Wildlife workers return to Mimico Creek to rescue ducks after oil spill
Posted July 15, 2015 9:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto Wildlife employees and volunteers have returned to Mimico Creek after a crash left ducks coated in oil.
Crews arrived just before 9 a.m. on Wednesday to once again clean and rescue the ducks.
The oil is believed to come from a truck that crashed at Highway 401 and Highway 427 on Monday night. Crews were at Mimico Creek on Tuesday and rescued at least 30 ducks.
The ducks were bathed in Dawn liquid soap at the site and then taken to the Toronto Wildlife Centre.
Toronto Wildlife Centre spokeswoman Julia Pietrus said they then give the ducks activated charcoal through a tube into their stomachs.
“The reason we do that is as if they’ve been preening the oil before we caught them, the oil can cause really serious digestive issues so we give them charcoal to stop that process.”
Then they give them a medical grade sugar to keep their blood-sugar levels up “because the bathing process itself is incredibly stressful.”
Pietrus said the wildlife centre, a charity, was running out of soap until Dawn said it was on its way with a donation.
She said the centre could use towels and more donations to help them cope with the influx of animals.
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With files from The Canadian Press
