SACRAMENTO, California — Over the last week, several dead geese have been found at the Mayor Anne Rudin Peace Pond in Land Park, raising concerns that there could be an outbreak of avian influenza in the Sacramento area.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is testing several specimens brought in by Judy McClaver, a retired nurse and nature lover.
“I told someone today, I feel like the goose coroner,” McClaver said.
In the last week, she has recovered six dead geese from the pond. She located a seventh at the pond that appears to be sick on Wednesday.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife has been monitoring the situation closely, according to spokesperson Peter Tira.
Cases have been observed in 44 counties, including Sacramento County, but there is a low risk of people getting sick. The department’s concern is with the geese.
“We take that with the utmost seriousness and a lot of care and compassion as well,” Tira said.
For now, there are only a few things nature lovers can do. One is to report dead birds to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The other is not to feed them foods that could be harmful to their health such as bread, crackers and cookies. Instead, they can be given waterfowl pellets.
McClaver has been feeding the ducks and geese at the pond for more than 11 years, and has never seen so many dead birds at a single location in such a short amount of time.
She remains determined to get to the bottom of this possible outbreak.
“If we don’t look after the lives of everything, what’s going to happen in this world?” Judy said.
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