Pelagornis

The Pelagornis is one of the Creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved.

Behavior
"It swims on the surface, like a raft."

- Jeremy

Flying a tamed Pelagornis into the water will cause it to "land", and swim around until you take off again. Wild Pelagornis are naturally shy creatures that will fly away at the first sign of conflict.

Appearance
A relative of modern seagulls, Pelagornis is instantly recognizable from the more common by its size. With a wingspan rivaling, it also possesses a beak filled with tooth-like projections for snagging fish, as well as webbed feet for paddling upon the ocean surface when it must rest its wings.

Drops
In Primitive+:

Fish
The Pelagornis deals ten times more damage to, , and , and can harvest them with the same attack that killed them. Coelacanth and Salmon can usually be killed in one hit by this, but Piranha have more health and may require two or three hits.

Taming
Pelagornis will not eat normal raw or cooked meats

KO Strategy
The most reliable strategy for downing Pelagornis is to use a regular bow with tranquilizer arrows. Crossbows and Compound Bows may kill them before actually downing them depending on your server settings, the quality of your weapon, and the health of the bird. It is possible to use a bola on them, so if it's walking on the beach, this can be very easy.

If you have a low melee level Pteranodon, you can attack the Pelagornis and get it to flee inland, where a tribe mate can use a bola and then you both attack it with Tranq darts.

Alternatively you can follow them till they reach land and bola or shoot them so they can knock out over land.

Another strategy is to get a Raft directly under the flying Pelagornis, so there is a chance that they land on your raft and you can easily bola them and knock them out. Or you can try to bola them while flying over your raft.

One additional strategy is to use a grappling hook when over land, thus not allowing the Pelagornis to fly away and making the KO very easy.

Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Pelagornis. Due to their skittish temperament, they'll flee when attacked.

Strategy
When a wild Pelagornis is attacked it will fly away. Use a Bola to hold it in place to knock it out or kill it easier.

Weaponry
Because of their ability to fly, ranged weaponry is recommended.

Dangers
While the Pelagornis itself does not usually pose a threat, they will fly away when attacked, so a player more concentrated with killing or taming one than watching their surroundings may find themselves ambushed by a pack of Raptors or other hungry carnivores nearby, so it is best to quickly scout around the area before going in for the kill/tame.

Weakness
Because of their low base, critical hits will make quick work of them.

Roles

 * Scavenger: Pelagornis is a great creature for trying to get the last hit on prey, due to its exclusive ability to kill and harvest a creature in a single attack. Circle around a fight of predators and wait for one of them to get bloodied, then swoop in to finish it off. This allows players to farm or  without coming near enough to get damaged. However, the Pelagornis can not gather  with this ability, so its utility is limited. (Level Weight and Melee Damage).
 * Oceanic Kick-Starter: When on water, Pelagornis lands safely and becomes a fast swimmer. This can save your life if your Pelagornis happens to get low on, but in swimming mode, Pelagornis will attract aquatic creatures, which can make your next problem but can also help with taming an . They will swim up to the Pelagornis, and can be either tamed on the spot or led to a safer enclosed area, with the added bonus of being able to fly away should sea predators appear. To early players, this can be a helpful kick-start to establishing an oceanic presence. However, the high  level means that players may no longer have need of this utility once they are able to ride their Pelagornis.
 * Organic Polymer Farmer: Can be used to fly to the snow and eat, harvesting from them. Note that younger  give substantially more , so target the babies first, as all  will run as soon as you start attacking.  is heavy, and the Pelagornis' base weight is very low. (Level Weight and Melee Damage)
 * Fish Killer: The Pelagornis gets a massive attack bonus against s,, and . It will easily kill and harvest  from them in one shot, usually killing multiple s in one hit as they tend to swarm as soon as you land on the water. Note that the bonus damage does not apply to s or other sea creatures.
 * Long Distance Scout: Pelagornis get a 36.5% boost to flying speed when they are tamed, and have fairly good base stamina. Combined with their ability to land nearly anywhere to regain their stamina, this makes them an excellent long haul scout that can either out fly or out last someone trying to chase it down. (Level Stamina).
 * Fishing Platform: Players can fish while on a Pelagornis, and it can fly to easily reach a favorite fishing location. Furthermore, if predators approach the Pelagornis, it can fly away to safety and to another fishing spot, which may eventually become tedius as you realise they are not immune to piranha aggro. This is not yet available on mobile version though. (Level Health and Weight).
 * Travel: The Pelagornis can be a great travel mount due to it being able to land in water to regenerate while also being able to stay away from terrestrial predators such as es or, though the  can fit this role much better.

Weight Reduction
The Pelagornis reduces the weight of the following resources by the listed amount while they are in its inventory (weight reduction is not working in singleplayer) :

Notes/Trivia

 * Won't eat Raw Meat. Only Fish.
 * Pelagornis will throw you off their back if you're flying over lava. Be careful!
 * You can place Rafts while riding on a Pelagornis.
 * The dossier was revealed on 05/30/16.
 * The Pelagornis miocaenus is the same name as the type species of genus Pelagornis, the genus name means 'miocene' in Latin.
 * With a wingspan of around 6 m (18 ft), Pelagornis was one of the longest wingspan flying birds in history (Argentavis could have been bigger, but its wingspan is unknown).
 * The Pelagornis will not spawn in Scorched Earth, not even through commands. If you try to transfer it through an Obelisk it will disappear forever! (Seems fixed on unofficial. Tested 4/29/17 it's alive and well)
 * The Pelagornis fits through an opened doorway, and unridden stands under ceilings 1 wall high (except when a sloped ceiling is used over the doorway). It can thus go anywhere inside a base that is ramp accessible.
 * Pelagornis is one of the few animals that doesn't have a collar with a check mark by it in the notes. Even though it can be be tamed Helena didn't add a collar or check mark with her information.
 * By spamming the jump button looking down on the surface of water, you can travel underwater without either you or the Pelagornis losing oxygen.