Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES

As Bats Begin Hibernation, Deaths Expected
Discovery News - dsc.discovery.com
30 Oct 2009
J Marshall

It won't be long before millions of bats settle into caves and mines across the country to hibernate.

But the sad truth is that many in the East will never see the warmth of spring.

More than a million bats have died so far from white-nose syndrome, a still-mysterious bat killer that has spread throughout the Northeast and into Virginia and West Virginia, since it was first detected in New York in 2006.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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CWD confirmed in Johnson County
Buffalo Bulletin - www.buffalobulletin.com
01 Nov 2009
J Gerard
Area: Johnson County, Wyoming, USA - Map It

Chronic Wasting Disease, a neurological disease lethal to deer, has been confirmed in Johnson County, according to officials from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Game and Fish officials have been obtaining samples for CWD testing this season at meat lockers in Buffalo and Kaycee.

Hank Edwards, pathobiologist at the Wyoming Game and Fish Wildlife Disease Laboratory in Laramie, said as of Oct. 22 two mule deer from an area near Ucross had been confirmed positive for CWD.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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Oil, bird cleanup crews focus on Alameda coast
SF Gate - www.sfgate.com
01 Nov 2009
D Bulwa
Photo credit: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle
Area: San Francisco Bay, California, USA - Map It

. . . Oiled birds, including a number of American coots - known for running across the water to build speed for liftoff - were taken to the Oiled Wildlife Care and Education Center in Cordelia. There, staffers began the careful work of warming and cleaning them in hopes of returning them to the wild.

As of Sunday, 30 live birds had been collected and another 11 had been found dead, said Carol Singleton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game. The wildlife center in Cordelia said an additional five birds arrived Sunday.

"We expect to see more impacts to birds in the next few days," Singleton said.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Amphibians rarely give earliest warning of pollution
Nature News - www.nature.com
29 Oct 2009
M Kaplan
Photo credit: Digital Vision

The health of amphibians is commonly used to give a rough assessment of pollution levels in an area, but an analysis of more than 20,000 toxicity studies now suggests that these creatures are relatively resilient and not well suited to the task.

The finding could have a significant effect on the way that the environment is assessed.

Conventional wisdom suggests that if an amphibian population is thriving, the area is probably clear of pollutants.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED STORIES
Photo credit: Bryant Austin