Respect Wildlife Along Delaware Canal, Yardley Resident Says

Editor's Note — The photos below show images that may be disturbing for some.

YARDLEY BOROUGH, PA — Raul Zabala couldn't believe his eyes.

While the borough resident was riding his bike southbound earlier this month along the Delaware Canal towpath, he came across two youngsters on their scooters.

He said they injured two Canada Geese chicks that were laying on the path and sped away without stopping.

"I rushed to the situation to find a heartbreaking scene," he said of the incident that happened around 6:20 p.m. on June 6. "There were two chicks, still in their yellow feathers, laying on the ground. Upon closer inspection, one of them was tragically deceased, the other was badly injured."

He said more people stopped by. One walker, — a "gold-hearted woman" who lived close by — took the injured chick to a wildlife rehabilitation center.

Zabala has raised concerns with Yardley Borough officials, including Council President David Appelbaum, the Yardley Borough Police Department and a Pennsylvania Game Commission about the incident.

What Zabala is also concerned about is that people need to be on the lookout for wildlife along the towpath and also help preserve and protest the precious Delaware Canal.

"If you live in Yardley, you love the canal," he said. "The flow of its waters mirrors the come and go of the seasons in our community. And there is nothing my wife and I enjoy more than the moment when spring breaks the frozen water’s surface, and the resident geese start planning the breeding season ahead."

He said that canal lovers watch the season unfold along the Delaware Canal towpath firsthand.

"April brings the first chicks waddling around the narrow paths. The canal is filled with the hissing of concerned mothers at the incoming walkers, and the peeps of happiness of the chicks, knowing they are cared for by their parents. But all this care, all this hard work, can be easily overturned by the carelessness and recklessness of certain individuals that do not show respect for anything," Zabala said.

"We all must remember that the canal belongs to the community, animals and people alike, and we all want to enjoy it in peace," he said. "Above everything, we all need to behave properly and coexist. The kids in the scooters should be able to enjoy the outdoors and the beauty of the canal we all love, but they need to be respectful to their surroundings. Because the chicks they injured were someone´s kids too."

(Raul Belenguer)