Lost Pelicans Over a Lost Lake: The Bleak Return to Lake Urmia

 

 

 

A short video circulating online shows a pair of migratory pelicans standing in disbelief on the cracked earth of Lake Urmia — once the Middle East’s largest saltwater lake, now a vast expanse of dust.
The birds appear confused, scanning the barren landscape as if asking the obvious question: “Are we in the wrong place?”
No — they are exactly where they meant to land. It is the lake that has disappeared.

The arrival of these pelicans, following ancient migration routes, reveals the scale of ecological collapse in northwestern Iran. Decades of water mismanagement, aggressive dam construction, declining rainfall and unchecked groundwater extraction have pushed Lake Urmia to the edge of irreversible death. The birds’ bewilderment mirrors the frustration long expressed by environmental experts.

What was once a thriving ecosystem supporting millions of birds is now a desert where even resilient migratory species struggle to recognize their traditional habitat. Their presence is not a sign of hope; it is a reminder of what has been lost.

Lake Urmia has become a symbol of environmental decline, policy failure, and the growing disconnect between nature and decision-makers. The pelicans’ mistaken landing is a quiet, tragic headline: even wildlife still believes a lake exists where humans allowed it to vanish.

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