Duck Deaths Puzzle Scientists: Hundreds Succumb, Mostly near Water Treatment Facilities
Rockymountainnews.com
06 Feb 2007
Todd Hartman
Photo courtesy of Darin McGregor
Hundreds of ducks in the metro area are succumbing to hypothermia in a die-off tied to a mysterious breakdown in the birds' waterproofing system. Most of the stricken ducks have been found in and around the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District plant in northeast Denver. But dead ducks also have been reported in at least two other places: the city of Northglenn's wastewater plant and at Sunfish Lake at the Breakers Resort, near the 9000 block of East Mississippi Avenue in southeast Denver. A Colorado Division of Wildlife spokeswoman said the ducks are often found malnourished, which - along with degraded waterproofing - makes them susceptible to hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature.
Agency investigators have ruled out bird flu. Experts also have examined the ducks' organs for disease, but found none, said DOW spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill. Avian botulism tests are ongoing, but it's unlikely to be the culprit either, she said. "We've mostly just found things it's not," Churchill said.
Surveillance of Wild Birds Stepped Up
eadt.co.uk
06 Feb 2007
David Green
Wardens at nature reserves throughout East Anglia were yesterday stepping up surveillance of wild bird populations as experts tried to trace the origin of an outbreak of bird flu among a flock of factory-farmed turkeys. Suffolk Wildlife Trust director, Julian Roughton, said officials were following advice issued by Defra and keeping a close eye on wetland reserves, particularly their geese, swan, duck and gull populations. “So far we have not picked up any evidence of dead birds which from our point of view is reassuring,” he said. RSPB spokesman, Chris Durdin, said staff were maintaining regular patrols at the Minsmere reserve near Saxmundham - about 15 miles from the Bernard Matthews farm at Holton.
Similar patrols were being mounted at other RSPB wetland reserves in Britain - about 20 of which were in East Anglia. “We have been monitoring wildlife at all our reserves very closely since the outbreak of bird flu early last year. “That is still going on today. To be honest, I'm not sure how much more stringent we could be.
Sixth Rabies Case Found in Suffolk County, New York
Long Island Press (Posted by pctonline.com)
06 Feb 2007
A dead raccoon was discovered in the Suffolk village of Lloyd Harbor last week with a case of terrestrial animal rabies – the sixth case of the virus reported since last March – and health officials are warning residents to steer clear of unknown wildlife. The raccoon, found at West Neck Beach on Jan. 29, was submitted to the New York State Department of Health Rabies Laboratory, where it tested positive for the rabies virus. This marks the sixth case of the virus reported in Suffolk since last March, and the third in Lloyd Harbor. Two other rabid raccoons have been recovered from Huntington and one from Cold Spring Harbor, according to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.
There is a continuing effort to eradicate raccoon rabies by immunizing raccoons in the county against rabies before they become infected and spread the virus to other wildlife. In September 2006, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Health and the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, distributed an oral rabies vaccine (ORV) by the Nassau-Suffolk border. Fishmeal baits containing an ORV were also dropped from helicopters in hopes that raccoons would consume the bait and become immunized, according to the Suffolk Department of Health Services. The vaccine poses no threat to humans or domestic animals.
Park Wolf Gets Hair-Loss Illness
Billingsgazette.com
06 Feb 2007
Mike Stark
One of the longest-living wolves in Yellowstone National Park has been stricken with mange, a disease that strips hair and can lead to death. It's the first time the disease has been documented in wolves inside Yellowstone. Mange has been recorded in several packs outside the park for years, but now that it's in Yellowstone, there's concern that it might move through the region's core population. Some wolves are able to fight it off, others aren't.
"I'm extremely worried that now that one pack has it, a wolf will disperse ... and we'll have a problem parkwide," said Doug Smith, leader of the Yellowstone wolf project. Mange isn't always directly fatal, but hair loss can be so significant that it leads to hypothermia or infections that can kill. The disease can be particularly tough on wolves that live at high elevations in the winter, said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I've seen them where they look nude, barely a hair left on their body," Bangs said.
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