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Rise in sea lion deaths traced to leptospirosis
A sharp increase in the number of sick and dead California sea lions has been reported along the Oregon coast in recent weeks and necropsies conducted on dozens of the animals suggest that many may have died from leptospirosis.
. . . "We are now getting calls for multiple sick or dead sea lions daily, which is higher than normal," said Rice, an OSU Marine Mammal Institute researcher who works at the university's Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.
"The overall number of sea lions also has risen, so it's difficult to compare mortality rates from year to year, but certainly we're seeing an increase in animals that test positive for leptospirosis."
Corvallis Gazette-Times - www.gazettetimes.com
M Floyd
05 Nov 2010
Location: Oregon, USA - Map It 
An anthrax outbreak in the Kruger National Park (KNP) claimed at least 65 animals in September 2010.
The actual deaths could be much higher as carcasses are not easily found and the park has only one dedicated team on the ground.
The first case was noted in May, and since then, the disease has spread along the rivers and spruits in the northern parts of the park (Shingwedzi area), a pattern typically associated with anthrax.
Kruger Park Times - www.krugerpark.co.za
L Strauss
05 Nov 2010
Photo credit: L Strauss
Location: Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa - Map It
Naked Chicks: Feather loss in young penguins mystifies researchersPenguin researchers are puzzling over a disorder that leaves young penguins featherless and has shown up in colonies in South Africa and Argentina.
The rare illness appears to slow growth, and may be killing some of the birds.
. . . A next step, they say, is to look hard and see other kinds of penguins are also feeling a bit exposed.
Conservation Magazine - www.conservationmagazine.org
D Malakoff
04 Nov 2010
Photo credit: Tallllly/Dreamstime.com
Submitted by Australian Wildlife Health Network
Journal Article Cited
. . . Researchers who spent three weeks exploring the Gulf aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel Ronald H. Brown say they observed deep-water corals on the sea bottom with sloughing tissue and discoloration about seven miles southwest of the Macondo wellhead.
Large patches appeared to be covered with what scientists described as a "brown substance."
B'More Green - weblogs.baltimoresun.com
T Wheeler
05 Nov 2010
Photo courtesy of Lophelia II 2010 Expedition/NOAA
Location: Gulf of Mexico, USA - Map It
Related News
Report: 100 hippos die in Ugandan anthrax outbreak
An outbreak of anthrax in a Ugandan national park has killed at least 100 hippos since early July, a national newspaper reported Thursday.
'The deaths cannot stop abruptly, but with one or two hippos dying every two weeks, we do not expect to lose a significant number of them,' The New Vision newspaper quoted veterinarian Patrick Atimnedi as saying.
Monsters and Critics - www.monstersandcritics.com
04 Nov 2010
Location: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Western Uganda - Map It
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