Residents of a northwest Winnipeg neighbourhood are calling for answers, as dead animals continue to wash up on the shores of a local retention pond.
For over a week, dead and sick wildlife have been repeatedly found at the pond, located at the corner of Adsum Drive and Keewatin Street.
Having lived in the area for three years, Carla Werestiuk and Garvin De La Mothe regularly visit the retention pond for walks and tell CTV News they first noticed dying wildlife last week.
"What we saw was just pure devastation; it was heartbreaking," said De La Mothe.
Werestiuk stressed that everywhere they looked creatures were sick, including minnows, songbirds, fish, ducks and Canada geese.
"Something's not right, it isn't right," said Werestiuk.
The couple is hoping the city will determine what's killing the wildlife and take action, stressing that other neighbourhood residents are worried as well.
"Everyone is concerned. Everyone is aware. They keep coming here and looking and asking each other, but there's no answers yet," said De La Mothe.
In a statement, the City of Winnipeg said it's working with the Chief Veterinarian's Office to determine the cause, and that samples of the dead animals have been sent for testing.
It went on to say that the initial information suggests the animals died of natural causes.
Manitoba Sustainable Development said it's working closely with the City of Winnipeg to determine a cause, telling CTV News:
"The exact cause has yet to be confirmed, but a possibility includes botulism, which can occur naturally in ponds like this. Botulism outbreaks are common at this time of year. Unfortunately, little can be done to address this until weather conditions change with cooler temperatures and/or rain that would raise the water level in the pond.
“In extended periods of hot weather, blue-green algae can develop, and this has also been known to cause fish and bird mortality."
Meanwhile, six birds taken from the retention pond Wednesday night were brought to Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre.
As of Thursday afternoon, only two birds had survived: a gull and a pelican.
Tiffany Lui is Wildlife Haven's animal care coordinator, and said while the staff isn’t sure what's wrong with the birds, it's clear they're weak.
"They're both in critical care. We're just trying to stabilize them and get them back into health," said Lui.
"They're having trouble standing. The pelican actually can't stand at all, so there's paralysis in the legs is what I'm assuming right now."
The city is reminding people not to handle the dead wildlife, and instead to call 311.
Injured and sick animals can be reported to Manitoba Sustainable Development.
