They are some real sitting ducks.
Dozens of sick ducks have been spotted in Los Angeles-area parks — some even dead on the shore of a nearby lake — leaving locals wondering if someone had poisoned them.
Eagle-eyed residents who frequent Hollenbeck Park in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles reported that the birds began landing on the beach a few days ago.
“I usually run out here around the lake and, you know, sometimes you’ll see birds, but there were only a few, like at least 15 or so just washed up on the beach,” a local woman who wished to remain anonymous told KTLA .
A duck was found dead or dying in a park in Los Angeles.
The woman said she first noticed the dead ducks on Saturday — and by the time she got home Sunday, there were a handful of others. The next day, at least five others were dead and a sixth was struggling to survive, he told the outlet.
Another resident, Margarito Garcia, saw a swan standing next to a dying duck, as if trying to protect the helpless bird.
Margarito Garcia said it looked like someone poisoned the duck.
Park-goers are told to avoid birds that look sick.
Although poison is suspected by some park visitors, one expert suggests bacteria may be causing the illness.
“I come every weekend to take my dog here,” she said. “Unfortunately, it looks like someone has poisoned the ducks, I think, because they’re dying slowly.”
Although several local residents told the outlet that they had reported the dead bird to animal control, no one has received a response or explanation as to what caused the duck to become ill.
Local residents said they had reported the dead bird to animal control but had not heard back.
Howie Berkowitz, founder of the Lake Elsinore Duck Pond, a nonprofit sanctuary to about 200 ducks, said while the ducks may have been poisoned, there could be other reasons for their sudden deaths.
“One is that the water is actually contaminated and that could either be through someone doing that, or another possibility is that there is poisonous algae out there, especially during the summer when the water gets hot,” he said.
Poisoned ducks should be taken to a veterinarian immediately to receive activated charcoal, Berkowitz said.
People should avoid sick parks and aquatic birds, experts say.
According to Berkowitz, any duck that appears sick should be taken to a veterinarian immediately.
People and their pets should also stay away from sick birds, Berkowitz added.
Other experts say that bird botulism, a disease caused by bacteria, can cause death.
Deadly bacteria could be the cause of death, but officials won’t know until a necropsy is performed.
In that scenario, a duck would ingest the deadly bacteria and die before the bacteria could be spread by a fly that feeds on its carcass, which then infects other animals in the area.
Officials will not know if this is the case until a necropsy is performed on one of the dead birds.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
