MANKATO ? Two groups are offering up to $5,000 for information leading to a conviction in the shooting of seven American white pelicans in Kansas earlier this month.

The Humane Society of the United States and The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust announced the reward Monday.

The federally protected birds were shot in September at the Lovewell Reservoir in Jewell County.

Jewell County Game Warden Mike Peterson found the birds’ bodies. He says he believes the birds were killed at the same time as they migrated through the region.