Draining Tulsa Pond Sparks Volunteer Fish, Turtle Rescue

Work to repair a pond in a city of Tulsa park led to a volunteer rescue effort for the animals left behind.

The city says it drained the pond in Leake Park near 73rd and Memorial at the request of people who live around it. The city says silt had filled in the pond over the years, so it's going to dig it out and return it to its original depth.

The first step in the process was draining the water, which left thousands of fish, turtles and other animals in the mud. Neighbors mobilized to help. They descended on the pond with nets and buckets. When they put out a call for help on social media, strangers arrived to join the effort.

One volunteer said the contractor hired to fix the pond also worked to save as many fish and turtles as it could. She said she and the other volunteers, many of them children, had saved dozens of turtles and at least 2,000 fish by Monday evening.