{"id":521781,"date":"2026-04-09T17:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/521781\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:02:16","slug":"eels-rescued-from-drained-cooper-park-pond-in-elgin-as-improvement-works-paused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/521781\/","title":{"rendered":"Eels rescued from drained Cooper Park pond in Elgin as improvement works paused"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Several stranded eels have been rescued from the drained pond at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.northern-scot.co.uk\/news\/moray-council-saddened-after-swan-rescued-from-elgin-s-coo-430588\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cooper Park<\/a> in Elgin, with improvement works temporarily paused until they can be relocated.<\/p>\n<p>The rescue took place yesterday (Tuesday, April 7) after the council was alerted. The eels were recovered from the mud and placed into buckets of water, although the total number rescued is not yet known.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rthmb\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=\" http:=\"\" viewbox=\"0 0 8640 5760\" alt=\"A number of eels were recovered from the now-drained Cooper Park pond in Elgin. Picture: Jasperimage.\" data-root=\"\/_media\/img\/\" data-path=\"16MLT7H7EJZU7YDNBP5X.jpg\" data-ar=\"1.50\"\/>A number of eels were recovered from the now-drained Cooper Park pond in Elgin. Picture: Jasperimage.<\/p>\n<p>The pond has been partially drained as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/mymoray.co.uk\/levelling-up\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wider programme of works<\/a> aimed at revitalising Cooper Park.<\/p>\n<p>The project, which began earlier this year, includes vegetation management to enhance biodiversity, improve sightlines, and the felling of some trees.<\/p>\n<p>Moray Council said the works are aimed at improving the \u201clong-term health of the pond and the wildlife that depends on it,\u201d rather than cosmetic upgrades.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rthmb\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=\" http:=\"\" viewbox=\"0 0 3991 2653\" alt=\"Improvement works at Cooper Park Pond have been paused until the eels can be relocated. Picture: Daniel Forsyth.\" data-root=\"\/_media\/img\/\" data-path=\"3COE5MFBKE3XYDXIDFV5.jpg\" data-ar=\"1.50\"\/>Improvement works at Cooper Park Pond have been paused until the eels can be relocated. Picture: Daniel Forsyth.<\/p>\n<p>A Moray Council spokesperson said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Council was notified by the project\u2019s Ecological Clark of Works working with us on this project, who identified the eels in the Pond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll works that could adversely impact the eels have been stopped until the eels can be relocated, we\u2019re providing resource to support this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Concern about the pond\u2019s condition increased following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.northern-scot.co.uk\/news\/council-defends-elgin-pond-works-after-swan-rescue-sparks-co-430759\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the death of a swan last month<\/a>. The Scottish SPCA was called to the park on Friday, March 20, after<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northern-scot.co.uk\/news\/moray-council-saddened-after-swan-rescued-from-elgin-s-coo-430588\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> reports of a female swan becoming stuck in mud<\/a> as water levels dropped.<\/p>\n<p>It is understood that work in the area was temporarily paused to allow for checks for wildlife, including eels, before continuing.<\/p>\n<p>The pond is expected to be refilled in June.<\/p>\n<p>    Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.northern-scot.co.uk\/response\/?popform=true&amp;Url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.northern-scot.co.uk%2fnews%2frescue-effort-saves-stranded-eels-from-drained-elgin-pond-431992%2f&amp;Title=Eels+rescued+from+drained+Cooper+Park+pond+in+Elgin+as+improvement+works+paused\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a> to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Several stranded eels have been rescued from the drained pond at Cooper Park in Elgin, with improvement works&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1397,913,22989,90,56,54,55,7741,3520,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-521781","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-latest-news","10":"tag-moray-council","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom","15":"tag-update-me","16":"tag-whats-on-news","17":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}