A Boston bird mystery remained unsolved after dozens of grackles suddenly fell from the sky over a Boston neighborhood.
City officials told Fox 25 Boston that “47 sick grackles were found Thursday in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood.”
WBZ Boston said health and environmental officials were investigating what happened to the birds.
“I tried to move them a little bit, and it just seemed like they were on one side, and you put them on their feet and they just fell,” said Dorchester resident Shelora Levaud. “It was almost like one side was paralyzed.”
The Animal Rescue League of Boston and Inspectional Services said grackles were the only birds that became sick, CBS Boston noted.
“We’re not sure what’s going on, if it’s an environmental toxin, or it’s some disease that’s being spread around the birds,” said Danielle Genter of the Animal Rescue League.
CBS News said “investigators are looking at the possibility of the birds ingesting a chemical agent known as avitrol, which is commonly used to remove pests.”
The Animal Rescue League also said it was responding to a report from residents about two sick cats. Fox 25 reported that the two cats were later euthanized.
“My sister fed her,” Willien Pugh told the Boston Herald regarding her cat. “Then like at 8:30 she came to the door and told me Sally was laying there at the back door, and that was it. Nobody knows who did it or nothing.”
As for the birds that were found sick, 15 of them ultimately died, Fox News noted. The dead birds were expected to be sent to Tuffs University for testing.
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