Homeowners worried after ducks, fish, turtles found dead near Sanford lake

SANFORD, Fla. - People living around Lake Dot in Sanford are concerned over a startling number of dead wildlife around the lake. People have reported seeing over a dozen ducks dead, as well as fish and at least one turtle.

They want to know what's causing the seemingly rapid deaths.

"Every day there’s more and more," said Chris Wagner, who has lived in the area for a while. He said the number of dead ducks in alarming.

"They’re stumbling, and then they fall in the water. They go backwards and act very lethargic," he said. 

Guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) describe the apparent duck symptoms as signs of bird flu, which is of major concern right now in Florida. However, because fish and turtles have been impacted to, residents aren't sure if bird flu is the culprit.

"As we look around see all the dead grass right along the edge of the lake along with the dead lily pads, they came out and sprayed about two weeks ago and the vast majority of us think that could be causing it," said Wagner.

People from Seminole County Animal Services have been out to the lake and collected some deceased ducks for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). They said FWC will test the ducks for bird flu or if they died from something sprayed in the lake, or something else.

FWC confirmed they were testing the ducks and were waiting for the results. In the meantime, Seminole County is advising people to not touch the ducks until the test results come back.