Animals
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Cow Skull

Palomar Mountain Squirrels Test Positive for Plague

Monica Garske
NBC San Diego
Fri, 14 Sep 2012 04:02 UTC
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Two ground squirrels tested positive for plague at the Cedar Grove Campground on Palomar Mountain, County Vector Control officials announced Thursday.

The squirrels were trapped during routine monitoring and represent a low-risk of transmission because their exposure to plague was not recent, officials said.

Still, officials are posting plague-warning signs at Cedar Grove and the nearby Doane campground as a precaution for campers and hikers in the area.

They're also conducting flea-control measures on the squirrels since plague is a bacterial disease that can be transmitted to humans through the bite of infected fleas on wild rodents.

County Vector Control officials said campers should set up tents away from squirrel burrows and avoid feeding or playing with squirrels.

If you become ill within one week of visiting a known plague area, you should immediately contact a doctor. Symptoms include sudden fever, chills and tender, swollen lymph nodes.
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Health

Rabbit In El Paso County Tests Positive For Plague


kktv.com
Sat, 15 Sep 2012 03:55 UTC

On September 14, the El Paso County Public Health's lab tested a wild rabbit found on the northeast side of Colorado Springs and confirmed the animal had plague.

Investigators say the area where the rabbit was found is East of Powers Boulevard near the St. Francis Medical Center/Hospital.

According to a statement released Friday, Public Health infectious disease experts conducted an investigation to determine potential human exposures and to assess the general area for additional plague concerns. The people exposed have been identified and have been given antibiotics to prevent plague from developing. "Plague health alert" flyers will be provided to residents and signs will be posted in the general area to raise the level of awareness and ask people to take precautions to prevent plague. Public Health will continue to monitor plague activity in the area and maintain the signage as appropriate.
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Stop

Mpumalanga cattle deaths probed


Source
Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:54 UTC
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© AP Photo/Ekta Sharma
The Mpumalanga agriculture department is investigating the recent deaths of at least 29 cattle in the Nkangala area.

"Farmers reported that they started observing their sick animals in the past few days," spokesman Bheki Nyathikazi said in a statement on Wednesday.

The cattle reportedly had tremors, and loss of co-ordination and muscle control, prior to dying. Samples had been collected from the carcasses to establish the exact cause of death.

Although the deaths were being investigated, the department said livestock in the area was generally in a poor condition at this time of year. This was due to a scarcity of grazing caused by veld fires and drought.
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Question

Crocodiles rising simultaneously to the surface in China

Yihang
CRIEnglish.com
Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:01 UTC
A visitor to a crocodile breeding base in Nanjing has uploaded a picture online of a mass of crocodiles rising simultaneously to the surface of a pool at the base, thus sparking much discussion on the Internet, the Yangtse Evening newspaper reports.
crocodiles
© Yangtse Evening
The visitor surnamed Xu shot the startling scene on Sunday at the Zixia Lake Crocodiles Breeding Base in Jiangsu Province.

Some netizens are worried that the crocodiles' mass team action may indicate signs of an imminent earthquake or other natural disasters. Some joked that the crocodiles were preparing to attend a meeting or involved in a gang fight. Some guessed that the pool is too crowded and that there isn't enough oxygen under water, forcing the crocs to come up for air.
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Info

Yellowstone Wolves Hit by Disease

Megan Gannon
LiveScience
Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:23 UTC
Gray Wolf
© Kramer, Gary | U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceThe gray wolf (Canis lupus).

Less than two decades after wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, viral diseases like mange threaten the stability of the new population.

Humans had killed off gray wolves in the region by the 1930s, but in 1995, U.S. wildlife officials tried to restore the native population by bringing 31 wolves captured from Canada into the national park.

The new wolf community initially expanded rapidly, climbing to more than 170 at its peak. But researchers from Penn State University say that the most recent data show the number of animals has dipped below 100.

"We're down to extremely low levels of wolves right now," researcher Emily S. Almberg, a graduate student in ecology, said in a statement. "We're down to [similar numbers as] the early years of reintroduction. So it doesn't look like it's going to be as large and as a stable a population as was maybe initially thought."

The researchers point to pathogens as the culprit in the population's instability. By 1997, all of the new wolves at the park that were tested for disease had at least one infection, including canine distemper, canine parvovirus and canine herpesvirus. Starting in 2007, wolves inside the park were testing positive for mange - an infection in which mites burrow under the skin causing insatiable scratching and so much hair loss that infected wolves often freeze to death in the winter.
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Stop

Unexplained Hoof Disease Spreads Quickly In Washington Elk


OPB
Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:15 UTC
Image
© William OlsonElk on the grass in Packwood, Washington. A mysterious hoof disease is spreading through herds in southwest Washington
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking for help gathering clues about a hoof disease affecting elk in southwest Washington. Veterinarians with the wildlife agency say the disease, which causes severe hoof deformity, has spread rapidly.

It began with a few isolated cases and is now common in herds across the region, from Vancouver to the foothills of Mount St. Helens. Hunters first spotted elk limping near Longview Washington in the 1990s. They reported the animals' hooves were deformed or missing.

Darren Sparks can see the diseased elk in his backyard in Kelso.

"You'll see, usually, half the herd have hoof rot," he says.
"They won't survive the winter. They can't get around as good and you'll see their hindquarters, start getting skinnier and skinnier."
Kristin Mansfield, a veterinarian with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, says the disease hasn't caused a decline in Washington's elk population yet, but it may if it continues to spread to new herds.
"To me, the biggest concern is how quickly it has spread and how severe it is in the animals."
Mansfield says the disease doesn't match any other reports of elk maladies in the United States. Forms of hoof rot do appear occasionally in Wyoming's populations of elk that congregate around feeding sites. Mansfield says those reports of hoof disease are limited to winter and to a few individual animals.

Comment: It's the second mysterious disease to affect elk population around the world recently:
Swedish experts baffled by 'mystery' elk illness

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Bizarro Earth

Biologists Trying to Figure Why Giant Earthworm Grew so Big

Scott Wise
CNN
Sun, 02 Sep 2012 14:51 UTC

Yunnan Province, China - A huge half-meter-long earthworm was found in the gutter of a residential house Thursday in Binchuan Country, Yunnan Province in southwest China.

Li Zhiwei, a worker from the Forestry Bureau of Binchuan County, saw the slinking worm by the gutter when he was putting out some Chinese dates to dry in the backyard.

"It looked like a snake, I looked carefully and found it was actually a huge earthworm," said Li, who added that he decided to keep the worm and raise it in his backyard.

The elongated earthworm has attracted neighbors, who have never seen one this long before.

Depending on the species, an adult earthworm can be anywhere from 10 mm long and 1 mm wide to 3 m long and over 25 mm wide.
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Fish

Thousands of Dead Fish, Birds, Wash Up On Lake Erie Shores In Latest Mystery

Cavan Sieczkowski
The Huffington Post
Thu, 06 Sep 2012 16:30 UTC
Lake Erie fish kill
© Ontario Ministry of the EnvironmentDead fish line the shore of Lake Erie in Canada

Well, it certainly is eerie.

Tens of thousands of dead fish, along with dead seagulls, washed up on the shores of Lake Erie on Wednesday afternoon in yet another mysterious mass animal death.

Rick Nicholls, Member of Provincial Parliament for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, is mystified by the mass Lake Erie animal death, telling NewsNet5: "First thing that crossed my mind, is there any potential danger to humans from a health point of view? Secondly, as I got more and more into it, what's the cause of this sudden fish kill in the lake?"
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Sherlock

Wildlife officials investigating unexplained dove deaths in West Texas

Steve Lightfoot
Standard-Times
Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:04 UTC
State and federal wildlife officials are investigating a series of active dove mortality events in and around the West Texas communities of Midland, Odessa and Big Spring. The cause has yet to be determined, but poisoning has not been ruled out.

Dove samples have been submitted to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisc., where initial necropsy findings revealed no conclusive cause of death, according to Dr. LeAnn White, a wildlife disease specialist. Additional disease screening and toxicology test results are pending.

Although there are no known human or animal risks associated with the mortality events at this time, White recommends precautions. One Midland resident reported his dog died shortly after consuming several dead doves, but no autopsy was performed and cause of death was not determined. Conversely, several residents have reported dogs and cats consuming dead doves with no ill effects.

Reports of dead doves and sparrows first surfaced in late July. The total number of birds impacted so far is believed to be less than 250, mostly Eurasian collared dove and white-winged dove.
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Blackbox

16 whales die off Scotland coast


BBC
Sun, 02 Sep 2012 19:12 UTC
A total of 16 whales have died after being stranded on the east coast of Scotland. Ten others were refloated after being kept alive by vets from British Divers and Marine Life Rescue. The incident between Anstruther and Pittenweem in Fife involved pilot whales, each of them approximately 20ft (6m) long. The whales that survived will be monitored for the next 24 hours to see if they re-beach.

Forth coastguard were alerted to the incident at about 07:00 BST on Sunday. Three of the whales that died were calves. The incident drew a large number of bystanders to the scene, prompting the coastguard to urge the public to stay away to allow rescue teams to carry out their duties.

Video
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