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Wildlife rescuers were rushing to tend to dozens of geese and ducks that were soaked in oil after a spill in a Boston river on Monday.
Police and fire departments were dispatched to the Muddy River on the border of Boston and the town of Brookline a little after noon on Sunday following reports of a possible oil leak, Brookline police said. Responders found there was some leak into the waterway that impacted wildlife, including numerous ducks and geese, police said.
State environmental officials and wildlife rescuers responded and were still on the job Monday, officials said.
A veterinary technician with the New England Wildlife Center tries to capture an oil covered Canada goose along the Muddy River in Brookline, Massachusetts, the U.S., December 9, 2024. /CFP
Preliminary findings show the oil leak appears to be coming from a storm drain under a nearby condominium complex, said Danielle Burney, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) estimates less than 379 liters of oil were released, Burney said.
The DEP was still investigating the exact source of the spill, which is being contained and managed, Burney said.
Rescuers said it would take up to a month for the birds to be treated and released back into the wild. Twenty birds were accounted for by Monday afternoon, but dozens more were expected to need care, said Katrina Bergman, president of New England Wildlife Center, which was responding to the animals.
A mallard is rescued at New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth, Massachusetts, the U.S., December 9, 2024. /CFP
Bergman said most of the birds were Canada geese and mallards, which are a common sight alongside the Muddy River. The river is a popular site for walkers and joggers. The spill happened in the area of the Longwood train station, about a mile from Fenway Park.
(Cover: A duck covered with oil walks along the banks of the Muddy River in Brookline, Massachusetts, the U.S., December 9, 2024. /CFP)