Goose loses leg to fishing line

06/05/2019

A Canada Goose suffered for possibly weeks and ended up losing a leg because of improperly discarded fishing litter, the RSPCA has revealed.

The organisation was contacted by a concerned member of the public who saw the goose on a lake near to Ryders Hayes Lane, Walsall, staggering and struggling to stand. When RSPCA animal collection officer (ACO) Cara Gibbon arrived to catch the goose, she was shocked to see that it was missing his right leg, with the bone protruding through.

Its left leg, which was also tangled in fishing line, was completely dead as a result of the blood supply being cut off. Very sadly, after being assessed by a vet, the goose had to be euthanised to end its suffering. ACO Gibbon said: "The leg that he did have was red hot at the top, above the fishing line, and stone cold beneath the line. 

Read on

Cause of mass bird deaths revealed

09/03/2019

Some 56 Mallards and a Canada Goose died in a park in Calgary, Canada, due to starvation and exposure. Alberta Environment and Parks confirmed the reason behind the grim scenes, which were discovered during the last week of February in Elliston Park. A few carcasses were discovered initially by Heather and Wayne Clarke, with more and more dead birds being found in the following days. This sparked an investigation with the outcome ruling that limited foraging opportunities drove the mass deaths.

Alberta Environment and Parks and the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative at the University of Calgary investigated the incident at the stormwater pond, and in a statement said: "[We] have determined that the ducks suffered from starvation and exposure, which was the likely cause that led to the mortality of 56 Mallards and one Canada Goose. Some additional tests are underway to rule out other causes of death."

Due to extremely cold temperatures, birds that spend the winter as far north as Calgary can face a particularly tough time – particularly wildfowl, which depend on open water. It's thought that particularly harsh conditions sparked the sudden death of such a large number of birds.

When Mr and Mrs Clarke first came across the load of dead animals there were only a handful of bodies, but open further visits to the pond during the same week many more appeared. Wayne Clarke said: "We couldn't believe it … after a week, 50 birds, scattered around – unbelievable. I've been hiking around this lake here for 17 years and I've never seen it like this."

Brett Boukall, Senior Wildlife Biologist at Alberta Environment and Parks, added: "When we see this overcrowding, the birds might not be able to feed effectively, they might not be able to protect themselves from the elements. It's possible that if one of them is carrying a disease, it can spread more quickly when they’re in a tighter group in a smaller area."

Source

The birds were moving slowly and passing out. Now they're recovering from a prescription pill overdose

By Christina Maxouris, CNN

Updated 1823 GMT (0223 HKT) December 22, 2018

(CNN)They walked slowly, their necks lowered and eyes barely open. One passed out, its legs splayed in the air. 

The strange behavior caught the attention of neighbors in Huntington Beach, California, before the humans realized: These birds are intoxicated.

Residents don't seem to know how hundreds of pills got there.

It turns out, the goose and the gull had imbibed some of the hundreds of pills dumped this week at Carr Park, a city green space with a playground and a small fishing lake about three miles from the Pacific Coast.

The pills, which to the park's birds may have looked like grain, seemingly included heart medications, antidepressants, anti-anxiety and insomnia medications, experts with the nonprofit Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center posted at its Facebook page.

No one seemed to know who dumped the pills or when, CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS reported.

After showing symptoms of an overdose, the Canada goose and the Ring-billed Gull received IV fluids and by Thursday were doing better, wildlife center staff posted. The goose already was back on its feet, a photo showed.

Continued

Conservation agents narrow search for goose killer

Police said the driver of a silver Dodge Journey intentionally killed the goose earlier this month.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -

Missouri state investigators said Friday they are closing in on the person responsible for killing a federally-protected bird in Springfield. The Canada goose was trying to protect its nesting mate in a parking lot near Battlefield and Kansas when police said the driver of a Silver Dodge Journey intentionally drove over it twice.

"It's a federal law for a reason. We have these for a reason. They all serve a purpose," said Shannon Ohrenberg, a state conservation agent.

This nesting mother goose, now protected by barricades, is also protected by federal law, as was her lifelong mate.

"The males they stand by and guard the female they try to intimidate anybody that comes up," Ohrenberg said.

But the 4-to-10 pound water fowl was no match for a 4,000 pound Silver Dodge Journey, captured in surveillance video at Grizzly Industrial, intentionally targeting the bird and driving over it twice.

Continued

Wildlife officials remove arrow from Canada goose that drew attention in Michigan; bird is OK

BAY CITY, Mich. — Wildlife officials in Michigan have removed an arrow from a Canada goose more than two months after the injured bird was spotted, leaving the once-easily recognized bird to blend in once again with its fellow geese.

The female goose initially was seen wandering in downtown Bay City in April and people alerted the state Department of Natural Resources, expressing concern for its safety, MLive.com reported (http://bit.ly/131InlA ).

Officials initially decided not to remove the arrow, because the bird was able to fly without difficulty. The DNR again came across the goose at the end of June when biologists were banding geese and decided to take action.

“It really, actually, was a lucky chance that we were able to get that goose in the pen when we were rounding up geese to band them,” Michigan DNR Wildlife Outreach Technician Holly Vaughn said. “That particular goose wasn’t targeted. It just happened to be with the rest of the geese when our biologists were banding.”

Continued