On May 30, Gwen Marshall, a wildlife conflict specialist with the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, was called to Sylvan Lake to help a bird in trouble.
Marshall says the initial call was about a “duck tangled in plastic,” but once she got to on scene she found a different scenario.
The bird was not wrapped in what appeared to be a plastic grocery bag, but instead it was wrapped in fishing line towing his dead mate behind him.
“From a distance it appeared to be a plastic bag, but in fake it was a dead bird - his mate,” Marshall said in a phone interview.
Once the bird was caught, Marshall was able to identify it as a Red Necked Grebe. It was caught through the foot by a fishing hook which was attached to a fishing line. The line and tackle was wrapped around the bird’s dead mate.
“He was forced to drag [her] through the water,” said Marshall.
When fishing line is not disposed of properly, it can create problems to the environment and wildlife in that area.
There are two main ways wildlife may interact with “marine debris”. Most commonly wildlife will become entangled in the item - such as line and nets - or ingest the item. Both can be harmful to the animals and potentially lead to death.
It is common for birds to become tangled in lines left in the water. This can lead to the bird becoming immobile and eventually starve to death.
The Red Neck Grebe that was rescued from Sylvan Lake did not show signs of distress, according to Marshall.
“As he was not in poor condition I decided to release him back onto the lake once he was free,” Marshall said.
