Belly-up birds in Bigai wetland begs answers
When almost 30 birds were found dead, floating on the waters of the Bigai wetland in Knysna by a holidaymaker from Midrand on 22 December 2018, confusion and concern washed over him.
MJ Oosthuizen contacted KnysnaPlett Herald (KPH) to not only share the story with the newspaper but also in a bid to understand better why the birds ended up in this state. To date, however, there are still no answers as to how these birds ended belly-up, but according to authorities Newcastle and avian flu have been ruled out.
A query to the Garden Route National Park (GRNP) on 8 January would reveal that the park is awaiting test results to confirm the cause of death. According to park manager Paddy Gordon, the incident was also reported by a member of the Peace Parks Foundation.
Gordon said specimen samples of the carcasses kept in a fridge were sent to the “state vet” in George during the last week of December, who in turn informed GRNP staff that tests would only be conducted in the new year. On 11 January Gordon confirmed it would be another two weeks before any results are received, while on Monday this week, the park's regional ecologist Jessica Hayes said tests for Newcastle and avian flu came back negative, but that they are still awaiting further results, including those of the post mortems.
Gordon said on 8 January water samples taken in the area were tested for E. coli and faecal enterococci, “and were found to be within reasonable limits and no risk to human health”. Furthermore, he said, there have been no other carcasses found in the immediate vicinity or any other area around the estuary to date.
Birds collected on 22 and 23 December according to Gordon included a blacksmith plover, a wader, nine Egyptian geese, 14 ducks and three unidentifiable chicks.