BOSTON – Animals were left covered in oil in Boston and Brookline on Sunday evening after a spill in Boston’s Muddy River.
Birds covered in oil
Brookline residents said they saw birds covered in what smelled like mechanical oil near the Longwood T Station Sunday afternoon.
“We were warned that several birds – waterfowl, ducks, geese, and so on – may have been exposed to the oils,” says Dr. Priya Patel, medical director of the New England Wildlife Centers. “We’re here to catch as many as we can. We bring everyone we collect back to our hospital.”
Patel said that when birds get covered in oil, their waterproofing is broken and they become cold and even hypothermic.
“Getting these animals into treatment as quickly as possible will make the difference between survival or not,” says Patel.
Help rescue wild animals
It is unclear how many animals have been affected, but a local wildlife rescue group is on site to assist.
“We’re on hand in case they need extra hands, but we’ve looked at the birds and some are definitely worse than others,” said Jane Newhouse, the founder of Newhouse Wildlife Rescue. “There seems to be a sheen over the water here and there’s a very strong smell when you get close to the water and some of the birds are just covered. So we’re very concerned about them.”
It is unclear where exactly the oil spill came from. Massachusetts Environmental Police said it appears to have come upstream and then flowed into the Muddy River and Leverett Pond.
“There are a lot of ducks that just need to be scooped up, picked up and transported,” said Brookline resident Alice Colegrove.
Firefighters from Brookline and Boston are using barrier screens around the river to keep the oil from spreading.
Patel said search and rescue efforts along the Muddy River will continue until Monday. The cause of the oil spill has yet to be determined.
Samantha Chaney
