Resident nurses frail gosling back to health

A Bedfordview resident treated a gosling back to health after it was affected by pollution allegedly due to illegal dumping at Oriel Park.

Nikita Loreggian was out for a run at Oriel Park on May 31 when she found the gosling at the pond in the park.

She initially thought the bird had died but soon realised it was still breathing. She decided to take it back to the pond for water.

“As I made my way back to the pond to return the gosling, I discovered a dead goose and gosling along with plenty of dead fish floating in the pond.”

She took the gosling back home and later returned to the pond to inspect, where she saw a substance floating on the water surface.

“It was polluted and could have been dumping or a spillage of paraffin or a different sort of gasoline. When I spoke to other Bedfordview residents who walk their dogs in the park, they reported a strong smell of paraffin or petrol coming from the water,” said Loreggian.

Loreggian is familiar with wildlife and seeing a decline in the wild life in the park is heartbreaking.

“Oriel is home to many species, specifically ducks, geese and parrots. After seeing the dead fish and geese, I decided to take the gosling home. We gave it activated charcoal just in case it was poisoned,” said Loreggian.

“I hope the Bedfordview community will continue to maintain the park, which allows us as residents to see the bird life.”

Loreggian said the gosling, now named Jippo, is strong, healthy and living with her chickens and guinea fowl until it is old enough to return to the park.

“We make as little contact with Jippo as possible to ensure he remains wild,” said Loreggian.

She contacted Ward 20 Clr Jill Humphreys as soon as she discovered the pollution in the park.

Humphreys said she was unaware what or who is behind the dumping of this substance.

“I am at a loss for words. Who would do such a thing? Due to the dumping, the biodiversity and the wildlife in the park have been severely affected,” said Humphreys.

She said the incident has left surrounding residents upset, as they are especially fond of the park.

“We need to get to the bottom of this and need to be aware of how many birds have died and how much of the stream has been affected,” said Humphreys.

Humphreys believes pollution at the park happens frequently as the stream is connected to the nearby highway.

“The source could be a result from a collission on the highway and the residual is flowing into the stream,” said Humphreys.

She alerted the Ekurhuleni Water Quality Department and inspectors visited the park on June 1 to test the quality of water.

She added they have not yet found the source of the problem.

“I would like a return to natural biodiversity at the park, along with the ensured safety of the wildlife,” said Humphreys.

A request for comment was sent to the City of Ekurhuleni on June 3 at 9am.

Comment was requested by June 4.

By the time of publication no comment was received.