A FURTHER six flamingos were found dead at Larnaca Salt Lake over the weekend, bringing the total number of deaths to 12 last week. The existence of lead traces coupled with the threat of poaching guarantee that the death count will rise within the protected wetland.
Veterinary Services Head Phydias Loukaides yesterday would not rule out the prospect of more deaths in the future due to pollution of the salt lake.
“Our findings show clearly the existence of lead contamination. We haven’t completed tests yet to see the level of lead found in the birds but we have no doubt that the cause of death is lead poisoning,” said Loukaides.
“Last summer, the Environmental Service, Games Service and Fishing Department cleaned a large part of the lake to rid it of lead, but it seems this was not enough.” Loukaides said the latest deaths were a sign that more would probably follow. He acknowledged that charges of poaching had also been reported.
Martin Hellicar from BirdLife Cyprus, a local bird protection society, discovered four dead flamingos on Saturday while giving the Brussels Director of BirdLife International a tour of the salt lake.
“We decided to take her to one of our best sites, the Larnaca Salt Lake, where instead we found another four dead flamingos,” said Hellicar. The day after, a further two were discovered in the area.
This brings to 12 the number of deaths at the lake in the past week. On Wednesday, six flamingos were found dead and sent to the State Laboratory for testing.
Hellicar took two of the dead birds to the Veterinary Services for an autopsy yesterday. An autopsy on one of the birds revealed six lead pellets in its gizzard, the bird’s second stomach used for grinding food.
Tests on the two flamingos found on Sunday also uncovered lead traces in the gizzard, said Hellicar.
“It’s likely they were poisoned. But they also found a lead pellet on the leg of one of the birds, proving he’d been shot. It doesn’t look like the shot killed him but it does prove they are getting hit,” he added.
“Maybe the birds aren’t being targeted but they are still falling victim and this gives us enough cause for concern about poaching. The area needs to be sufficiently wardened,” he said.
The local community complains that poaching occurs almost on a nightly basis. Reports suggest hunters enter the site and shoot anything that moves, in the hope it makes for a good supper.
According to game laws, it is illegal to shoot game after sundown or before sunrise. Hunting is prohibited within the salt lake and 300 metres from its borders.
General Secretary of the Cyprus Hunting and Wildlife Federation, Andonis Kakoulis, said people should not automatically point the finger at hunters. “At Lake Orphani, where the birds where found, hunting is not permitted and the Games Service has continuous patrols in the area. If poaching exists, we are trying in every way to catch the offenders,” he told state radio.
Hellicar called on the government to act fast to protect the site, whatever the causes of death.
“This is a wetland of international importance and will be included in the EU Natura 2000 list of protected sites. The government needs to start taking protection of the site seriously. Whatever the causes of death, they need to take on their responsibility and protect the site,” he said.
“These birds are common European heritage, not just to Cyprus. They are also a threatened species. They are entirely dependent on a very small number of salt lakes, which are absolutely crucial to their survival. It’s also important for a number of other threatened species living on the lake,” he added.
More than 50 flamingos died from lead poisoning last year after taking in lead pellets fired into the lake from a nearby shooting range, but it seemed the danger had passed after the government carried out a massive operation to clear the lakebed from the pellets.
The shooting range has since been ordered to shut down, but is still being used as a coffee shop and a certain part of the lake near the range has yet to be cleaned. That part cannot be cleared until the shooting range is knocked down. But according to Hellicar, hunting in the area was rife before the range was in operation.
“There will be a certain amount of lead all over the lake, which will be difficult to get rid of. It’s the legacy of abuse of the environment in the past.”