Wildlife finds new homes away from Olympic Park as construction accelerates on site

LONDON: Newts, toads, fish and other wildlife are being relocated from a run-down site in east London to make way for the main complex for the 2012 Olympics.

Although much of the 2.5-square-kilometer (1-square-mile) site has previously been used for industrial purposes, its wetlands and waterways are the natural habitats of several different species that organizers want to protect as construction accelerates on the Olympic Park.

"A great deal of work is being done to ensure that we minimize any disruption to existing habitats and protect the wildlife on the site," Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins said Thursday.

Almost 2,000 newts and hundreds of toads have already been relocated into specially constructed ponds.

Aquatic experts have used "electrofishing" — a process that temporarily stuns fish and makes them float to the surface — in the Pudding Mill River that runs through the site. They moved their catch of eels and pike into the cleaner water of the River Lea, a few hundred meters (yards) away.