Pelican

I couldn't help thinking that with it flapping its wings over the control panels, it would start machinery going that would cause more problems for the rig. Apart from that, yes, I think it was just a hamfisted attempt to show the consequences to nature.

Why are you here if you haven't seen the movie yet?

You might be too young to be able to grasp a movie like this.

Question The rig was out in the Gulf with no land so how did the pelicans get there Aren't they also needing land ( I don't know much about birds, obviously)

The pelican is the state bird of Louisiana.

I think the pelican symbolically represents how pride and greed are destroying the state.

Ironically, the pelican was also symbolic of Christ (both in Renaissance times and in depiction on Louisiana's state flag. Notice how the pelican feeds its young with blood from its own breast?). Therefore, the scene could also represent the death of Christian values; or, it could represent the destruction of a self-sacrificing entity that provides its own blood to sustain us.