March 7, 2011

TOP STORIES

Goose carcass found in Lantau tests positive for H5N1 virus

A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said today that a goose carcass found in Lantau was confirmed to be H5N1 positive after laboratory testing.

The goose carcass was found and collected at a beach near Sham Shek Tsuen, Lantau on March 1. It was highly decomposed when found and required a series of tests before H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed today.

The spokesman said there were no poultry farms within three kilometres of where the dead goose was found. AFCD staff have conducted inspections and found no evidence of any backyard poultry being kept there. The AFCD will continue to monitor the situation and conduct inspections of the area.

Hong Kong AFCD - http://www.afcd.gov.hk/
04 Mar 2011
Location: Lantau, Hong Kong, China - Map It

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Mystery disease kills fauna in Sipahijala


Close on the heels of an avian flu outbreak in the state, an unidentified disease has claimed the lives of 10 birds of varied species and three animals in the Sipahijala sanctuary in the past three days.

Authorities of the santuary, 30km south of this town, have initiated precautionary measures and closed the zoo and bird sanctuary to public. They have also banned poultry feed for the birds and animals.

But despite primary tests of blood and other samples collected from the dead animals and birds, no evidence of avian flu or any other known disease has been found by experts of the animal disease diagnosis centre here.

The outbreak of the avian flu, first noticed in the state-run R.K. Nagar cattle farm on the eastern outskirts of Agartala last month, led to largescale culling of ducks, found to be the carriers of the deadly virus. Experts said the outbreak has been nipped in the bud, with the successful completion of the culling process.

The Telegraph - www.telegraphindia.com
04 Mar 2011
Location: Sipahijala, India - Map It

>>>FULL ARTICLE


New Zombie-Ant Fungi Found

The world just got a little weirder: Scientists have identified four new species of brain-controlling fungi that turn ants into zombies that do the parasite's bidding before it kills them.

Identified from samples collected at two sites in Brazil's tropical rain forest, each of the four species specializes in controlling a different species of carpenter ant.

The original zombie-ant fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, was first identified in 1865, and it seems to exist around the world.




Spring Is in the Air and So Are Intoxicated Birds

Earlier this year German police responded to reports of an owl interfering with traffic and found the owl—one eyelid drooping—amid two discarded bottles of schnapps. After concluding it’d had one too many, they took the inebriated animal to a local bird expert who has treated sloshed birds before, Spiegel Online reports. It was given water and set free once it sobered up.

Yet birds don’t need manmade liquor to get drunk—nature provides the means for intoxication this time of year. “Fermentation toxicity is most common in late winter and early spring when thawing of overwintered berries allows for yeast fermentation of the sugars in the berries,” reports the National Wildlife Health Center.

Audobon Magazine - http://magblog.audubon.org/
02 Mar 2011



OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
It Ain't All Bad
Huh?! That's Interesting!

at Monday, March 07, 2011