TOP STORIES
NH Moose Population Facing Dramatic Decline
The moose population is facing a dramatic decline in New Hampshire and Fish and Game officials are heading north to find out why.
Crews will descend from a helicopter to tag some of the state’s 4000 moose in the coming weeks. “We would hope that we will learn enough from this to know if moose are going to be so severely impacted that their numbers may decline irrevocably,” said Kristine Rines, Moose Project Leader for New Hampshire Fish and Game.
The moose will be tranquilized, blood will be drawn and ticks will be counted. Those ticks could be a key factor in the moose drop-off. But there may be other factors at play, and wildlife experts want to know why moose are dying off at a higher rate even though hunting permits are down.
“So we’re suspicious there are changes in the environment out there,” said Kent Gustafson, Wildlife Program Supervisor with Fish and Game. “Either parasites or diseases or some other issues that are causing additional mortality to the moose that we have.”
"It Is Going to Smell": Massive Poop Scoop Set After Avian Cholera Kills 200 Ducks
Wastewater managers battling an avian cholera epidemic that has felled 200 birds at a popular Silicon Valley bird-watching spot have hit on a stinky solution -- draining a pond and carting away poop from the bottom.
With warm winter weather temperatures expected to be "record setting" this week in the low 70s, officials from the South Bayside System Authority, which operates the 7-acre pond in Redwood City, say that the odors could be "greatly enhanced."
"To mitigate what we can, we have heavy equipment ordered and coming in to try and keep the area as fresh as possible, but it is going to smell," Authority Manager Dan Child said. Mostly, it will stink for the 50 to 100 daily bird watchers and early-morning walkers in the area, he said, as well as the nearby homeowners and office park employees.
"It's going to be a long-term process," Child said. "We're expecting several months before it's actually dried out to the point the bacteria dies out, that it's not in the soil anymore."
This is the first avian cholera outbreak at this spot. But Child suspects that the birds flew over from an East Bay Regional Park District's pond at the Hayward Regional Shoreline, which has grappled with the disease both this year and last.
OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
- Rescuers fear botulism poisoning killing pelicans and other sea birds [Australia]
- West Nile virus and wild birds [CCWHC healthywildlife.ca blog post]
- Thousands of fish dead in Nevada marina mystery [Nevada, USA]
- Like Frogs and Bats, Snakes Now Face Deadly New Epidemic
No comments:
Post a Comment