February 21, 2012

Today's Wildlife Disease News Stories

TOP STORIES

Wolf infected with parvovirus killed near Hailey

Idaho Fish and Game reported a Hailey-area homeowner killed a wolf on Jan. 22 that had been observed near his house for at least two days and was acting sick or injured.... wildlife veterinarian Mark Drew preformed a standard necropsy, including submitting tissue samples to test for rabies and parvovirus, which is a common canine virus.

... Test results were negative for rabies, and on February 14, lab reports came back positive for parvo, which causes vomiting and diarrhea, and ultimately death from dehydration. Parvovirus is highly contagious, and is often fatal in canines, including wolves and dogs.

... F&G reports this was not the first time parvo has been found in wild wolves. In August 2009, six juvenile wolves were found dead on national forest land north of Fairfield, and necropsies determined the cause of death was related to parvo.

Voices Idaho Statesman - voices.idahostatesman.com
15 Feb 2012
R Phillips
Location: Hailey, Idaho, USA - Map It




Biologists are studying pervasive deer disease: Mule deer monitored in North Fork Valley

Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists recently began monitoring mule deer bucks in the North Fork Valley in an effort to better understand a disease that causes antler deformities and the possible long-term effects on herd health.

During the past 10 years, hunters and residents of the Hotchkiss and Crawford areas have reported a high number of so-called "cactus bucks."

In these male animals the antlers grow in odd shapes, never develop fully and do not lose their velvet. Biologists think that the antler deformities are indicators of hemorrhagic disease which is caused by viruses transmitted by bites from small insects called midges. But they don't understand why the disease is particularly prevalent in this area of Colorado. Hemorrhagic disease can also affect white-tailed deer and pronghorns.

In early January, biologists captured and put radio transmitter collars on eight infected animals, said Brandon Diamond, Gunnison-area terrestrial biologist for Parks and Wildlife. Blood samples were taken and each deer's physical condition was assessed.

Delta County Independent - www.deltacountyindependent.com
15 Feb 2012
Location: Colorado, USA


More Deer Disease News
>>> 130 deer killed in TB outbreak [ Forest of Dean District, England - Map It ]



Dolphin strandings remain a mystery: Creatures are dying on the Cape in huge numbers

Over the past five weeks, 178 dolphins have stranded on Cape Cod. Most have been found dead,.... Despite all the blood samples, the necropsies, and what will be a mountain of new data on the animals, known as common dolphins, researchers have no answers for the strandings, the largest involving a single species in the Northeast in at least two decades.

...Ultrasounds are taken, bacterial and viral screenings are performed, blubber thickness is measured, and the sex and weight of each animal is meticulously logged.

Tissue samples are being analyzed for disease, biotoxins, and problems caused by humans, such as pollution and boat collisions. Six survivors have been tagged with transmitters to record their movement by satellite. So far, they have ventured as far as Maryland to mid-coast Maine.

The strandings, which began Jan. 12, are nearly five times the average annual beachings of common dolphins on Cape Cod.

The Boston Globe - bostonglobe.com
17 Feb 2012
B MacQuarrie
Location: Massachusetts, USA


>>> FULL ARTICLE



Deadly white-nose syndrome found on bats in Cuyahoga and Geauga County parks

Northeast Ohio's bat population could be wiped out in three years, naturalists warn, now that a devastating disease has been found in Cuyahoga, Summit and Geauga counties.

...The latest announcement came Thursday when the Geauga Park District said that biologists had recently discovered the presence of white-nose syndrome in bats hibernating in cave areas of the West Woods in Russell and Newbury townshiLinkps.

...Geauga Park District biologists placed signs Wednesday within 30 feet of the West Woods' caves to close them to humans, park spokeswoman Sandy Ward said. They also decontaminated their boots to meet U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protocol.

The Plain Dealer - blog.cleveland.com
16 Feb 2012
P Galbincea
Location: Russell - Map It and Newbury - Map It , Ohio, USA]


More WNS News


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