The number of wildlife estimated to have been killed in the wake of the Ohio train derailment is nearly 44,000, less than officials first thought, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Although dead animals remain in the affected waterways, ODNR Director Mary Mertz noted in an update Thursday that live fish have returned to some parts of the area.
The updated figure includes around 38,222 minnows and approximately 5,500 other water creatures, such as fish, crayfish, and amphibians, within a five-mile radius of the crash site in the town of East Palestine.
The impact on other non-aquatic wildlife, including three birds and an opossum, are still being investigated….