'Sickening and upsetting,' Shoreline residents overwhelmed by bird die-off in Southern Georgian Bay
Warning: Some people may find the details of this story disturbing.
Gillian Vanular has cleaned up the bodies of dead birds near her beachfront home dozens of times over the past three days.
A task that the Tiny Township woman calls "sickening and upsetting."
Still, the situation isn't new to Vanular. In the fall of 2011, more than 5,000 birds and fish washed up onshore.
"It affected all of the shoreline owners for days," Vanular recalled. "It was really horrific."
Naturalist Bob Bowles said a bacteria is likely the culprit.
"It's called Clostridium botulism Type E," he specified.
Botulism builds up in zebra mussels and round gobies, then bigger fish eat them, and the birds eat the fish, passing along the poison one by one.
Bowles said the lack of frost this fall set the stage for disaster and "allows it to build up more in the food chain."
Desmond Barnes with Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge has been scooping up birds from beaches around Southern Georgian Bay poisoned by the bacteria.
He said once it takes its course, the outlook is grim.
"First, they'll get weak and lose flight. Then, the toxin affects the muscle tissue, which causes, essentially paralysis," he explained.
Barnes said when the toxin reaches the neck, things turn dire.
"They cannot support their own head," he noted. "The head will drop, and if they can't keep it out of the water, unfortunately, they will drown."
But Barnes said with early intervention, fluids, and rehab, there is hope, especially for a younger, stronger bird to take flight again.
Meanwhile, Bowles expects more die-offs in the years ahead as the planet warms.
Shoreline property owners and the public are encouraged not to handle the dead or dying fish and birds and to keep pets on a leash at all times.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.