TOP STORIES
Botulism blamed in Ellis Lake duck deaths
The bodies tend to collect in just a few places along the perimeter of Ellis Lake, some floating upside down, others on their sides.
At least 30 dead ducks have been spotted there in the last couple of weeks. Several more ducks have been described as seriously ill.
An outbreak of avian botulism is believed responsible.
Appeal-Democrat - www.appeal-democrat.com
06 July 2010
N Pastemack
Location: Ellis Lake, California, USA - Map It
06 July 2010
N Pastemack
Location: Ellis Lake, California, USA - Map It
U.S. Songbirds Carry Low-Risk Bird Flu, Study Finds
Songbirds such as sparrows and thrushes carry various forms of bird flu and could potentially spread the viruses to pigs and poultry, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. The birds carried low-pathogenic avian influenza -- the less dangerous form of bird flu -- but flu viruses can and do swap genes and mutate into more dangerous forms, the researchers said.
. . . "What is significant about the work is that for a long time folks thought this was just an issue in shorebirds and ducks," Tom Smith of the University of California Los Angeles, who directed the study, said in a telephone interview.
"We haven't been doing surveillance on wild passerines. Most of the money for doing disease work in birds comes when one works on game species."
ABC News - abcnews.go.com [Source: Reuters]
06 July 2010
M Fox
06 July 2010
M Fox
Group finds 420 birds oiled by spill in 3 states
The director of a wildlife rescue operation says more than 400 birds harmed by Gulf oil have been found on the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Ken Rice, the wildlife branch director for the operation in the three states, said Wednesday that more than 190 with oil had been found dead over the past two months.
Almost 220 oiled birds were found alive for possible cleaning.
Google News - www.google.com/hostednews [Source: Associated Press]
07 July 2010
Location: USA - Mississippi - Map It; Alabama - Map It ; Florida - Map It
07 July 2010
Location: USA - Mississippi - Map It
; Alabama - Map It ; Florida - Map It OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: G Desort
State Agencies Issue Anthrax Advisory [domestic white-tailed deer; Uvalde County, Texas, USA - Map It ]- Of Moose and Men: 50-Year Study Into Moose Arthritis Reveals Link With Early Malnutrition
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Coral Reefs
