up a dog toy with a teeth motif - giving the appearance of the bird having a human smile Photographer Lea Scaddan said the birds had 'investigated' the dog toy, which was abandoned after tides became high on the beach The birds were jovially playing together with the ball at a beach on Safety Bay in Western Australia asserted
birds → snap → Australia
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support