They were real easy targets.
Dozens of sick ducks have been spotted in a Los Angeles-area park (some even washed up dead on the shore of a nearby lake), leaving locals wondering if someone has poisoned them.
Eagle-eyed residents who frequent Hollenbeck Park in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles reported that the birds began appearing on the shore a few days ago.
“Usually I come running around the lake and, you know, sometimes I see birds, but there are any number of them, like at least 15 newcomers to the shore,” said a local woman who wanted to stay. anonymous told KTLA.
Dead or dying ducks found in a Los Angeles park.
The woman said she first saw the deceased ducks on Saturday and when she returned on Sunday, there were a handful more. The next day, at least five other people died and a sixth was fighting to stay alive, she told the outlet.
Another resident, Margarito García, noticed a goose standing next to a dying duck, apparently trying to protect the helpless bird.
Margarito Garcia said it looked like someone was poisoning the ducks.
Park visitors are told to avoid apparently sick birds.
While some park visitors suspect poison, one expert suggested bacteria may be causing the disease.
“I come here every weekend to walk my dog,” he said. “Unfortunately, I think someone has been poisoning the ducks, because they are slowly dying.”
While several locals told the outlet they reported the dead birds to animal control, no one has received an answer or explanation as to what caused the ducks to get sick.
Locals say they reported the dead birds to animal control, but got no response.
Howie Berkowitz, founder of Duck Pond of Lake Elsinore, a nonprofit sanctuary that houses about 200 ducks, said that while the ducks could have been poisoned, there may be other reasons for their sudden deaths.
“One is that the water is actually contaminated and that could be because someone did it, or the other possibility is that there is poisonous algae, especially during the summer when the water warms up,” he said.
Poisoned ducks should be taken to the vet immediately to receive activated charcoal, Berkowitz said.
People should avoid the park and sick waterfowl, experts said.
According to Berkowitz, any duck that appears ill should be taken to the vet immediately.
People and their pets should also stay away from sick birds, Berkowitz added.
Another expert said avian botulism, a disease caused by bacteria, could be causing the deaths.
A lethal bacteria could be the cause of the deaths, but authorities will not know until a necropsy is performed.
In that scenario, a duck would ingest a deadly bacterium and die before the bacterium was transmitted by flies that feed on its carcass, which would then infect other animals in the area.
Authorities will not know if this is the case until a necropsy is performed on one of the dead birds.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn