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Poison from pot grows looked at in owl deaths in Humboldt County
The researcher who determined that rat poison spread around illegal marijuana grows is harming the local Pacific fisher population is expanding his research from the soil to the skies.
”There have been more and more grow sites in the area, and they've never fully been investigated or documented,” Mourad Gabriel, senior ecologist and co-founder of the Integral Ecology Research Center in Blue Lake, said. “As researchers and scientists, we need to investigate to be sure what is going on.”
The UC Davis doctoral candidate is furthering his original research on Pacific fishers to include soil samples, invertebrates, other species of rodents and birds -- specifically the northern spotted owl.
Using a $25,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Arcata, Gabriel said he is hoping to test around 90 owls on the North Coast -- with help from Green Diamond Resource Company and the California Academy of Sciences.
... Gabriel said barred owls are also being used as surrogates in the study because as an invasive cousin to the spotted owl, the species has similar food habits and habitat. ”We have tested around eight to 10 owls so far, and about half of those have come back with exposure to rodenticide,” Gabriel said.
Dolphin strandings, deaths in Gulf investigated
As she searched for birds, she almost stumbled over a large, dead dolphin on the beach.
Cale, 29, who works in the field of environmental policy research, said she was aware of concerns about the aftereffects of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 and thought there would be value in reporting the find.
“I took photos and noted the location,” she said.
However, when she returned to Baton Rouge, she was surprised that it was difficult to find where to report the dolphin’s death. There was no information on the state’s websites, but she did find a link for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s marine mammal site and found a number to call.
Other Wildlife Health Related News
- Brucellosis found in 2 elk in Bighorn Mountains [Wyoming, USA - Map It
] - Two American bald eagles die in nest on Honeymoon Island [Florida, USA - Map It ]
- West Nile virus detected in [wild] turkey in central Michigan [Gratiot Co., Michigan, USA - Map It ]
- Caring for Lake Erie [avian botulism]
- Veterinary students' way to learn is the wildest
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| A white-tailed sea eagle at the Isle of Mull, Scotland, cleanly snatching a fish from the water. White-tailed sea eagles became extinct in Britain in 1916 and the species disappeared from the wild for over 50 years. It wasn't until 1975 that the first formal reintroduction was carried out, with a total of 140 birds returned to the wild over the course of 20 years. Photo credit: David Gibbon/Rex Features |
- Frogs Fading? Amphibian Census May Guide Recovery Leaps (Live Science:Op-Ed)
- Genome offers clues to amphibian-killing fungus
- Disease and the decline of amphibians [CCWHC healthywildlife.ca Blog]
- Fewer turtle stranding recorded in north Qld [Queensland, Australia]
- Nursing wounded wildlife back to health
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