Mysterious Duck Deaths Spread: Dead Ducks Turn Up in Several Wastewater Treatment Plants
TheDenverChannel.com
16 Feb 2007
Area: Colorado
The number of mysterious duck deaths is higher and more widespread than first thought and the problem is not just limited to the Metro wastewater treatment plant, 7NEWS first reported. A document from the Colorado Department of Health shows that not only have dead ducks turned up at the metro Denver plant, but also along the South Platte River. Wastewater treatment plants in Thornton, South Adams County, Westminster, Northglenn, and Littleton-Englewood have also reported a higher than normal number of duck deaths. Dead ducks have also been found at the Sunfish Lake near The Breakers apartments in Denver, officials said.
But at this point, nobody knows why. "No one remembers ducks dying in these kinds of numbers," said Steve Frank with Metro Wastewater District. The problem first showed up at the Metro wastewater treatment plant. Employees found more than 400 ducks dying from hypothermia but don't know what caused it. Plant operators have scrambled to figure out why and have come up empty.
Avian Influena (36): Russia (Krasnodar), Wild Ducks, Suspected - Archive Number 20070218.0617
International Society for Infectious Diseases - ProMED-mail
18 Feb 2007
Area: Russia
Bird flu appears to have spread to another part of Russia, as authorities try to contain an outbreak around Moscow. About 3000 wild ducks have been destroyed near the Black Sea city of Anapa after a number were found dead. Separately, experts are carrying out tests at a 4th location near the capital. A veterinary official said it is almost certain the deadly H5N1 strain is the cause, as in the 3 earlier cases.
Strict measures have been put in place to combat the spread of the disease. It is understood the chickens involved in all 4 cases were bought at a market close to the main motorway encircling Moscow. No human cases of bird flu have been recorded in Russia yet. People who had been in contact with the dead birds were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure but showed no signs of any illness.
Deer Hunters Close to Record
The Badger Herald
20 Feb 2007
Douglas Schuette
Area: Wisconsin
With nearly 500,000 deer killed, the 2006 deer-hunting season recorded the third highest harvest in Wisconsin history, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Of Wisconsin’s five deer management regions, the Northern Forest region recorded the largest harvest, though DNR spokesperson Keith Warnke said the region is also the largest and has the highest total number of deer. Warnke added that Buffalo County, in west-central Wisconsin, recorded a harvest of 20,000 deer, an average of 20 deer per square mile. “It’s pretty hard to grumble about numbers like that,” Warnke said.
The record harvest came amid a two-year trial moratorium on gun hunting in October, imposed in response to overlapping seasons between bow and gun hunters. Registered gun hunters in Wisconsin in 2006 totaled nearly 650,000 people, compared to 643,000 in 2005, Warnke said. Registered bow hunters also increased slightly from 247,000 in 2005 to more than 250,000 in 2006. The October gun season moratorium was enacted subject to change based on the ratio of antlerless to antlered deer recorded each year.
Experts Tackle the Devil's TumourBBC News
20 Feb 2007
Area: Tasmania
Scientists are meeting in Australia's island state of Tasmania to find ways of tackling a disease threatening one of its most unusual animals.
Over the past decade, tens of thousands of Tasmanian devils have been killed by Devil Facial Tumour Disease. The diseased animals develop facial tumours, which can grow so large that they prevent feeding. Scientists fear the devils - which are a symbol for Tasmania - could become extinct if action is not taken. Tasmania's other famous animal, the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, died out in the 1930s.
Hamish McCallum, professor of wildlife research at the University of Tasmania's School of Zoology, said the disease is having a devastating effect on the devils. "In all the populations that have been infected, they've declined dramatically - often by up to 90% - and they continue to decline," he told the BBC's World Today. "I think there is a substantial risk that unless we do something, the populations may be extinct over a time frame of 10 to 15 years - or may be even shorter than that." But he said the Tasmanian people were "quite determined" not to let their largest surviving marsupial carnivore die out.
Bird Deaths Continue; Cause Still Uncertain
Daily Pilot
16 Feb 2007
Alicia Robinson
Area: California
Early tests indicate that a toxin that comes from algae may be poisoning the birds found near Santa Ana River mouth.
The subheadline on Friday's story, "Bird deaths continue; cause still uncertain," should have said a toxin killed one bird. It's unclear whether others were poisoned by domoic acid. A Feb. 10 story, "Nest is up to ospreys," should have said Jeff Stoddard is a state Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist. A rash of dead and dying birds found around the Santa Ana River mouth since Feb. 4 may have slowed, though several more birds were discovered Thursday. Animal care workers at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach have seen 53 birds in the last 12 days, either suffering seizures or killed.
A dead California gull and a live heron and killdeer were found Thursday, bringing the total birds brought in alive to 12, though most have since died, said Lisa Birkle, the center's assistant wildlife director. The birds have been found between the Newport and Huntington piers. When no birds had been found early Thursday, "We were pretty excited that things were going to gear down," Birkle said. Preliminary test results from a dead bird showed it may have been poisoned by domoic acid, which comes from algae.
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