The 40 dead ducks found at City Park over the Labor Day weekend and today likely died of avian botulism, officials say.
“We’re almost 99.9 percent sure,” said Ellen Dumm, spokeswoman for Denver Environmental Health. “It’s quite common. We see it every year.”
People began seeing the duck carcases on Saturday and every day since then they’ve been found floating in Ferril Lake and Duck Lake, said Jill McGranahan, spokeswoman for Denver Parks and Recreation Administration.
State Wildlife officials have eliminated the possibility that the mass deaths were caused by some chemical, Dumm said.
“There’s no threat to animals, fish or humans,” she said. “It only affects the bottom feeders.”
Denver Zoo workers are helping to pick the carcases up as quickly as they are found to control the spread of the disease, Dumm said.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
