Dead ground squirrels found at 'gopher hill' sparks city probe

WARNING:graphic image at the bottom of this story

Who killed theRichardson's ground squirrels on gopher hill?

It's a question the city is trying to answer after receiving a complaint that some of the animals were killed and left in a garbage canat a nearby bus stop.

Sam Tappersaidthe small park on the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Macleod Trail S.E. got the nicknamegopher hill because it's often covered in dozens of the rodentswhich areoften misnamed gophers.

On Monday, however, she noticed several of them wrapped in an umbrella and dumped in a garbage can.

"It just doesn't make sense, it's like going to the zoo and I love it, I love going to the zoo," she said of the small greenspace.

Not the work ofprofessionals

Animal and bylaw services is investigating the incident.The city saidit doesn't ownthe propertyand isn't responsible for killing them.

Exterminator Michael Zborowskysaid itdoesn't look like the work of professionals.

He said you'd see bait, or signs that an extermination was under way, and that most companies would removethe rodents from the area, rather than dumping them in city trash cans.

After looking at photos of the dead rodents, he said it looked like one had been hit in the head, possibly with a slingshot or pellet gun.