Meet Pelican Named Katta-kun Who’s Been Attending School W/ Students For 20 Years

Katta-kun Really Did Make Kindergarten Part of His Daily Routine

Meet Katta-kun, the famously people-friendly pelican who turned a nearby kindergarten into part of his regular routine — not for one cute visit, but for years.

The bird lived at Tokiwa Park in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, and eventually began flying to a kindergarten about 800 meters away. According to Tokiwa Park’s own history of Katta-kun, he would spend time with the children, move along to music and generally act like showing up for school was the most natural thing in the world.

Katta-kun was born at Tokiwa Park in 1985 and was hand-raised after becoming the park’s first pink-backed pelican successfully hatched through artificial incubation. That human upbringing helps explain why he became so comfortable around people — comfortable enough to leave the park, visit nearby areas and eventually make the kindergarten one of his favorite stops.

One of the sweetest details in the park’s account: when construction at the kindergarten changed the landmarks Katta-kun used from the air, he reportedly spotted teachers and children walking below, landed and simply joined them on foot. A pelican commuting to school with the class is almost offensively charming.

His fame spread well beyond Ube. Katta-kun received recognition from the Japan Animal Welfare Society in 1989, and in 1995 his story inspired the animated film Katta-kun Monogatari, produced with money raised by local residents.

Katta-kun died in 2008 at age 23, but Tokiwa Park still tells his story as one of its most beloved animal legends. And with old footage circulating again, a whole new generation is discovering the bird who apparently looked at a kindergarten and decided: yes, this is my social calendar now.

Watch HAPP Tell Katta-kun’s Kindergarten Story

HAPP revisits the famous pelican’s years of visits to children near Tokiwa Park in Ube, Japan.

Sources: Tokiwa Park; HAPP / YouTube.