By Alex Mita
THE VETERINARY Services were yesterday unsure as to what caused the death of 10 flamingos at the Larnaca salt lake in the last two days.
The flamingos, among hundreds that migrate to the island’s salt lakes each winter, were found dead by passers-by on the shores of the lake.
When observing the flocks congregating around the salt lake, scientists have also noticed that some of the birds have become indifferent to the presence of humans in the area, something that does not match their usual behavioural pattern.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, Veterinary Surgeon Klitos Andreou said the exact cause of the birds’ death was still a mystery.
“Post mortem examinations on the flamingos showed deformities of the internal organs,” Andreou said, “but we have still not been able to determine the exact cause of death.
“We have taken samples of mud and water from the lake and the results are expected to be submitted in a couple of days.”
Andreou said scientist were expected to determine whether the birds died as a result of poisoning by food or water that might have been contaminated, or from by a disease that they brought with them from another country.
Green Party deputy George Perdikis, who visited the lake yesterday together with veterinary service officials, said many suspicions sprang to mind as to what might have killed the flamingos.
“There are many suspicions, some of which lean towards the operation of the firing range that has been operating illegally next to the lake for years,” he said.
“There is also the possibility that the birds have been poisoned by herbicides sprayed by farmers on weeds around the lake.”
Perdikis urged farmers to stop using pesticides and herbicides around the lake as they interfere with its sensitive environment.
No deaths have been recorded at the other salt lake in Akrotiri.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
