Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Ducks Rescued After Oil Spills Into Toronto Creek, Clean Up Underway

The Canadian Press, 15 Jul, 2015 11:13 AM
    TORONTO — Dozens of workers at a wildlife charity in Toronto have set up a makeshift triage unit as they try to save dozens of ducks covered in oil that spilled into a city creek.
     
    The Toronto Wildlife Centre said it had rescued 31 ducks — with at least a dozen more en route — that were slicked with oil by late Tuesday afternoon.
     
    The oil is believed to come from a truck that crashed at Highway 401 and Highway 427 on Monday night. The oil leaked into Mimico Creek and eventually covered the ducks. 
     
    "They're literally soaked in oil," said Toronto Wildlife Centre spokeswoman Julia Pietrus.
     
    "But they're coming in alive and angry, which is a good sign."
     
    Pietrus said they have set up two bathing stations as they scramble to clean the ducks.
     
    "We're doing a flash bathing to get them stable to get the worst of the oil off," Pietrus said.
     
    "Over the next few days, we're going to be bathing a lot of ducks."
     
    She said they then give the ducks activated charcoal through a tube into their stomachs.
     
    "The reason we do that is as if they've been preening the oil before we caught them, the oil can cause really serious digestive issues so we give them charcoal to stop that process."
     
    Then they give them a medical grade sugar to keep their blood-sugar levels up "because the bathing process itself is incredibly stressful."
     
    Pietrus said the wildlife centre, a charity, was running out of soap until Dawn said it was on its way with a donation.
     
    She said the centre could use towels and more donations to help them cope with the influx of animals.
     
    Once the birds have been cleaned and deemed healthy, they'll be released back into the wild, Pietrus said.
     
    Pietrus said fire and police have told them the substance spilled is mineral oil.
     
    "It doesn't really smell like mineral oil," she said. 
     
    "We have our doubts."
     
    Workers with the city of Toronto have placed booms at the site and the mouth of the creek to prevent the oil from spreading.
     
    Staff from Ontario's Ministry of the Environment are also at the site of the spill. 
     
    Pietrus said another dozen wildlife workers — mostly volunteers — are tracking the eight kilometre stretch of Mimico Creek as they search for more oiled birds.
     
    The fear, she said, is the oil slick getting into Humber Bay Park on Lake Ontario, which is a protected preserve replete with wildlife.
     
    "If it gets that far, it's going to be pretty bad," Pietrus said.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Separate Weekend Boating Accidents On B.C. Lakes Leave 2 Dead, One Hurt

    Separate Weekend Boating Accidents On B.C. Lakes Leave 2 Dead, One Hurt
    SICAMOUS, B.C. — An Alberta woman has died in a boating accident in British Columbia. RCMP in Sicamous, B.C. A 41-year-old man was also killed the vessel flipped and disintegrated while travelling at high speed across Sproat Lake

    Separate Weekend Boating Accidents On B.C. Lakes Leave 2 Dead, One Hurt

    Generosity Passed On: Edmonton Bar Servers Decide To Donate $1,000 Tip To Charity

    Generosity Passed On: Edmonton Bar Servers Decide To Donate $1,000 Tip To Charity
    Servers at Hudsons on the popular Whyte Avenue strip were given $1,000 last Thursday night by someone who said he had enjoyed the service.

    Generosity Passed On: Edmonton Bar Servers Decide To Donate $1,000 Tip To Charity

    Canadian Woman Who Joined Militia Fighting Islamic State Returns To Israel

    JERUSALEM — A Canadian-born woman who served in the Israeli military and later joined a Kurdish militia fighting the Islamic State group has returned to Israel.

    Canadian Woman Who Joined Militia Fighting Islamic State Returns To Israel

    French Tourist In His 80s Dies After Attack In Quebec City

    French Tourist In His 80s Dies After Attack In Quebec City
    The two were found lying on the ground and were taken to hospital after the assault at an apartment building Sunday night.

    French Tourist In His 80s Dies After Attack In Quebec City

    Transportation Safety Board To Probe Generator-Room Fire Aboard Vessel At Fraser Surrey Docks

    Transportation Safety Board To Probe Generator-Room Fire Aboard Vessel At Fraser Surrey Docks
    RICHMOND, B.C. — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is sending a team to the Fraser Surrey Docks after a ship fire put a section of the facility temporarily out of commission over the weekend.

    Transportation Safety Board To Probe Generator-Room Fire Aboard Vessel At Fraser Surrey Docks

    Fatal Okanagan Crash Kills Two Women And Puts Couple In Hospital Over Weekend

    Fatal Okanagan Crash Kills Two Women And Puts Couple In Hospital Over Weekend
    Police in Vernon, B.C., say a vehicle veered into the oncoming lane on Highway 97 early Sunday.

    Fatal Okanagan Crash Kills Two Women And Puts Couple In Hospital Over Weekend