Animals in lake horror
Local walker tells of wildlife corpses littered around shoreline
TOWNSVILLE City Council officers have tested lake water after a horrified resident said he found several dead animals on its shore.
Jake Goldring, 18, said he was walking past the manmade Freshwater Lake in Idalia, off Springside Terrace, when he spotted the dead turtles, birds, fish and snakes.
“My walk along the Idalia lakes had brought an absolute horror to my attention,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“Dead birds everywhere as well as dead freshwater turtles, a dead pelican, dead snakes and basically anything that uses that water as a source of hydration or as a home.”
Mr Goldring, who cofounded Snakefella Wildlife Care with Josh Mckendrick, told the newspaper he counted 38 turtle shells with skeletal remains inside, but said there were “hundreds of freshwater turtle shells along the bank where the water recedes”.
“There were a few ones still alive, but most were dead,” he said.
He said he also found the remains of about 12 fish, three or four snakes, and 10 bird carcasses scattered around the edge of the lake, and guessed some had been dead for weeks.
Mr Goldring said he and others had come across sick or dead birds near the lake in previous months and were concerned it could be a potential health hazard.
“If a child goes into that water and they have an open cut, God knows what they could catch from it,” he said.
“I don’t think people in the area are actually aware of the dangers.”
The teenager said the previous discovery of sick or dead birds had been reported to the council.
“I basically thought it was highly preventable. People have tried to raise alarm bells for a long time now,” Mr Goldring said.
“So this has been happening for at least a year now … but it was never this bad as the water has never been this low.”
A Townsville City Council spokeswoman said a non-toxic
algal bloom of pseudo-anabaena had been identified following the testing, but that no “newly dead” animals were found.
“Council staff have been regularly inspecting the wetlands and as a precaution and response to rapid drying out over the weekend – and the presence of the non-toxic pseudo-anabaena found last week – have applied a probiotic ecological stimulant to the water,” she said.
“Council’s water monitoring has shown that the water quality has not declined any more than is normal and would be expected in the tropics.”
The spokeswoman said natural and semi-natural wetlands were prone to drying out as the temperature rose and winds increased in the summer, increasing the chance of algal blooms in the water.
She said signs had been placed around the lake to warn
the community about the water quality and residents were asked to report any dead animals.
“Council’s recent inspections found no newly dead animals and council asks that if residents do come across dead animals, they contact council rather than removing the bodies so they can be sent away for testing,” she said.
A large blue-green algal bloom was also detected in the same lake in June.