PELHAM BAY — Investigators are hunting for a menace who has been terrorizing animals in Pelham Bay Park for several weeks, Parks Department officials and advocates said.
Maintenance staff found a squirrel, a goose and two seagulls that had been shot with small darts around the Orchard Beach Parking Lot on Oct. 9, parks officials said.
Park rangers tried to catch one of the gulls, which had been shot under the eye, and the goose, which had been shot in the shoulder, but the animals were well enough to fly away, according to the Parks Department.
Rangers could not find the other two animals, officials said.
These were only the latest animal attacks in the park. Four geese were found Sept. 21 with darts lodged in their bodies. Two died and two other geese were so injured they were euthanized, officials said.
“Unfortunately we don’t have surveillance cameras in the area, so we’ve had to rely on people who frequent the park to get information,” said a parks official. “We’ve increased patrols and we’re going to keep investigating the issue until someone is apprehended.”
Park rangers will be on the look out for the culprits and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has opened an investigation into the incidents, Parks officials said.
