A flock of wild Canada Geese seriously injured after they mistakenly land in La Brea Tar Pits
The birds suffered serious injuries and burns and some of them didn't survive.
MIRACLE MILE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A gaggle of Canada Geese mistakenly landed in the sticky goo at La Brea Tar Pits on July 31. The birds suffered serious injuries and burns and some of them didn't survive.
Of the 15 geese that flew into the pit, seven were able to be rescued and six survived transportation to Bird Rescue's Los Angeles Wildlife Center for further care.
"It's very distressing when animals do get entrapped and for me, that was my first time seeing that," said Dr. Regan Dunn, the assistant curator at La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. "It is a very rare occurrence in fact in the history of this place, since we've had this museum here, this has never occurred on such a scale."
Officials said rescuing animals from the Lake Pit is not only difficult, but dangerous as well. That's why as soon as the geese were discovered, they called Los Angeles Animal Services to retrieve the geese from the tar. Sadly, five of the transported geese quickly died after arrival, but two are still recovering at the center. One of them is in critical condition.
"This asphalt, similar to many of the crude oils, also causes birds to have skin burns and they can be pretty severe," said Rebecca Duerr, director of research and veterinarian science at International Bird Rescue. "In the case of this bird it was down to the bone. So I ended up doing a skin graft on that bird and we'll see how it works."
Dunn said this particular situation is a rare occurrence, but animals do occasionally get stuck in the tar. She said they have preventative measures like the fence that encases the Lake Pit to keep it from happening often.
"Here at the La Brea Tar Pits and at the National History Museums, one of our main focuses is conservation," Dunn said. "So these are issues that we are very concerned about."
Officials said animals falling into the tar put is a process that has been happening here for over 60,000 years. It doesn't make it any less heartbreaking, but thankfully people were able to act fast in this situation to save as many lives as they could.
