Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Collect whale snot using a remote control helicopter

Scientists want to study whale diseases, but collecting blood is difficult and dangerous to the scientists and the whales.

But whale snot is also good for analyzing whale health, and whales shoot it out of their blowholes freely and frequently. The trick is in collecting it.

Dr. Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse of the Zoological Society of London things remote control helicopters are the answer.

BoingBoing.net
12 Mar 2010
M Frauenfelder

Cited Journal Article
>>>A novel non-invasive tool for disease surveillance of free-ranging whales and its relevance to conservation programs. Animal Conservation. 2009 Nov 17. Epub ahead of print.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Missouri has first case of CWD

It has finally happened. According to a press release issued Feb. 25 by the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA), the state has confirmed its first case of chronic wasting disease — CWD — within its borders.

The animal that tested positive for CWD was a 4-year-old whitetail buck tested after death as part of Missouri's voluntary CWD surveillance program.

The deer was killed at the 800-acre Heartland Wildlife Ranch , a high-fenced shooting ranch near the town of Ethel in Linn County, according to ranch manager Rob Brasher.

STLtoday.com
14 Mar 2010
K Etling

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>Chronic wasting disease, cervid - USA (07): (KS)

Research ranch studies decline in quail populations

. . . Rollins believes the reasons for declining populations will involve a combination of many possible reasons.

“While we never thought parasites and diseases were ever really much problem to quail, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that something is operating outside traditional paradigms,” he said. “I’m not convinced we can lay it all on weather.”

In October quail began to be tested for diseases. Bird flu was found in 3 percent of the samples.

Newsreporter.com
13 Mar 2010
J Fields
Area: Roby, Texas, USA - Map It

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated

USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death. This information was updated on March 12, 2010 on the USGS National Wildlife Health Center web page, New and Ongoing Wildlife Mortality Events Nationwide. Quarterly Mortality Reports are also available from this page. These reports go back to 1995.

USGS National Wildlife Health Center
15 March 2010
Area: United States

>>>Updated Wildlife Mortality Event Table

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Martin Harvey/WWF-Canon