Canada geese were found floating upside down, dead in the water up the river from Montreal last week.
50 geese were killed in what is suspected to have been a lightening strike, last Thursday, June 14th.
A fisherman, near Contrecoeur, Quebec, made the discovery and eventually both the provincial and federal ministries of flora and fauna were informed.
Stéphane Lair, a veterinarian with the Université de Montréal, found the geese had small lesions in their hearts that suggested a lightning strike.
And the state of decomposition indicated they all died at the same time, he said, which rules out malnutrition or disease.
In an interview with Canadian Press, Lair said an event like this is very rare, but it has been observed before.
“It’s been described, reported, but I can’t remember having seeing it before,” he said.
Water conducting electricity over a vast area left the geese to die with no sign of any localized burns.
Canada geese, a popular symbol in Canada, are protected by the Migratory Birds Convention Act.
Below is some footage of the sad scene the fisherman came across .
It’s from his Facebook page and has been viewed on social media over 19,000 times.
Les agents de la faune sont en chemin. Nous vous tiendrons informé de la situation.Merci à Nicholas Geoffrion pour cette vidéo prise ce matin à Contrecoeur sur le Fleuve St-Laurent. **MISE À JOUR***Les agents de la faune nous ont informés en après-midi que trois des bernaches du Canada trouvées mortes un peu plus tôt ce matin à Contrecoeur, ont été transportées au bureau de Sorel-Tracy, par un agent expert en oiseaux migrateurs, et seront envoyées au Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs pour des analyses. Nous vous tiendrons informés des développements.
Posted by Sentier Chasse-Pêche on Thursday, June 14, 2018
With files from CBC, Radio-Canada and Canadian Press )
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