Animals
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Cow Skull

Preliminary Results Show Pneumonia As Cause Of Mass Cattle Death


Channel 3000
Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:53 UTC
Amherst, Wisconsn -- Preliminary results show acute interstitial pneumonia is to blame for a mass death of cattle outside of Wausau.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Veterinary Diagnostic Lab is studying tissue samples from two of the 200 dead Amherst steers.

The steers all came from one farm, and while the lead veterinarian said the preliminary results pointed to pneumonia as the cause of death, associate lab director Peter Vanderloo said nothing is being ruled out until the final tests are completed.

"We can approach the problem both from looking at what's going on microscopically in the animal, to identifying a pathogen, viral or bacterial, or looking for a toxin that might be causing deaths," Vanderloo said.
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Wolf

Wolves return to Moldova for first time in 40 years


RIA Novosti
Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:41 UTC
Image
© WikipediaWolves return to Moldova for first time in 40 years
Wolves have returned to the territory of Moldova after 40 years of their absence, with more than 20 predators seen in several areas of the country, Moldovan Deputy Environmental Minister Lazar Chirica said on Wednesday.

He added that the appearance of wolves should not cause panic among local residents as no cases of attacks have been reported yet.
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Attention

The loyal dog who refuses to leave his owner's muddy graveside as Brazil mudslides death toll tops 630


The Daily Mail
Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:15 UTC
After the deluge of photographs showing devastated landscapes, this scene is one which perhaps sums up the loss floods have brought to Brazil.

As the mudslides death toll hits 630, a loyal dog refuses to leave the muddy graveside of its owner.

Leao cuts a pitiful figure beside the grave of Cristina Maria Cesario Santana, who died in Teresópolis, one of the areas hardest hit by last week's natural disaster.

Renewed rainfall was slowing rescue helicopters today in south-east Brazil as officials focused their attention on the survivors they could reach more immediately, mapping out a plan to get people living in tents in the short term.

Image
© Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesVigil: Leao sits for a second consecutive day next to the grave of his owner Cristina Maria Cesario Santana
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Attention

US: More dead birds found, this time in Scottsboro, Alabama

Stephen McLamb
Waff
Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:52 UTC
Dead blackbird
© WaffDead blackbird

More dead birds are found, this time in a suburban Scottsboro neighborhood.

A sample of 15 birds was sent to Auburn University. The remainder were picked up and discarded. Officials say this could just be something that happens naturally in nature.

It was Monday afternoon around 1:00pm along Morning Glory and Golden Rod Drives that the dead blackbirds were found. Many dead blackbirds.
"We estimate between 50 and 100," said Jackson County Emergency Management Agency Director Victor Manning.
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Attention

US: More bald eagles dying on Michigan roads


Chicago Tribune
Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:05 UTC
Lansing - State and federal officials are cautioning motorists to be more aware of the presence of bald eagles on Michigan roadways.

The number of eagles killed by cars is on the rise over the past six years in the state, according to a joint news release from the Michigan wildlife officials and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In addition to catching and eating fish, eagles commonly feed on dead animals, meaning they're often around road corridors where they scavenge on large road-kill such as deer, coyote, fox or raccoon.

"The bald eagle tells one of our nation's most revered conservation success stories, and although this species has recovered to sustainable levels, we must keep in mind that as numbers rise, so does the risk for mortality due to human interactions," said Jack Dingledine, an official with the Fish and Wildlife Service's East Lansing field office.
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Black Cat

US: Yankton Sees Bird Kill-Off

Nathan Johnson
Yankton Press
Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:36 UTC
dead birds
More than 200 starlings were found dead in downtown Yankton Monday. Officials attribute the cause of the deaths to the fact that the birds had not migrated from the area. (Courtesy photo)

It is estimated that more than 200 dead starlings were found in downtown Yankton Monday. However, it is not believed the deaths pose a threat to humans.

Yankton Animal Control Officer Lisa Brasel estimated that she collected 200 starlings Monday, and employees of the city Parks and Recreation Department were also on the scene picking up deceased birds. The total number of corpses gathered up by city employees has not yet been compiled.

"I talked to one of the local vets, and they said there is nothing wrong (with the birds)," said Brasel, who took specimens to a veterinary office. "They just didn't migrate and are dying. I was going to call the South Dakota Department of Health to see what they have to say about it, but they are closed today (because of Martin Luther King Day)."
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Black Cat

Birdless bird sanctuary in North Holland


The Big Wobble
Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:19 UTC
I took this amazing video a couple of days ago, this is a bird sanctuary in North Holland but look closely, this area should be teeming with birds but its deserted!

I drive past this sanctuary frequently and it is always full of birds, where did they go?

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Question

Romania: A Second Wave of Dead Birds


TaskForceTV
Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:15 UTC
dead dove
Hundreds of birds died in Romania, for the second time in a month

Hundreds of dead or agonizing crows have brought terror to a town in the Eastern part of Romania. Since Saturday, the locals of Roman, a town of 80.000 people, have noticed that hundreds of crows fell to the ground dead or in agony in one of the local parks. On Monday, dozens of birds were struggling with death, unable to fly. Local experts suspect that the crows may have been poisoned, but no verdict can be given before a forensic study is conducted.

Some three dozens starlings have also been found dead in Constanţa, by the Black Sea, in Romania, on January the 8th. Veterinarians concluded that the starlings died of cold and alcohol intoxication.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Pelicans turn up sick, dead off Jacksonville coast

Justin Sacharoff
Jacksonville.com
Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:01 UTC
pelican
© Will Dickey/The Times-UnionA sick pelican dries out inside an enclosure at BEAKS on Big Talbot Island, one of hundreds around Mayport in need of treatment.
Hundreds of Eastern brown pelicans, some with missing wings and frostbite, have been injured or killed in the St. Johns River the past couple of weeks in the Mayport area.

The exact reason is unknown but the cold weather could have caused hypothermia when the birds landed in the water. The pelicans have been losing a protective coating they have on their body to shield their feathers from becoming saturated by water.

Cindy Mosling, co-founder of the Bird Emergency Aid and Kare Sanctuary on Big Talbot Island, thinks chemicals in the water could be the culprit.
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X

Canada: Mysterious infection is killing British Columbia salmon


Exchange Magazine
Tue, 18 Jan 2011 06:46 UTC
Carleton Professor Part of Team Investigating Mysterious Fish Infection

Ottawa - The Globe and Mail published the following story. Carleton Professor Steven Cooke was one of the 15 scientists involved in this research. He developed the biopsy technique that enabled the collection of non-lethal tissue samples from fish. His lab was involved with fish tagging and tissue collection in the wild.

Mysterious infection is killing B.C. salmon

By Mark Hume

Large numbers of sockeye salmon are dying in the Fraser River, before spawning, because of a mysterious virus, new research suggests.

Historical records show that some fish always die en route to their spawning beds, but since the early 1990s the problem has become increasingly acute - with more than two million fish dying in some years. Researchers have long puzzled over what was causing the seemingly healthy fish to suddenly stop swimming and turn belly up.

A large team of researchers from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and three Canadian universities has now found most of the fish that die before spawning have a common "genomic signature" - or a pattern that shows changes have taken place in an array of genes activated to fight infection.

"Our hypothesis is that the genomic signal associated with elevated mortality is in response to a virus infecting fish before river entry and that persists to the spawning areas," says the report published in the journal Science on Thursday.
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