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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; \"Pierre The Pelican\" is the New Orleans Pelicans' new mascot. (@PelicansNBA)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The New Orleans Pelicans announced Monday that the team's mascot, Pierre, will undergo reconstructive surgery after \"suffering a broken beak\" by running into a basket stanchion while playing pick-up ball with a number of other mascots.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThis will be a rather unconventional surgery for us,\" Pelicans team physician Dr. Matthew McQueen said in a statement. \"I am not sure we have something to compare this to. It will be quite complicated and will require the use of some unconventional tools and instruments to reconstruct his beak.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The unusual \"announcement\" was made in an elaborate press release, which also included a statement from Carolyn Atherton, the curator of birds for the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"We do see a lot of head trauma cases with pelicans,\" Atherton said. \"Since they are the plunge-divers, sometimes they\u2019ll hit sharp objects and a lot of times, they\u2019ll have tears in their pouch or even eye problems. We\u2019ve had quite a few pelicans we\u2019ve treated for injuries similar to Pierre\u2019s. After they\u2019ve been treated, they\u2019ve all come back looking bigger, stronger, faster and ready to take on the world.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What in the world is going on here? The Pelicans appear to be concocting an elaborate explanation for a new-look Pierre, after their original design drew criticism and was the subject of some\u00A0mocking memes\u00A0upon its\u00A0unveiling back in October. Indeed,\u00A0Grantland.com reported\u00A0back in January\u00A0that the Pelicans had plans to \"re-design Pierre's head to make him less scary.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The original Pierre sported a blue jersey and shorts, matching blue gloves, blue accents on his yellow, furry wings and blue eyebrows. His face looked a bit like an over-sized clown mask, with an attention-grabbing red mouth and beak. Presumably, the surgery will reconfigure the beak so that his overall appearance is a little less creepy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This tentative reaction from one young fan said it all.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; A young fan encounters \"Pierre The Pelican.\" (SB Nation)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Pelicans promise to provide an \"update on Pierre's condition\" on Tuesday with a full story on his \"recovery\" to follow on Wednesday. That timeline should have Pierre 2.0 ready for 2014 All-Star Weekend, which is set for New Orleans and will run from Thursday through Sunday. In the meantime, enjoy this action photo of Pierre's unfortunate \"injury.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Pierre the Pelican suffers a \"broken beak\" while playing pick-up basketball. (Pelicans)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Update&lt;/strong&gt;: The Pelicans released this photograph of \"post-surgery Pierre\" on Tuesday.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Pierre The Pelican underwent successful beak surgery. (@PelicansNBA)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pierre replaced \u201CHugo The Hornet\u201D as part of the Pelicans' re-branding effort. The New Orleans Hornets\u00A0officially changed their moniker to the Pelicans\u00A0in April 2013 after initially unveiling the name change and the new color scheme\u00A0back in January 2013. Hugo had been with the organization since its inception as an expansion franchise in Charlotte in 1988.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; \"Hugo the Hornet\" served as the mascot for the Hornets in Charlotte and New Orleans. (Layne Murdoch/Getty Images)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Louisiana is known as the \u201CPelican State.\u201D The brown pelican is the state bird and it adorns both the state flag and state seal. New Orleans also had a Double-A minor league baseball known as the Pelicans for more than 70 years.\u00A0The Pelicans name beat out more than 100 other possible nicknames during a lengthy brainstorming process.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Back in December, the Charlotte Bobcats, who are reclaiming the \"Hornets\" moniker after this season, unveiled a new logo and announced that Hugo The Hornet would be returning as the organization's mascot.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In more somber -- and legitimate -- injury news, the Raptors mascot blew out his Achilles tendon back in October\u00A0and was ruled out for the 2013-14 season.\n&lt;em&gt;GIF via SB Nation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nba/point-forward/2014/02/10/pierre-pelican-new-orleans-mascot-beak-surgery-new-look>