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• What is killing the giant "Ocean Sunfish" off the coast of Chile? - Digital Journal - www.digitaljournal.com on 5/17/2013
  Playa El Colorado, Tarapaca, Chile, South America -- Several specimens of Ocean Sunfish have washed ashore along the coast of Chile in recent months. The gigantic fishes, always in solitary, cast aground on sandy beaches and the cause of their death remains a mystery to researchers. The latest sunfish stranding occurred two days ago (Wednesday May 15) on the beach "El Colorado" of the northern Chilean port of Iquique. The huge marine animal was found on a sector of the beach hit by large waves. Members of conservation organizations, Kaitieki and Sea Shepherd, attended to the site to attempt a rescue or to collect data, according to local media. The sunfish measured almost 2 meters long by 1.5 meter high and weighed about 800 kilograms. It had no visible wounds or lacerations, and based on the condition of fish, it washed to the shore after dying offshore within the previous two days. The death of a fish of this species has become a recurrent event on beaches along the Chilean coast. On 24 April, a fish of this species was found dead on the same beach. In January this year, another specimen was found dead near Castro in Chiloe Island, located in the south of Chile. On March 15, another fish of this species was found dead on rockeries of islet "El Alacran" of Arica, Chile's northernmost port. And on March 2012, a sunfish stranded on a beach in Dalcahue, also in the Island of Chiloe. Despite detailed inspections by specialists, the causes of death of these fish are not apparent and remain a mystery. Because of their size, in the range of 300-800 kilos, these fish would be still relatively young. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/20/13


• Answers sought from dolphin deaths - Cape Cod Times - www.capecodonline.com on 5/15/2013
  Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, North America -- ...Nearly 9 feet long, over 1,000 pounds, and nearly 7 feet in girth, it took 14 people to lift the big male bottlenose Monday evening from where he had come to rest on the flats off Crowes Pasture in Dennis. Rescuers also saved a smaller female that was swimming with the male. Both animals were deemed healthy enough to be released and were transported to Nantucket Sound and let go. Unfortunately, both died overnight and were found on Yarmouth beaches early Tuesday morning. The necropsy on the male was performed that afternoon; the female will be examined today. Hundreds of tissue samples will be set to laboratories around the country to be tested for disease and contaminants. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/16/13


• What is causing hundreds of fish to die? - WIVB-TV News 4 - www.wivb.com on 5/15/2013
  Buffalo, Erie County, New York, United States, North America -- Canalside is just weeks away from being packed with people attending summer events. But visitors could be met with hundreds of dead fish in the water. Hundreds of dead fish started washing up from Lake Erie, the Niagara River and their tributaries in March, and News 4 reported after concerned viewers called about the dead fish. And though it's been months, you can still find dozens of them floating in the Commercial Slip. Donald Zelazny, the DEC's Great Lakes Program Coordinator, said, "This is actually one of the larger die-offs of these fish that we've seen in quite a while." So it's no surprise that people who see them are worried about disease and pollution. But the DEC now has biological evidence of what it has said all along: these fish, a member of the herring family called "gizzard shad," died of natural causes. "They're very susceptible to cold temperatures and temperature fluctuations. So we generally see a die-off of this particular type of fish every year," Zelazny explained. The DEC sent biological samples to labs at Cornell University. All the results came back negative. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/20/13


• Chronic wasting disease in deer likely to move farther east in Virginia - Daily Progress - www.dailyprogress.com on 5/14/2013
  Shenandoah National Park, Page County, Virginia, United States, North America -- Chronic wasting disease, a progressive condition that can remain idle for years before killing the infected animal, has been found in deer 25 miles from the Shenandoah National Park's northern border, said park biologist Rolf Gubler. The park stretches northeast from outside Waynesboro to Front Royal. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/16/13


• Dead Fish Wash Up Along Eastern Shore - WKRG News 5 - www.wkrg.com on 5/12/2013
  Mullet Point, Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, North America -- Hundreds of redfish and catfish are floating on the surface of Mobile Bay. Scientists say it appears they've been dead for several days, now they're starting to wash up along the Eastern Shore near Mullet Point. "The first thing you worry about is if it's a major fish kill and is it affecting the entire bay," said a resident. So, why are these fish dying? Some researchers say it's hard to tell because the fish have been dead for a while so they're not easy to test. Dr. Bob Shipp, who teaches marine sciences at the University of South Alabama, has his own thoughts about what's happening in Mobile Bay. "Normally these fish kills are associated with low oxygen levels, especially in the summer when the water gets hot and it loses it's oxygen," Shipp says. But, right now Dr. Shipp doesn't believe that's what's causing the deaths. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/16/13


• Dead Fish Wash Up Along Eastern Shore - WKRG News 5 - www.wkrg.com on 5/12/2013
  Mobile Bay, Mobile County, Alabama, United States, North America -- Hundreds of redfish and catfish are floating on the surface of Mobile Bay. Scientists say it appears they've been dead for several days, now they're starting to wash up along the Eastern Shore near Mullet Point. "The first thing you worry about is if it's a major fish kill and is it affecting the entire bay," said a resident. So, why are these fish dying? Some researchers say it's hard to tell because the fish have been dead for a while so they're not easy to test. Dr. Bob Shipp, who teaches marine sciences at the University of South Alabama, has his own thoughts about what's happening in Mobile Bay. "Normally these fish kills are associated with low oxygen levels, especially in the summer when the water gets hot and it loses it's oxygen," Shipp says. But, right now Dr. Shipp doesn't believe that's what's causing the deaths. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/16/13


• Local ground squirrel tests positive for plague - ABC 10 News - www.10news.com on 5/12/2013
  Palomar Mountain, San Diego County, California, United States, North America -- A ground squirrel that tested positive for plague on Palomar Mountain has led San Diego County health officials to warn campers and hikers to take precautions.... -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/16/13


• UPDATE: DNR Investigating Fish Found Dead in Tygart Lake - 12 WBOY.com - www.wboy,com on 5/10/2013
  Tygart Lake, Barbour County, West Virginia, United States, North America -- The Division of Natural Resources said it continues to investigate after approximately 130 white bass fish that were found dead in the Tygart Lake Thursday. The DNR said the fish were affected by a disease that it does not think has affected any other species. DNR will collect some fish at the lake next week for testing but said that all water chemistry looks normal. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/10/13


• Hundreds of Dead Fish Found in Bristol Pond: DEEP crews responded to Page Park on Thursday to investigate - NBC Connecticut - www.nbcconnecticut.com on 5/9/2013
  Bristol, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, North America -- Hundreds of dead fish were discovered in a pond in Bristol Thursday. Bristol Parks officials and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to Page Park after someone called to report the dead sun fish floating on the surface of the pond. Experts from DEEP classified the occurrence as a natural kill. "The sun fish right now are spawning. When they go into spawning, they are in close proximity to each other," said Don Mysling, Senior DEEP Fisheries Biologist. During spawning, the fish don't eat and become weak. They can get small cuts and are susceptible to illness. "Virus or bacteria can spread quite rapidly from one individual to another," Mysling said. "So it's not an unusual occurrence." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/10/13


• NC health officials reminding citizens of rabies risk in wildlife - White Mountain Independent - www.wmicentral.com on 5/8/2013
  Navajo County, Arizona, United States, North America -- Navajo County health officials have issued a warning after an attack a by a rabid bobcat in the southern area of the county. Drought, food source availability and urban interface have driven wildlife to enter human environments. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/8/13


• Distemper Outbreak Among St. Louis County Skunks - CBS St. Louis - stlouis.cbslocal.com on 5/6/2013
  St. Louis City County, Missouri, United States, North America -- ou heard about it first on KMOX several weeks ago - a widespread outbreak of distemper among raccoons in St. Louis County. Bi-State Wildlife Hotline founder & president Angel Wintrode has an update, saying the distemper problem in raccoons is easing up a bit. However, a new problem has emerged. Wintrode told KMOX that officials are seeing a lot of skunks becoming ill from distemper, especially in south St. Louis County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/10/13


• White-nose syndrome found in Boone National Forest - Kentucky.com on 5/3/2013
  Daniel Boone National Forest, Clay County, Kentucky, United States, North America -- A rapidly spreading fungal disease affecting bats has been discovered in Daniel Boone National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service says white-nose syndrome was found on hibernating bats in six caves inside the forest. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources confirmed laboratory findings. ... Forest Biologist Sandra Kilpatrick says 38 bat hibernation caves were surveyed over the winter, with white-nose syndrome found in six. Those six caves are in Jackson, Rockcastle and Pulaski counties. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/5/13


• Bobcat attacks woman behind Lowe's; rabies confirmed - White Mountain Independent - www.wmicentral.com on 4/29/2013
  Show Low, Navajo County, Arizona, United States, North America -- It has been confirmed that the bobcat that attacked a young woman on Sunday on Forest Lane in Show Low has tested positive for rabies. The woman who was attacked was treated for rabies after the incident and has been notified of the positive test. Following a bobcat attack on a young woman in a neighborhood... in Show Low, Arizona Game and Fish Department (department) officials are advising area residents to be alert for any wild animal or pet that appears to behave oddly, indicating the potential presence of rabies. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/2/13


• Hundreds of birds die of starvation after spring snowstorm - Sky Hi News - www.skyhidailynews.com on 4/29/2013
  Granby, Grand County, Colorado, United States, North America -- Local wildlife officials have determined an estimated one to two hundred dead robins and other similar bird species that have been found in the area died of starvation due to the recent snowstorms. It is unclear whether the birds were resident birds of the area or early migrators that were traveling through the area and were caught in the recent snowstorms. ...Robins survive mostly on insects, Crosby said. And due to the snow they were not able to get to the ground to retrieve food to keep up with their energy demands and subsequently starved to death. Enough birds died to raise concerns about a possible outbreak of a disease, said Michelle Cowardin, a wildlife conservation biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "When anything like this happens we want to get them to the lab to see if there is a disease problem," Crosby said. "But this was pretty obvious." Necropsies completed on six birds revealed the cause of death to be starvation, Crosby said. [From photo description: Robins investigate the snowy conditions during last week's snow storm in Granby] -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 5/2/13


• Socorro County Fox Diagnosed with Rabies - Mountain Mail - www.themountainmail.com on 4/27/2013
  Magdalena, Socorro County, New Mexico, United States, North America -- The New Mexico Department of Health confirmed rabies in a fox that attacked a young dog at a home. The attack happened about a mile south of Magdalena on March 23. Tissue samples from the fox submitted to the Department of Health's Scientific Laboratory Division tested positive for rabies....The last confirmed animal rabies cases in Socorro County were a calf and a bat, both in 2009. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/29/13


• The Wild Side: What?s behind bird die-offs? - Star Journal - www.starjournalnow.com on 4/26/2013
  Wisconsin, United States, North America -- When I came into the office Monday morning, I received a phone call from a concerned homeowner who found several dead birds around their birdfeeder and near the house. Most of them appeared to be common redpolls. Unfortunately, I knew right away what had happened. Redpolls are one of our most susceptible bird species to a bacterial infection called Salmonella. Our wildlife health division has received scattered reports of small numbers of sick and dead birds at backyard feeders around the state. Pine siskins, redpolls and goldfinches were all documented with the fatal infection in Dane and Washington counties. To date, they have a total of 18 counties reporting bird deaths, including Price and Oneida counties. That day, I received five reports of dead birds from homeowners across Vilas, Oneida and Lincoln counties. I collected a sample of birds and shipped them to the wildlife health lab to confirm my suspicion of Salmonella. The reports of dead birds continued into Tuesday. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/29/13


• Turkey Virus Alert in New York and Maine - - Outdoor Life - www.outdoorlife.com on 4/25/2013
  Maine, United States, North America -- Officials in both New York and Maine have issued alerts asking spring turkey hunters to help them identify birds that may be suffering from Lymphoproliferative Disease Virus (LPDV). The virus, which causes Elephant Man-like lesions on a turkey's head and legs, has already been found in the Maine population while biologists in New York are seeking further information to determine whether the disease has impacted their flock. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/29/13


• Mysterious oil slick off Newfoundland coast threatens wildlife - Global News - globalnews.ca on 4/25/2013
  Change Islands, Newfoundland, Canada, North America -- A spokesman for the Canadian Coast Guard says samples are being collected of some form of oil that is leaking from beneath the waters off northeastern Newfoundland. Coast guard spokesman Robert Grant says there have been reports of oiled seabirds in the Change Islands and Fogo Island area since March 31st.... Local residents have reported seeing up to 400 oiled seabirds. Grant says the source of the oil remains a mystery, but it appears to be coming from an area west of Change Islands. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/29/13


• Mysterious oil slick off Newfoundland coast threatens wildlife - Global News - globalnews.ca on 4/25/2013
  Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada, North America -- A spokesman for the Canadian Coast Guard says samples are being collected of some form of oil that is leaking from beneath the waters off northeastern Newfoundland. Coast guard spokesman Robert Grant says there have been reports of oiled seabirds in the Change Islands and Fogo Island area since March 31st.... Local residents have reported seeing up to 400 oiled seabirds. Grant says the source of the oil remains a mystery, but it appears to be coming from an area west of Change Islands. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/29/13


• Algae and pneumonia blamed for marine deaths - ABC News - www.abc.net.au on 4/23/2013
  Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, Australia -- Testing on dead dolphins and fish which washed up on South Australian beaches recently showed fungal pneumonia and naturally-occurring algal blooms were to blame. Satellite imagery from the CSIRO showed high levels of algae in the water during March, which led to gill irritation and effectively suffocated the fish. Diagnostic testing of fish samples ruled out infectious fish diseases for the mass kill. Autopsies are still being done on 26 dead dolphins, but initial testing has indicated they died of fungal pneumonia. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/25/13


• ProMED: Undiagnosed deaths, dolphin: update - ProMED Mail - www.promedmail.org on 4/23/2013
  Tyrrhenian coasts, Sicilia, Italy, Europe -- The Italian stranding Network on Marine Mammals, [in Italian], born from a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment in order to coordinate the issue, managed the unusual mortality event occurred along the Tyrrhenian coasts of Italy. The network obtained complete traceability of reports and of sampling as well as uniform diagnostic procedures. Post mortem investigations were performed by Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali (IIZZSS) [Experimental Zooprophylactic Institutes], namely IZS Lazio Toscana, IZS Mezzogiorno, IZS Sicilia, and IZS Sardegna coordinated by IZS Piemonte Liguria and Valle d'Aosta and supported by the Cetacean Emergency Response Team (CERT = 96 Padova University), applying uniform diagnostic protocols and sharing the results of laboratory analysis. They sampled 58 percent of the stranded animals, according to their conservation conditions. Data obtained allowed to advance 1st hypotheses about possible causes of this unusual mortality. Most of the animals showed a significantly compromised immune system. Approximately 30 percent of the tested subjects resulted infected by dolphin morbillivirus (DMV). This percentage could increase to 41 percent in case of confirmation of the 6 pending analyses. Other pathogens, acting as opportunistic agents, were identified such as _Photobacterium damselae_ subspecies _damselae_ (60 percent), herpesvirus (27.7 percent), _Toxoplasma gondii_ (9.62 percent), and non-specific inflammatory lesions were found in a lot of the tissues sampled. From available data it is not possible to assert with high level of probability the role of DMV as the primary cause of death in these cetaceans, however its action on the immune system may have played an essential role in this mortality event. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/25/13


• Rabies Detected in New Area of State - Alaska Department of Fish and Game on 4/23/2013
  Chandalar Lake, Yukon-Koyukuk County, Alaska, United States, North America -- A wolf killed in late March this year after it closely approached a trapper around the Chandalar Lakes area has tested positive for rabies. Rabies had not previously been documented in this area south of the Brooks Range. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is asking the public to report any wolves, wolverines, foxes or other wildlife acting abnormally to the nearest ADF&G office, and by sending an email to dfg.dwc.vet@alaska.gov. Animals with rabies might be fearless in approaching people, attack inanimate moving objects, or be unable to run or move normally, said Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, wildlife veterinarian with the department. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/25/13


• Borneo pygmy elephant death tests lay blame on unidentified toxin - The Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk on 4/19/2013
  Sabah, Malaysia, Asia -- Lab tests fail to conclusively prove the deaths of at least 14 endangered animals in January were caused by poisoning. After three months, officials still don't know for certain what killed at least 14 Bornean elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis) in the Malaysian state of Sabah. However tests do indicate that the herd perished from a "caustic intoxicant," possibly ingested accidentally or just as easily intentionally poisoned. A distinct subspecies, Bornean elephants are the world's smallest with a population that has fallen to around 2,000 on the island....When the elephants were found dead in Gunung Rara Forest Reserve, suspicion immediately turned to nearby oil palm plantations and logging concessions, both of which view elephants as pests. Commercial poaching is also significant in the area, although the elephants' tusks were not removed. As of yet, however, a criminal investigation has turned up nothing. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/23/13


• Seabirds affected by second wave of sticky pollution 'could number thousands' - The Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk on 4/17/2013
  Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, Europe -- Wildlife agencies warn that the numbers of birds affected could be far greater than those harmed earlier this year The numbers of seabirds affected by a sticky substance in the sea off south-west England over the past week could be far greater than those harmed by a similar - or possibly the same - spill earlier this year. Wildlife agencies in Devon and Cornwall said numbers of birds killed or rendered helpless could reach "thousands" and that "a whole generation of seabirds" may have been wiped out in a single pollution incident. Dead and distressed birds have been washing up along beaches in Devon and Cornwall since the middle of last week, covered in a sticky substance that has been confirmed as polyisobutylene, also known as PIB or polyisobutene, an oil additive often used to improve the performance of lubricating oil and in products ranging from adhesives to sealants and chewing gum. Affected species include razorbill, puffin and gannets, but predominantly guillemots. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/17/13


• Seabirds affected by second wave of sticky pollution 'could number thousands' - The Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk on 4/17/2013
  Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe -- Wildlife agencies warn that the numbers of birds affected could be far greater than those harmed earlier this year The numbers of seabirds affected by a sticky substance in the sea off south-west England over the past week could be far greater than those harmed by a similar - or possibly the same - spill earlier this year. Wildlife agencies in Devon and Cornwall said numbers of birds killed or rendered helpless could reach "thousands" and that "a whole generation of seabirds" may have been wiped out in a single pollution incident. Dead and distressed birds have been washing up along beaches in Devon and Cornwall since the middle of last week, covered in a sticky substance that has been confirmed as polyisobutylene, also known as PIB or polyisobutene, an oil additive often used to improve the performance of lubricating oil and in products ranging from adhesives to sealants and chewing gum. Affected species include razorbill, puffin and gannets, but predominantly guillemots. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/17/13


• Seattle Dead Whale Mess Raises A Stink - The Inquisiter - www.inquisitr.com on 4/16/2013
  Puget Sound, Kitsap County, Washington, United States, North America -- Seattle's dead whale, which washed up Saturday at a small Puget Sound Beach town called Burien, attracted an unusual crowd over the weekend as onlookers crowded around the remains of the 70-foot fin whale. The beached animal is estimated to have been dead for about a week before it washed up, and there's reportedly quite a stink.... Fin whales don't dive deeply, and they are frequently struck by ships. John Calambokidis, a research biologist, told a local TV station that he's pretty sure that's what happened in this case: "[T]the whale was hit by a ship when it was still alive." There are visible signs of red paint on the whale. Unfortunately, because it was almost torn in half by the collision with the unknown ship, the skeleton and carcass are of no value. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/17/13


• Seven dolphin dead as carcasses wash up on our beaches, PIRSA investigates - Adelaide Now - www.adelaidenow.com.au on 4/16/2013
  Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, Australia -- SEVEN dolphin carcasses - including three infants - have washed up on South Australian beaches in the past eight days. It takes the total number of dolphin deaths to 23 since the start of March. Environment Department chief executive Allan Holmes said a juvenile dolphin had been collected from Hallett Cove over the weekend, while officers would soon retrieve a dolphin found at South Port yesterday morning. "Staff at the department's Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (ADS) are also monitoring a female dolphin guarding her dead calf in the Port River," he said...." He said the causes of death would not be known "until autopsies are completed". Dolphins were also found at West Beach on April 12 and at Outer Harbor on April 8. A further two dolphin carcasses were found off Yorke Peninsula beaches last week. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/18/13


• ProMED: Avian influenza: Zoonotic LPAI H7N9, wild pigeon, OIE - OIE World Animal Health Info. Database (WAHID) Interface - web.oie.int/wahis on 4/16/2013
  Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, Asia -- Chinese authorities say they have found the H7N9 strain of bird flu in a wild pigeon. They say it's the 1st time the virus has been detected in wild birds. Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture say they found the virus in a wild pigeon caught in the city of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. They say the genetic sequence of the virus is very similar to that discovered in pigeons sold at a Shanghai market. The officials say wild birds could be spreading the virus among poultry. They will further investigate the infection sources and routes. The authorities have been culling birds after the virus was found in live poultry sold at markets in areas where infections were reported. Location: Qinhuai, Qinhuai, Nanjing, Jiangsu Date of start of the outbreak: 16 Apr 2013 Outbreak status: continuing (or date resolved not provided) Affected population: 1 sample from wild pigeon -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/18/13


• ProMED: Avian influenza: Zoonotic LPAI H7N9, wild pigeon, OIE - ProMED Mail - www.promedmail.org on 4/16/2013
  Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, Asia -- Chinese authorities say they have found the H7N9 strain of bird flu in a wild pigeon. They say it's the 1st time the virus has been detected in wild birds. Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture say they found the virus in a wild pigeon caught in the city of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. They say the genetic sequence of the virus is very similar to that discovered in pigeons sold at a Shanghai market. The officials say wild birds could be spreading the virus among poultry. They will further investigate the infection sources and routes. The authorities have been culling birds after the virus was found in live poultry sold at markets in areas where infections were reported. Location: Qinhuai, Qinhuai, Nanjing, Jiangsu Date of start of the outbreak: 16 Apr 2013 Outbreak status: continuing (or date resolved not provided) Affected population: 1 sample from wild pigeon -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/18/13


• ProMED: Avian influenza H5N1: Swallow - ProMED Mail - www.promedmail.org on 4/13/2013
  Phan Rang, Ninh Thuan, Vietnam, Asia -- Nearly 5000 salangane birds, which are raised by local people in Viet Nam's central Phan Rang city, were found dead and said to be infected with the avian flu strain H5N1, the local Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on Friday [13 Apr 2013]. According to Vice Chairwoman of Phan Rang City People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hue, from 28 Mar 2013 to 11 Apr 2013, about 4900 salangane birds out of the flock's 10 000 head raised by the Yen Viet Company Limited were found dead in Phan Rang City of Ninh Thuan province. Among the dying birds to be tested at the local Veterinary Department No. 6, 8 samples were found positive to the avian flu strain H5N1. This is the 1st time human-raised salangane birds were found dead in Viet Nam because of the avian flu strain H5N1, so there are not yet specific measures to control the expansion of the disease, except those applied to the H5N1-infected poultry, said Nguyen Xuan Binh, director of the Veterinary Department 6. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/18/13


• Mystery sticky substance back to blight seabirds - The Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk on 4/11/2013
  England, United Kingdom, Europe -- RSPCA rescues guillemots washed up on south coast of England, two months after similar pollution outbreak. More than 30 birds have been rescued after being washed up on beaches across the south coast of England covered in a sticky substance, the RSPCA said on Thursday. A further 27 guillemots were collected from beaches stretching from Mevagissey in Cornwall to Plymouth and Whitsand Bay. It adds to the 12 guillemots rescued on Wednesday affected by what appears to be the same sticky substance that harmed their colonies out at sea two months ago. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/11/13


• Trinidad environmentalists investigate mystery death of hundreds of black vultures - Caribbean 360 - www.caribbean360.com on 4/11/2013
  Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago, North America -- The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) says it is unable to identify any environmental reasons why more than 100 black vultures (Coragyps atratus) died in West Trinidad on Monday. The EMA said it is also working on the theory that the birds may have been feeding on the carcass of an animal which had been poisoned. "We can't identify an environmental cause as such that they were exposed to. There were 150 birds, we estimated. There was nothing else in the vicinity. We have been liaising with the Poultry Surveillance Unit, which is part of the National Disease Centre, to see if it was a case of the avian flu," EMA chief executive officer Dr. Joth Singh told the Trinidad Guardian newspaper. But he said preliminary tests had shown avian flu had not killed the birds. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/12/13


• Caution: Zion herd infected with Sore Mouth Disease - SUU News - www.suunews.com on 4/10/2013
  Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah, United States, North America -- Bighorn sheep in Zion National Park have become infected with a disease called Sore Mouth Disease, or contagious ecthyma. Sore Mouth Disease is a virus similar to chicken pox, and like chicken pox, it is typically a mild disease. People can be infected if direct contact with infected sheep occurs....Baltrus said the herd size of the Zion bighorn sheep is about 250, taken from an aerial survey a few years ago. Because of the size of the herd, Zion officials expect the disease to go through most of the herd. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/11/13


• Stone curlews died underweight because of 'cold spring' - BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/ on 4/10/2013
  Norfolk, England, United Kingdom, Europe -- One of the UK's rarest birds is being put at further risk by the cold spring, the RSPB has said. The bodies of eight underweight stone curlews have been discovered in fields in Norfolk, Suffolk and Wiltshire over the past few days. The birds are thought to have come from Africa and Spain but struggled to find enough food to survive. Conservation director Martin Harper said it was a "stark reminder of how fragile this species is". The birds weighed about 300g (10oz) compared to what is considered a healthy weight of 450g (15oz). -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/12/13


• Stone curlews died underweight because of 'cold spring' - BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/ on 4/10/2013
  Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, Europe -- One of the UK's rarest birds is being put at further risk by the cold spring, the RSPB has said. The bodies of eight underweight stone curlews have been discovered in fields in Norfolk, Suffolk and Wiltshire over the past few days. The birds are thought to have come from Africa and Spain but struggled to find enough food to survive. Conservation director Martin Harper said it was a "stark reminder of how fragile this species is". The birds weighed about 300g (10oz) compared to what is considered a healthy weight of 450g (15oz). -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/12/13


• Stone curlews died underweight because of 'cold spring' - BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/ on 4/10/2013
  Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe -- One of the UK's rarest birds is being put at further risk by the cold spring, the RSPB has said. The bodies of eight underweight stone curlews have been discovered in fields in Norfolk, Suffolk and Wiltshire over the past few days. The birds are thought to have come from Africa and Spain but struggled to find enough food to survive. Conservation director Martin Harper said it was a "stark reminder of how fragile this species is". The birds weighed about 300g (10oz) compared to what is considered a healthy weight of 450g (15oz). -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/12/13


• Mysterious deaths: 10 peacocks drop dead in Tharparkar - The Express Tribune - tribune.com.pk on 4/9/2013
  Thar Parkar District, Sind, Pakistan, Asia -- Ten peacocks have died and several others are suffering from an unknown disease in Singalo village, Tharparkar. A number of birds died due to Ranikhet disease in Tharparkar last year and the residents of the village feel that the birds might be suffering from the same disease as the symptoms are similar.... -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/12/13


• Fish Die-Offs in Shanghai and Beijing - Epoch Times - www.theepochtimes.com on 4/9/2013
  Beijing, Beijing, China, Asia -- ... more than 600 pounds of dead fish were pulled from the Sijing Tang River in Shanghai in early April, according to state news agency Xinhua.... According to the report, local residents said that the fish die-off started at the end of March and recently got worse, making the water turbid and smelly. Another batch of dead fish appeared around the same time in a Beijing lake. The cause of the deaths is unclear, but the administrator of surrounding Chaoyang Park says it has nothing to do with pollution, state media Beijing News reported. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/12/13


• Fish Die-Offs in Shanghai and Beijing - Epoch Times - www.theepochtimes.com on 4/9/2013
  Shanghai, Shanghai, China, Asia -- ... more than 600 pounds of dead fish were pulled from the Sijing Tang River in Shanghai in early April, according to state news agency Xinhua.... According to the report, local residents said that the fish die-off started at the end of March and recently got worse, making the water turbid and smelly. Another batch of dead fish appeared around the same time in a Beijing lake. The cause of the deaths is unclear, but the administrator of surrounding Chaoyang Park says it has nothing to do with pollution, state media Beijing News reported. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/12/13


• Deadly Disease Hits Home of America's Largest Colony of Endangered Gray Bats - Center for Biological Diversity - www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd on 4/8/2013
  Fern Cave Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson County, Alabama, United States, North America -- The devastating bat epidemic known as white-nose syndrome has reached the home of the world's largest wintering colony of endangered gray bats and as many as a million endangered Indiana bats. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials announced today that the fungal disease, which has killed nearly 7 million bats in 22 eastern states and five Canadian provinces since 2006, has been documented in Fern Cave on Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alabama, which was created to protect gray bats. In announcing the discovery, the Service said the latest cases were "extremely alarming and could be catastrophic." "With this one cave containing more than a third of the world's gray bats, all the alarm bells should be going off," said Mollie Matteson, a bat specialist with the Center for Biological Diversity. "White-nose syndrome is now threatening the very survival of the gray bat and several other species." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/11/13


• Gulf St Vincent to be tested to explain dead penguins, fish and dolphins on Adelaide beaches - Adelaide Now - www.adelaidenow.com.au on 4/4/2013
  Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, Australia -- SWIMMERS and fishers have been reassured that they have nothing to fear from the water in Spencer and St Vincent gulfs in the wake of mass fish and dolphin deaths off the state's coastline. SA Health told The Advertiser algal blooms, found across the state's coastline most likely due to March's prolonged hot weather and heavy winds, did not affect human health in any way....Scientific experts from SA Museum conducted autopsies on two dead dolphins yesterday, but said they were still stumped as to how and why such large numbers died in recent weeks. SA Museum senior researcher of mammals Dr Catherine Kemper said the dolphin samples would be sent to pathology for further analysis. She said preliminary analysis showed one of the dolphins was heavily bruised. "It had lots of bruising on it which means for some reason something bumped it or it bumped itself very badly," she said. Pathology results on a dolphin autopsy conducted last week found E coli near the dolphin's blowhole, which Dr Kemper said was an unusual spot to find the bacteria. Biosecurity SA manager of aquatic pests Vic Neverauskas said yesterday he believed algal blooms were most likely the cause of toxins in the water, which affected the small fish. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• Scientists to investigate coral crisis on Kauai's north shore - HawaiiNewsNow - www.hawaiinewsnow.com on 4/2/2013
  Kauai County, Hawaii, United States, North America -- Look beneath the surface of Kauai's north shore and you'll see what marine biologists are calling an epidemic. Video taken from Anini on Kauai's northeast coast shows coral covered with white bacteria, which is deteriorating much of the reef. "The disease is a tissue-loss disease," said USGS Wildlife Disease Specialist Thierry Work. "If you look at these corals, they are losing tissues and we think it's associated with a cyanobacteria, which is a type of algae that is eating the coral basically." Marine biologist Terry Lilley started documenting the disease when he noticed how quickly it was spreading. "I went all over the north shore to over 60 different dive sites within 30 days," Lilley said. "Everywhere we went on the north shore, this disease had already killed a lion's share of the reef." The USGS estimates that about six percent of Kauai's reef has been infected. Before scientists can figure out a cure, they need to find what is causing it. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/7/13


• Oily ducks found after thousands of gallons of oil spill in Arkansas - Fox News - www.foxnews.com on 4/2/2013
  Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, North America -- The environmental impacts of an oil spill in central Arkansas began to come into focus Monday as officials said a couple of dead ducks and 10 live oily birds were found after an ExxonMobil pipeline ruptured last week....About 12,000 barrels of oil and water have been recovered since ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline sprung a leak, spewing oil onto lawns and roadways and nearly fouling a nearby lake. Dodson said he expects a few more oily birds to turn up in the coming days....Investigators are still working to determine what caused the spill, which led authorities to evacuate nearly two dozen homes in a subdivision. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/7/13


• Wildlife officials to euthanize diseased bighorn sheep - Washington. Department of Fish and Wildlife. on 4/1/2013
  Tieton, Yakima County, Washington, United States, North America -- State wildlife officials will take steps this week to curb the spread of a deadly pneumonia outbreak by euthanizing wild bighorn sheep in the Naches area. Biologists with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services will spend the next several weeks removing sheep from the Tieton herd, about 10 miles west of Naches. Because most of the sheep are believed to be infected with a disease that causes pneumonia, almost all of the animals will likely need to be euthanized, said Richard Harris, wildlife manager for WDFW. "A majority of the live bighorn sheep spotted during recent surveys looked to be in poor condition, with about a third of those animals coughing or showing other signs of the disease," Harris said. "We hate to have to take this action, but we believe it's necessary to stop the spread of a disease that could devastate adjacent herds of wild bighorn sheep in the area." The disease has already significantly reduced the herd, which is currently estimated at between 35 to 50 animals, said Harris. In recent years, the Tieton herd has numbered as many as 200 animals. So far, no dead or sick bighorn sheep have been found outside the Tieton herd. Earlier this year, wildlife managers received reports of sick and dead sheep along the Tieton River. To date, about 25 dead sheep have been found by WDFW biologists conducting aerial and ground surveys. Carcasses tested at Washington State University's veterinary laboratory were found to have pneumonia, caused by Mycoplasma bacteria. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/7/13


• More Chronic Wasting Disease Found In Missouri Deer - KTTS 94.7FM - www.ktts.com on 3/27/2013
  Linn County, Missouri, United States, North America -- Missouri has confirmed four new cases of chronic wasting disease in deer in a north-central part of the state. The state Conservation Department said Tuesday the four free-ranging deer were among about 100 deer killed in January and February in the 29-square-mile chronic wasting disease core area in Linn and Macon counties. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• More Chronic Wasting Disease Found In Missouri Deer - KTTS 94.7FM - www.ktts.com on 3/27/2013
  Macon County, Missouri, United States, North America -- Missouri has confirmed four new cases of chronic wasting disease in deer in a north-central part of the state. The state Conservation Department said Tuesday the four free-ranging deer were among about 100 deer killed in January and February in the 29-square-mile chronic wasting disease core area in Linn and Macon counties. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• Late Ontario winter weather starving birds of prey - CBC News - www.cbc.ca on 3/27/2013
  Ontario, Canada, North America -- Five emaciated birds found in 24-hour span in Windsor-Essex area. A late winter blast in Southern Ontario has birds of prey scrambling to find food. Several are showing up at bird sanctuaries and animal rescue clinics, weak and emaciated. During a 24-hour span this week, three hawks and two owls were brought to Wings Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Amherstburg, Ont., south of Windsor. "When February and March come, we see the aftermath of winter," said Nancy Phillips, who cares for the birds. "Because it's been a longer and extended - and unpredictable - winter, we're seeing things come in emaciated. They're on their last reserve of fat. "What happens is, the mouse population is more dormant in the winter. So the birds aren't finding what they need out there." Of the five birds brought to Wings, four survived. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• 7 eagles believed to have become sick after eating tainted horse meat - Q13 Fox.com - q13fox.com on 3/26/2013
  Lewis County, Washington, United States, North America -- A half-dozen bald eagles found close to death in Lewis County are being nursed back to health at the West Sound Wildlife Shelter - and the culprit appears to be tainted horse meat. The birds are believed to have become sick after eating meat from the carcass of a euthanized horse that had been left out in a field.... "When you euthanize a horse, or another animal, they use sodium-phenobarbital and that goes through the entire system. So when a scavenger comes down to eat on that, they're actually ingesting that chemical and it can euthanize them," said Mike Pratt, of the West Sound Wildlife Shelter. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• Brevard's manatee, pelican deaths still a mystery: Count rises as algae, parasites get a look - Florida Today - www.floridatoday.com on 3/26/2013
  Brevard County, Florida, United States, North America -- The manatees are full of macroalgae; the pelicans packed with parasites. Both continue to die in growing numbers in Brevard County, with potential answers still weeks away. "We're at 80 right now," Kevin Baxter, a spokesman with the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, said Monday of the manatees that have mysteriously died in Brevard since July. That includes 25 carcasses found between March 10 and March 21 alone, Baxter said. The sea cows have been drowning, with signs of shock and intestinal problems. Their carcasses appear otherwise healthy, but their digestive tracts are filled with thick drift algae, also called macroalgae, and not much of their usual seagrass staple diet. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• 1,000 Dead Ducks Found In China's Nanhe River; Pig Carcass Count Continues To Rise - Huffington Post - www.huffingtonpost.com on 3/26/2013
  Nanhe River, Tianjin, China, Asia -- Chinese authorities have a new mystery to ponder after 1,000 duck carcases were found floating down the Nanhe river in the country's Sichuan province on Tuesday. As with the puzzling count of dead pigs -- now totaling 16,000 -- found in the Huangpu river and its upstream tributaries in the last several weeks, the government has yet to offer an explanation for the phenomenon. Liang Weidong, an official with the county's publicity office, told Xinhua, China's state news agency, the rotten birds had been found tucked into 50 woven plastic bags, from which they were removed before being sanitized and buried. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/7/13


• More Mo. bats diagnosed with deadly disease - San Francisco Chronicle - www.sfgate.com on 3/23/2013
  Franklin County, Missouri, United States, North America -- Four more cases of deadly white-nose syndrome have turned up in bats in eastern Missouri. The state Conservation Department says the disease was recently confirmed in a tri-colored bat and a little brown bat found in a public cave in Washington County. A little brown bat and a northern long-eared bat, found in two separate public caves in Franklin County, also had white-nose syndrome. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• More Mo. bats diagnosed with deadly disease - San Francisco Chronicle - www.sfgate.com on 3/23/2013
  Washington County, Missouri, United States, North America -- Four more cases of deadly white-nose syndrome have turned up in bats in eastern Missouri. The state Conservation Department says the disease was recently confirmed in a tri-colored bat and a little brown bat found in a public cave in Washington County. A little brown bat and a northern long-eared bat, found in two separate public caves in Franklin County, also had white-nose syndrome. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• Harbor Porpoise Washes Up on N. Oregon Coast Beach - BeachConnection.net - www.beachconnection.net on 3/22/2013
  Oregon, United States, North America -- Staff from Seaside Aquarium responded to a deceased porpoise washing up on the beach of the north Oregon coast town Friday morning, a fairly common occurrence on these beaches but still a somewhat puzzling incident. Seaside Aquarium's Tiffany Boothe said it was a harbor porpoise, a male, and four and a half feet long. It showed up just north of the 12th Ave access. "We do not know the cause of death, however," Boothe said. "The animal has been taken up to Portland State University for further examination." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• Feeder birds succumbing to salmonella poisoning - Buffalo News - www.buffalonews.com on 3/21/2013
  New York, United States, North America -- he first message came two weeks ago. "I found six dead redpolls in my back yard," it read. In quick succession, that message was followed by others. Three dead redpolls. A dying pine siskin. More dead and dying redpolls....The report by state pathologist Joe Okoniewski came back: salmonella poisoning. It also noted that similar poisoning of redpolls and siskins has been recorded across the state this winter. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 4/5/13


• Deaths of manatees in Indian River Lagoon a mystery; Stomachs filled with algae, but appear OK - Florida Today - www.floridatoday.com on 3/20/2013
  Brevard County, Florida, United States, North America -- Manatees are drowning for some mysterious reason, with bellies full of seaweed as one of the only clues. At least 55 manatees have died in the Indian River Lagoon since July, including 25 of them in the past month, mostly in Brevard. Their carcasses appear otherwise healthy, but their guts are filled with thick drift algae, also called macroalgae, and not so much of their usual seagrass staple diet. That stringy stuff is virtually nowhere to be found in the lagoon, after a phytoplankton explosion decimated the estuary's seagrass in 2011. Scientists have yet to identify any known algae toxin that may be killing the manatees. But biologists with the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg say the 2011 phytoplankton 'super bloom,' as well as a severe brown algae bloom after that, may have contributed to the manatee die-off. "So far we haven't found evidence of disease or viruses at this point, but we're still looking into that as well," said Kevin Baxter, a spokesman with the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. ..."That has been a common thread that there have been large amounts of it," Baxter said. "They've generally been healthy looking, otherwise." ... Dead cormorants, a few bottlenose dolphins and redfish also have been reported recently in Brevard. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/21/13


• Yunderup fish kill examined - In My Community - www.inmycommunity.com.au on 3/20/2013
  Yunderup, Western Australia, Australia, Australia -- SOUTH Yunderup residents are urged to avoid touching the dead fish that washed up on the shores of the lake near Wellya Crescent, a Department of Fisheries spokeswoman said. She said mass deaths were usually the result of natural events. However, they can be due to other environmental and human-induced factors. Wellya Crescent residents were appalled to find hundreds of dead fish washed up on the shores of the lake last week. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/21/13


• WNS Update - Ontario: First 2013 case confirmed - Healthy Wildlife - www.healthywildlife.ca on 3/19/2013
  Ontario, Canada, North America -- Ontario has confirmed its first cases of white nose syndrome (WNS) for 2013. The infected bats were found in a district of the province where WNS had not previously been reported, (see map). This incident included reports of bats observed flying during the day, a strong indicator of WNS infection, and both scavenged and whole dead bats. The samples for WNS surveillance were collected and submitted as part of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources enhanced WNS surveillance program. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/21/13


• Death of Red-Tailed Hawk Caused By Rat Poison, Says EPA - DNAinfo.com - www.dnainfo.com on 3/19/2013
  Madison Square Park, New York County, New York, United States, North America -- A hawk found dead inside of Madison Square Park earlier this year was a victim of secondary rat poisoning, according to the EPA's New York City blog. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation performed a necropsy - an autopsy performed on an animal - and found indications of blood clotting, which suggest that the bird may have died of secondary rat poisoning, according to a blog post by the Environmental Protection Agency's New York City blog called Greening the Apple. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/21/13


• Environmental Almanac: Tularemia suspected in beaver deaths - The News Gazette - www.news-gazette.com on 3/17/2013
  Meadowbrook Park, Champaign County, Illinois, United States, North America -- A beaver die-off at Urbana's Meadowbrook Park, thought to have been caused by tularemia,.... It also has raised questions about the impact of drought, overpopulation and habitat destruction on wildlife. Officials say there are no reports of human illness. What is known for sure is that seven of the beavers that thrived in and along McCullough Creek in the park died in the last year. The cause is less certain. "There is no conclusive evidence," researcher Nohra Mateus-Pinilla said, "but it appears that the only thing that could have caused the die-off is an outbreak of tularemia." She emphasized that tularemia bacteria are common. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/18/13


• Scientists look for reason behind beached whales - Hometown News - www.myhometownnews.net on 3/15/2013
  Jensen Beach, Martin County, Florida, United States, North America -- On the afternoon of Sunday, March 4, two whales were discovered to have beached themselves on Jensen Beach. The beaching was responded to by staff from the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program of the Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute as well as officials from the Florida fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary and Jensen Beach State Park. The whales were identified as a pygmy sperm whale mother and her calf. They were examined and found to be in very poor condition. "There was a malnourishment issue with the mother," said Carin Smith, the media advisor for FAU HBOI. "We don't know at this point if that was the issue, or just one of many issues the whales had." Following a veterinary examination and after consulting with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, the decision was made to humanely euthanize both whales. "This species are typically diagnosed with a cardiac disease called cardiomyopathy," she said. "They seldom recover for stressful stranding events." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/15/13


• Hundreds of Starving Baby Sea Lions Wash Ashore in Mysterious Mass Stranding - Wired on 3/15/2013
  Channel Islands, Santa Barbara County, California, United States, North America -- It began in January. At first, there were only a few. But as the weeks went on, more sea lion pups washed ashore. The dehydrated, emaciated pups showed up on Southern California's beaches, tucked under trucks and lifeguard towers.... In late January, scientists surveying Channel Island sea lion rookeries reported something worrying: Pups out there were in bad shape. By early February, regional marine mammal rescue centers were concerned. The strandings hadn't stopped. Instead, the pace was picking up. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/18/13


• Pelican deaths now exceed 100 in Brevard: Outbreak cause baffles biologists - Florida Today - www.floridatoday.com on 3/14/2013
  Cocoa Beach, Brevard County, Florida, United States, North America -- More than 100 parasite-infested brown pelicans died in Brevard County in the past two months. No one knows why. "The pelicans are emaciated and have heavy parasite counts, and, to our knowledge, other bird species have not been affected," Dan Wolf, a researcher with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a release. Many of the dead pelicans have turned up in Cocoa Beach. But others have been found on Merritt Island, in Melbourne, Indian Harbour Beach and along the St. Sebastian River. FWC researchers are assessing specimens from the pelican carcasses and the environment to identify a potential cause.... But botulism generally kills birds quickly, Wolf said, leaving little time for the pelicans to become emaciated.... "We suspect it may be botulism due to the warmer than average winter," Sue Small, director of the Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary in Palm Shores, said earlier this week. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/15/13


• Pelican deaths now exceed 100 in Brevard: Outbreak cause baffles biologists - Florida Today - www.floridatoday.com on 3/14/2013
  Indian Harbour Beach, Brevard County, Florida, United States, North America -- More than 100 parasite-infested brown pelicans died in Brevard County in the past two months. No one knows why. "The pelicans are emaciated and have heavy parasite counts, and, to our knowledge, other bird species have not been affected," Dan Wolf, a researcher with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a release. Many of the dead pelicans have turned up in Cocoa Beach. But others have been found on Merritt Island, in Melbourne, Indian Harbour Beach and along the St. Sebastian River. FWC researchers are assessing specimens from the pelican carcasses and the environment to identify a potential cause.... But botulism generally kills birds quickly, Wolf said, leaving little time for the pelicans to become emaciated.... "We suspect it may be botulism due to the warmer than average winter," Sue Small, director of the Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary in Palm Shores, said earlier this week. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/15/13


• Pelican deaths now exceed 100 in Brevard: Outbreak cause baffles biologists - Florida Today - www.floridatoday.com on 3/14/2013
  Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States, North America -- More than 100 parasite-infested brown pelicans died in Brevard County in the past two months. No one knows why. "The pelicans are emaciated and have heavy parasite counts, and, to our knowledge, other bird species have not been affected," Dan Wolf, a researcher with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a release. Many of the dead pelicans have turned up in Cocoa Beach. But others have been found on Merritt Island, in Melbourne, Indian Harbour Beach and along the St. Sebastian River. FWC researchers are assessing specimens from the pelican carcasses and the environment to identify a potential cause.... But botulism generally kills birds quickly, Wolf said, leaving little time for the pelicans to become emaciated.... "We suspect it may be botulism due to the warmer than average winter," Sue Small, director of the Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary in Palm Shores, said earlier this week. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/15/13


• Pelican deaths now exceed 100 in Brevard: Outbreak cause baffles biologists - Florida Today - www.floridatoday.com on 3/14/2013
  St. Sebastian River, Brevard County, Florida, United States, North America -- More than 100 parasite-infested brown pelicans died in Brevard County in the past two months. No one knows why. "The pelicans are emaciated and have heavy parasite counts, and, to our knowledge, other bird species have not been affected," Dan Wolf, a researcher with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a release. Many of the dead pelicans have turned up in Cocoa Beach. But others have been found on Merritt Island, in Melbourne, Indian Harbour Beach and along the St. Sebastian River. FWC researchers are assessing specimens from the pelican carcasses and the environment to identify a potential cause.... But botulism generally kills birds quickly, Wolf said, leaving little time for the pelicans to become emaciated.... "We suspect it may be botulism due to the warmer than average winter," Sue Small, director of the Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary in Palm Shores, said earlier this week. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/15/13


• Officials: Emaciation cause of Tundra swans deaths - Juneau Empire - www.juneauempire.com on 3/14/2013
  Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge, Juneau County, Alaska, United States, North America -- Officials say the two tundra swans found dead in the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge in Juneau on New Year's Eve died from emaciation. Alaska Wildlife Troopers sent one of the swans to be examined at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisc., and troopers received a report from the organization on Tuesday. They ruled the cause of death as "emaciation of unknown cause," said trooper Aaron Frenzel. Emaciation is substantial weight loss and can be caused by starvation....It could mean they missed the migration south or were too early returning to Alaska. Ely said if the pair of swans were young, it's possible they might have been hatched late and not strong enough to make the trek, or they could have been injured and unable to care for themselves. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/15/13


• Concern for the welfare of birds after Flamborough oil spillage - Hull Daily Mail - www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk on 3/13/2013
  Flamborough Head, England, United Kingdom, Europe -- WILDLIFE experts are concerned about an oil slick threatening one of Yorkshire's most important seabird colonies. Staff at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's Living Seas Centre in Flamborough are on alert as thousands of birds return to the Yorkshire coast in preparation for breeding on the cliffs around the headland. The spillage was first reported on Friday but north-easterly winds and heavy seas have seen the oil move nearer to the coast. So far, the largest reports of oiled birds have been from Scarborough, where up to 50 birds are known to have been affected, but casualties have also been washed up at Flamborough, including guillemots, razorbills and shags. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/14/13


• Disease Deadly to Bats Confirmed in Georgia - Georgia Dept of Natural Resources - www.georgiawildlife.com on 3/12/2013
  Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park [Lookout Mountain Cave], Dade County, Georgia, United States, North America -- The disease that has killed millions of bats in the eastern U.S. has been confirmed for the first time in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that bats with white-nose syndrome were found recently at two caves in Dade County. A National Park Service biologist and volunteers discovered about 15 tri-colored bats with visible white-nose symptoms in a Lookout Mountain Cave at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in late February. On March 5, a group led by a Georgia DNR biologist also found tri-colored bats with visible symptoms in Sittons Cave at Cloudland Canyon State Park. A bat from each northwest Georgia site was sent to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens. Histopathology confirmed both bats had white-nose syndrome. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Disease Deadly to Bats Confirmed in Georgia - Georgia Dept of Natural Resources - www.georgiawildlife.com on 3/12/2013
  Cloudland Canyon State Park [Sittons Cave], Dade County, Georgia, United States, North America -- The disease that has killed millions of bats in the eastern U.S. has been confirmed for the first time in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that bats with white-nose syndrome were found recently at two caves in Dade County. A National Park Service biologist and volunteers discovered about 15 tri-colored bats with visible white-nose symptoms in a Lookout Mountain Cave at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in late February. On March 5, a group led by a Georgia DNR biologist also found tri-colored bats with visible symptoms in Sittons Cave at Cloudland Canyon State Park. A bat from each northwest Georgia site was sent to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens. Histopathology confirmed both bats had white-nose syndrome. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Deer die off puzzles wildlife officials - RecorderOnline.com - www.recorderonline.com on 3/12/2013
  Camp Nelson, Tulare County, California, United States, North America -- California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials are still trying to determine why 13 deer in the Camp Nelson area have shown up dead in the past three months. Wildlife Biologist Evan King said so far officials have ruled out poisoning as the cause. "We have experienced everything from young bucks to young fawns, with young fawns the most," he said, adding that the fawns are "generally more susceptible" to illnesses. It has been two weeks since the last dead deer was found....He said while the number is unusual, it is not so many as to cause great alarm.... The mule deer tend to live in and around the Camp Nelson area. King called them a residential herd in that they do not tend to migrate up and down the mountains. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/15/13


• Bat disease white-nose syndrome confirmed in South Carolina - South Carolina Dept of Natural Resources - dnr.sc.gov on 3/11/2013
  Table Rock State Park, Pickens County, South Carolina, United States, North America -- The S.C. Department of Natural Resources recently received confirmation that white-nose syndrome, a disease that has killed millions of bats in eastern North American, is now officially in South Carolina. Until now, South Carolina appeared to be insulated from white-nose syndrome (WNS). However, a dead bat discovered recently at Table Rock State Park in northern Pickens County has been confirmed to have WNS,... -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Pilot whale strands, dies on Chatham beach - Cape Cod Times - www.capecodonline.com on 3/11/2013
  Old Salt Works Road, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, North America -- A pilot whale stranded and died on a beach near Old Salt Works Road on Saturday. The 15-foot whale was reported stranded at 9:40 a.m., said Jane Hoppe, assistant stranding coordinator for the International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue and Research team. The whale was stranded on the high tide but was able to move itself about 100 yards down the beach before dying, she said. The animal was lifted to a waiting trailer using a special stretcher manned by 23 IFAW staff members and volunteers, Hoppe said. It was taken to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Research Facility, where IFAW officials performed a necropsy Sunday, she said. There were no outward signs to explain why the whale stranded, Hoppe said. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Red tide kills record number of Florida manatees - Miami Herald - www.miamiherald.com on 3/11/2013
  Florida, United States, North America -- Toxic red tide has killed a record number of endangered manatees along the Southwest Florida coast. With no sign of when the deadly algae bloom might abate, the preliminary death toll of 174 is likely to continue rising, state and federal wildlife managers said Monday. The number already has topped a previous red tide high of 151 in 1996. "It's really hard to make any kind of prediction on it," said Kevin Baxter, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Each outbreak is a little different." This red tide covers roughly 70 miles from Sarasota south to Pine Island Sound, where the majority of deaths have been recorded in warm waters where the sea cows congregate during the winter. Sampling has found the algae, which also has triggered sporadic fish kills, as far south as Collier County at times. Baxter said most FWC scientists believe the manatees are dying after eating sea grass, a staple of their diet, that the algae has settled on. Once afflicted, they lose coordination and the ability to swim upright or lift their heads out of the water to breathe. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Four more deer test positive for chronic wasting disease - The Wichita Eagle - www.kansas.com on 3/10/2013
  Ellis County, Kansas, United States, North America -- Four Kansas deer recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease, according to Shane Hesting, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism disease biologist. The department has been testing for the disease that?s always fatal in deer, but has never been found in livestock or humans, for about 15 years. Hesting said the deer came from Ellis, Norton, Sherman and Trego counties. It?s the first such case from Ellis County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Four more deer test positive for chronic wasting disease - The Wichita Eagle - www.kansas.com on 3/10/2013
  Norton County, Kansas, United States, North America -- Four Kansas deer recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease, according to Shane Hesting, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism disease biologist. The department has been testing for the disease that?s always fatal in deer, but has never been found in livestock or humans, for about 15 years. Hesting said the deer came from Ellis, Norton, Sherman and Trego counties. It?s the first such case from Ellis County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Four more deer test positive for chronic wasting disease - The Wichita Eagle - www.kansas.com on 3/10/2013
  Sherman County, Kansas, United States, North America -- Four Kansas deer recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease, according to Shane Hesting, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism disease biologist. The department has been testing for the disease that?s always fatal in deer, but has never been found in livestock or humans, for about 15 years. Hesting said the deer came from Ellis, Norton, Sherman and Trego counties. It?s the first such case from Ellis County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Four more deer test positive for chronic wasting disease - The Wichita Eagle - www.kansas.com on 3/10/2013
  Trego County, Kansas, United States, North America -- Four Kansas deer recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease, according to Shane Hesting, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism disease biologist. The department has been testing for the disease that?s always fatal in deer, but has never been found in livestock or humans, for about 15 years. Hesting said the deer came from Ellis, Norton, Sherman and Trego counties. It?s the first such case from Ellis County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Beached whale brought teachable moment - Valley Morning Star - www.valleymorningstar.com on 3/9/2013
  South Padre Island, Cameron County, Texas, United States, North America -- ... marine experts who took part in a recent effort to save a distressed whale at South Padre Island. "Despite the heroic efforts of so many people, we were unable to rehabilitate a beached melon-headed whale that washed ashore on Feb. 25," said Tony Reisinger, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent for coastal and marine resources in San Benito. "Its health eventually deteriorated to a point that it was untreatable," Reisinger said. "It was in lots of pain and had to be euthanized three days later." ...A post-mortem evaluation, known as necropsy, was performed in Galveston shortly after the almost 8-foot-long whale expired in late February. While test results could take several months, Whitehead said most such beached species usually succumb to parasites. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Brucellosis Found in Elk in Northern Wyoming - Wyoming Game and Fish Department on 3/8/2013
  Bighorn Mountains, Johnson County, Wyoming, United States, North America -- Two elk harvested by hunters in the Big Horn Mountains of northern Wyoming have tested positive for brucellosis. Brucellosis has been present for nearly a century in elk and bison in the Greater Yellowstone Area, including the northwest corner of Wyoming....he positive elk were identified through the Wyoming Game and Fish Department?s statewide brucellosis surveillance program, in which hunters voluntarily submit blood samples from harvested elk. Samples are collected from hunters in the fall and early winter, then analyzed at the WGFD lab throughout the winter. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Two whales, an injured mother and her young calf, stranded on a Treasure Coast beach - wptv - www.wptv.com on 3/4/2013
  Jensen Beach, Martin County, Florida, United States, North America -- Several beachgoers in Jensen Beach tried to help two distressed pygmy sperm whales who had beached themselves Sunday.... After a veterinary exam the decision was made to 'humanely euthanize' both whales. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/4/13


• Necropsy inconclusive on what killed whale on Waianae Coast - Star Advertiser - www.staradvertiser.com on 3/4/2013
  Waianae High School, Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, North America -- Results were inconclusive from a necropsy to determine what caused the death of a humpback whale calf that washed ashore on the Leeward Coast. The dead whale was discovered around 11 a.m. Sunday on the coastline in back of Waianae High School. Scientists estimate the calf died within 24 hours before it was discovered. The carcass was towed to the Waianae Small Boat Harbor and later taken to Hawaii Pacific University, Hawaii Loa campus, where the necropsy was performed.... "At this point, we really don't know why the whale died," said Kristi West, an associate biology professor at HPU and director of the university's Marine Mammal Stranding Program said Monday. "There were no signs of entanglement or a vessel strike, all organ systems looked really good, and there were no signs of disease or infection." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/6/13


• 51 spotted deer die in Kanha park - Daily Pioneer - www.dailypioneer.com on 3/1/2013
  Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India, Asia -- State Forest Minister Sartaj Singh informed the Assembly that as many as 51 chitals (spotted deers) have died in about one month after consuming leaves of lantana plant in excessive quantity in Kanha National Park. In his written reply to a query of Narayan Singh Patta of Congress, the Minister said the animals took shelter under the dense lantana plants due to excessive cold between December 13 and January 16 and the chitals consumed too much leaves that affected their liver. A post mortem report revealed that the herbivores were affected by a disease called hemorrhagic septicaemia. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/1/13


• City removing dead fish from beaches - Captiva Current - www.captivacurrent.com on 3/1/2013
  Sanibel, Lee County, Florida, United States, North America -- Public Works Department personnel are picking up dead fish along Sanibel's public beaches as conditions warrant. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Research Institute is reporting a red tide bloom extending from Sarasota to Monroe counties. The bloom has been patchy in nature and currently is affecting approximately 120 miles of shoreline, with highest concentrations reported in Pine Island Sound during the past week. Sanibel Police, Natural Resources and Public Works departments have been closely monitoring beach conditions over the past several days. Dead fish and noticeable respiratory irritation had been reported along all of Sanibel's beaches on Feb. 26. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/1/13


• CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE FOUND IN BLAIR AND BEDFORD COUNTIES GAME COMMISSION TO HOLD CWD NEWS CONFERENCE MONDAY, MARCH 4 - Pennsylvania Game Commission - www.pgc.state.pa.us on 3/1/2013
  Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States, North America -- The Pennsylvania Game Commission today confirmed three hunter-killed deer taken in the 2012 general firearms deer season have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Two were from Blair County; the other was from Bedford County. "These are the first positive cases of CWD in free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania," confirmed Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. "The disease was first documented in early October, 2012, by the state Department of Agriculture in a captive deer on an Adams County deer farm." The three hunter-killed deer tissue samples were collected by Game Commission personnel during annual deer aging field checks during the general firearms season for deer. The samples were tested and identified as suspect positive by the Department of Agriculture as part of an ongoing annual statewide CWD surveillance program. The tissue samples were confirmed to be positive for CWD by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, as part of an established verification process. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/4/13


• CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE FOUND IN BLAIR AND BEDFORD COUNTIES GAME COMMISSION TO HOLD CWD NEWS CONFERENCE MONDAY, MARCH 4 - Pennsylvania Game Commission - www.pgc.state.pa.us on 3/1/2013
  Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States, North America -- The Pennsylvania Game Commission today confirmed three hunter-killed deer taken in the 2012 general firearms deer season have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Two were from Blair County; the other was from Bedford County. "These are the first positive cases of CWD in free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania," confirmed Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. "The disease was first documented in early October, 2012, by the state Department of Agriculture in a captive deer on an Adams County deer farm." The three hunter-killed deer tissue samples were collected by Game Commission personnel during annual deer aging field checks during the general firearms season for deer. The samples were tested and identified as suspect positive by the Department of Agriculture as part of an ongoing annual statewide CWD surveillance program. The tissue samples were confirmed to be positive for CWD by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, as part of an established verification process. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/4/13


• Hundreds of Bloodied Mobula Ray Fish Mysteriously Wash up on Gaza City Beach - International Business Times - www.ibtimes.co.uk on 2/28/2013
  Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Gaza Strip, Asia -- Fishermen on the beach at Gaza City were stunned when dozens of Mobula rays mysteriously washed up onshore. The creatures belong to the Mobulidae subfamily and can grow up to 17ft wide. The dead fish were quickly carted to local markets; it was the first time in six years that these animals have been seen in these waters, according to a local video report. ... This [incident] is strange to me and unknown to me as well. I have worked in the Gulf of California for many years where there are abundant mobula schools and I have never seen a mass stranding," Bob Rubin, from the Santa Rosa Junior College in California told Mail Online. "These animals seem to have blood on the "wings" - pectoral fins - which may have come from slapping something - boats, rocks, sand, each other?" Rubin, an expert on the Ray family, added. He also said that unless the stomach contents and condition of the gills were examined, it would be difficult to determine a cause of death. However, he hazarded that large underwater noises or electrical signals may have caused some state of disorientation. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• WNS Confirmed in Illinois Bats - White-Nose Syndrome.org - whitenosesyndrome.org on 2/28/2013
  Hardin County, Illinois, United States, North America -- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today confirmed the presence of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease fatal to several bat species, in four Illinois counties. The University of Illinois- Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), the United States Forest Service (USFS)-Shawnee National Forest, the University of Illinois' Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UIVDL), and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center-Madison, WI (NWHC) assisted in the discovery of WNS which was detected in LaSalle County in north-central Illinois, Monroe County in southwestern Illinois, and Hardin and Pope Counties in extreme southern Illinois. Little brown bats and northern long-eared bats from these counties were submitted to the UIVDL and NWHC in early-to-mid February 2013. Both of these laboratories confirmed the disease, while the fungal pathogen was isolated directly from a LaSalle County bat and a Monroe County bat at the INHS. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• WNS Confirmed in Illinois Bats - White-Nose Syndrome.org - whitenosesyndrome.org on 2/28/2013
  La Salle County, Illinois, United States, North America -- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today confirmed the presence of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease fatal to several bat species, in four Illinois counties. The University of Illinois- Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), the United States Forest Service (USFS)-Shawnee National Forest, the University of Illinois' Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UIVDL), and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center-Madison, WI (NWHC) assisted in the discovery of WNS which was detected in LaSalle County in north-central Illinois, Monroe County in southwestern Illinois, and Hardin and Pope Counties in extreme southern Illinois. Little brown bats and northern long-eared bats from these counties were submitted to the UIVDL and NWHC in early-to-mid February 2013. Both of these laboratories confirmed the disease, while the fungal pathogen was isolated directly from a LaSalle County bat and a Monroe County bat at the INHS. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• WNS Confirmed in Illinois Bats - White-Nose Syndrome.org - whitenosesyndrome.org on 2/28/2013
  Monroe County, Illinois, United States, North America -- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today confirmed the presence of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease fatal to several bat species, in four Illinois counties. The University of Illinois- Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), the United States Forest Service (USFS)-Shawnee National Forest, the University of Illinois' Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UIVDL), and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center-Madison, WI (NWHC) assisted in the discovery of WNS which was detected in LaSalle County in north-central Illinois, Monroe County in southwestern Illinois, and Hardin and Pope Counties in extreme southern Illinois. Little brown bats and northern long-eared bats from these counties were submitted to the UIVDL and NWHC in early-to-mid February 2013. Both of these laboratories confirmed the disease, while the fungal pathogen was isolated directly from a LaSalle County bat and a Monroe County bat at the INHS. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• WNS Confirmed in Illinois Bats - White-Nose Syndrome.org - whitenosesyndrome.org on 2/28/2013
  Pope County, Illinois, United States, North America -- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today confirmed the presence of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease fatal to several bat species, in four Illinois counties. The University of Illinois- Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), the United States Forest Service (USFS)-Shawnee National Forest, the University of Illinois' Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UIVDL), and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center-Madison, WI (NWHC) assisted in the discovery of WNS which was detected in LaSalle County in north-central Illinois, Monroe County in southwestern Illinois, and Hardin and Pope Counties in extreme southern Illinois. Little brown bats and northern long-eared bats from these counties were submitted to the UIVDL and NWHC in early-to-mid February 2013. Both of these laboratories confirmed the disease, while the fungal pathogen was isolated directly from a LaSalle County bat and a Monroe County bat at the INHS. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• Largemouth Bass Virus Found in Pocomoke River Bass - The Fish Site - www.thefishsite.com on 2/27/2013
  Pocomoke River, Somerset County, Maryland, United States, North America -- Largemouth Bass Virus has been found for the first time in the Pocomoke River, Maryland. In a recently released report, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that of 10 bass sampled from the Pocomoke River, six tested positive for the virus, reports DelmarvaNow. "We hadn't tested for it yet in the Pocomoke River, so over the past year we took some samples, and six of the 10 individual fish we sampled had Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV)," Joseph Love, the tidal bass manager for Maryland?s Department of Natural Resources, told DelmarvaNow. "It's not the first time we have found it in Maryland. But we are trying to report it as we sample rivers and determine its occurrence, its frequency and how many individuals in our sample have it." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• Hoof rot strikes elk - SnoValley Star - snovalleystar.com on 2/27/2013
  Snoqualmie Valley, King County, Washington, United States, North America -- Elk hoof rot, a disease seen predominantly among elk in Southwest Washington, has found its way to the Snoqualmie Valley herds. Harold Erland, a wildlife biologist with the local Elk Management Group, said Feb. 20 that three elk have been found dead with the disease. There are currently 430 elk in the Snoqualmie Valley, with 150 of those living in and around North Bend, he said. One North Bend elk dropped dead right at a resident?s home on Maloney Grove Road last August, and another was found near the Encompass parking lot, he said. The third one was struck by a vehicle and was later found dead at Snoqualmie Middle School on Feb. 17 in Snoqualmie, but Erland said the elk showed signs of the hoof rot disease. ...Erland, who performed the necropsies on the three dead elk, said all three showed selenium and copper deficiencies, and he will ask the Department of Fish and Wildlife if he can put salt blocks fortified with selenium and copper out for the elk to see if it helps. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• Tragedy in New Zealand: Dozens of Critically Endangered Birds Dead, Cause Unknown - Scientific American - www.scientificamerican.com on 2/26/2013
  Portland Island, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, Oceania -- Efforts to save the critically endangered shore plover from extinction in New Zealand have suffered a major setback: nearly 60 of the birds have died due to unknown causes, reducing the world population of the species to just 200.... Until this unexpected tragedy the birds on Portland had been doing so well that some of the eggs laid there were being moved to other predator-free islands to fortify additional assurance populations. "This has a huge impact on the viability of the species," DOC team leader for shore plover recovery on Portland Island said earlier this month in a prepared release. Portland Island is a privately owned sanctuary that to the best of the DOC's knowledge does not contain rats, cats, stoats (a type of weasel) or other bird-killing predators. DOC has now set up cameras and recently brought in dogs capable of sniffing out any stoats, but nothing has turned up. The department is also performing disease screenings and autopsies on the dead birds. At least one previously established island population failed when the birds contracted a disease called avian pox. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• Distemper Continues to Sicken Raccoons in Dallas, Collin Counties - NBCDFW - www.nbcdfw.com on 2/26/2013
  Allen, Collin County, Texas, United States, North America -- A North Texas wild-animal removal company is continuing to warn pet owners about "epidemic" levels of distemper in raccoons and other wild animals in Collin and Dallas counties.... The group has now seen more than 100 distemper cases. Bradshaw said 911 Wildlife is responding to about eight to 10 calls a day about raccoons sickened with distemper. "It's a mystery to all of us," she said. "It started in mid-December, and it has just exploded since then." ... The majority of the distemper cases 911 Wildlife has seen have been in the area around White Rock Lake in Dallas and in Plano, McKinney and Allen in Collin County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• Distemper Continues to Sicken Raccoons in Dallas, Collin Counties - NBCDFW - www.nbcdfw.com on 2/26/2013
  McKinney, Collin County, Texas, United States, North America -- A North Texas wild-animal removal company is continuing to warn pet owners about "epidemic" levels of distemper in raccoons and other wild animals in Collin and Dallas counties.... The group has now seen more than 100 distemper cases. Bradshaw said 911 Wildlife is responding to about eight to 10 calls a day about raccoons sickened with distemper. "It's a mystery to all of us," she said. "It started in mid-December, and it has just exploded since then." ... The majority of the distemper cases 911 Wildlife has seen have been in the area around White Rock Lake in Dallas and in Plano, McKinney and Allen in Collin County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• Distemper Continues to Sicken Raccoons in Dallas, Collin Counties - NBCDFW - www.nbcdfw.com on 2/26/2013
  Plano, Collin County, Texas, United States, North America -- A North Texas wild-animal removal company is continuing to warn pet owners about "epidemic" levels of distemper in raccoons and other wild animals in Collin and Dallas counties.... The group has now seen more than 100 distemper cases. Bradshaw said 911 Wildlife is responding to about eight to 10 calls a day about raccoons sickened with distemper. "It's a mystery to all of us," she said. "It started in mid-December, and it has just exploded since then." ... The majority of the distemper cases 911 Wildlife has seen have been in the area around White Rock Lake in Dallas and in Plano, McKinney and Allen in Collin County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• Distemper Continues to Sicken Raccoons in Dallas, Collin Counties - NBCDFW - www.nbcdfw.com on 2/26/2013
  White Rock Lake, Dallas County, Texas, United States, North America -- A North Texas wild-animal removal company is continuing to warn pet owners about "epidemic" levels of distemper in raccoons and other wild animals in Collin and Dallas counties.... The group has now seen more than 100 distemper cases. Bradshaw said 911 Wildlife is responding to about eight to 10 calls a day about raccoons sickened with distemper. "It's a mystery to all of us," she said. "It started in mid-December, and it has just exploded since then." ... The majority of the distemper cases 911 Wildlife has seen have been in the area around White Rock Lake in Dallas and in Plano, McKinney and Allen in Collin County. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/28/13


• Fungus attacks Smokies bats: Odd behavior linked to white-nosed syndrome - Citizen-Times.com - www.citizen-times.com on 2/24/2013
  Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Swain County, North Carolina, United States, North America -- Biologists in the Smokies have confirmed a wide-spreading fungus as the likely cause of recent bizarre behavior in park bats. A survey of all 16 caves and two mine complexes within the Smokies earlier this month revealed the presence of the insidious white-nosed syndrome, said Jay Carr, park biological science technician...."Most of our caves have turned up positive for white-nosed syndrome," Carr said. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/25/13


• Fungus attacks Smokies bats: Odd behavior linked to white-nosed syndrome - Citizen-Times.com - www.citizen-times.com on 2/24/2013
  Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sevier County, Tennessee, United States, North America -- Biologists in the Smokies have confirmed a wide-spreading fungus as the likely cause of recent bizarre behavior in park bats. A survey of all 16 caves and two mine complexes within the Smokies earlier this month revealed the presence of the insidious white-nosed syndrome, said Jay Carr, park biological science technician...."Most of our caves have turned up positive for white-nosed syndrome," Carr said. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/25/13


• Chief wildlife warden allays fears - News Indian Express - newidianexpress.com on 2/24/2013
  Chilika Lagoon, Orissa, India, Asia -- The Wildlife Wing of the State Government on Saturday said there is no reason to panic after avian influenza was reported from a migratory bird that had visited the Chilika lagoon. Chief Wildlife Warden JD Sharma said, a watch has been kept in Nalabana Bird Sanctuary but so far no bird casualty has been noticed nor reported. "Most birds have turned homewards after their winter sojourn but we will send another set of samples soon to ascertain if the flu is identified in others," he told this paper.... All that the division received was a letter from Khurda collectorate that said bird flu has been reported in a Pintail. On January 21, samples had been collected from two Ruddy Shelducks, Eurasian Wigeons, Gadwals as well one Northern Pintail and Shoveller. The Pintail had been ringed with a number F 70699 and so far the ring has not been returned either. Three different samples - oro-pharyngeal, cloacal and blood serum - were collected from the eight birds. It was not known which samples threw up the avian influenza. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/25/13


• Reports of dead whitefish prompt investigation - York Region - www.yorkregion.com on 2/20/2013
  Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, North America -- World-class facilities help buoy Georgina's reputation as an ice fishing capital, but reports of dead fish in the lake are floating to the surface this week, as well. The Natural Resources Ministry is aware of the situation but, at this point, has not confirmed reports of dead whitefish in Lake Simcoe. "We have heard the reports from anglers calling in, as well as from the message boards," said a ministry spokesperson. "These have ranged from a few fish to many more, however, we have not had any specific spots forwarded to us so that we can verify." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/21/13


• Alberta wildlife officials identify case of mad moose disease - Calgary Herald - www.calgaryherald.com on 2/20/2013
  Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, North America -- Southern Alberta wildlife officials have identified what they say is the first case in Canada of a moose suffering from a neurological disorder associated with mad cow disease. The diagnosis of chronic-wasting disease, also called CWD, was made after tests on an animal killed in a collision with a vehicle last November near Medicine Hat. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/21/13


• Great Southern algae bloom kills waterway fish - Science Network - www.sciencewa.net.au on 2/19/2013
  Elleker, Western Australia, Australia, Australia -- A SIGNIGICANT freshwater fish kill 15km west of Albany earlier this month has been attributed to a large bloom of blue-green algae affecting the waterway. Residents in Elleker living adjacent to Marbellup Brook first notified water authorities of the bloom at the end of January when hundreds fish were found dead along a 1.4km stretch of water within the Torbay catchment area. Phytoplankton analysis of water samples taken from Marbellup Brook by the Department of Water confirmed the bloom was cyanobacteria Nodularia spumigena, a species not uncommon to waterways in the region. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/21/13


• Alligator deaths triggers alert - Times of India - timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 2/19/2013
  National Chambal Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh, India, Asia -- National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, home to ghariyals (Indian alligator), has been besieged with cases related to the deaths of the reptiles primarily due to parasitic infection of liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. Eleven ghariyals were found dead in the last four months in the sanctuary- five in Bhind region of MP and six in Agra and Etawah districts in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Autopsy reports on the ghariyals revealed irregularities in their gastrointestinal tract. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/22/13


• House Finch Disease Affects Local Birds - wsiltv.com - www.wsiltv.com on 2/18/2013
  Jackson County, Illinois, United States, North America -- A disease that affects birds has popped up in southern Illinois. House Finch Disease is a bird form of what we call "pink eye" in humans. It can blind the birds that get it and if you have a back yard feeder you may be helping to spread it. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/21/13


• Fatal Bat Disease Found in Two Kentucky State Parks - WFPL News - wfpl.org on 2/15/2013
  Carter Cave State Resort Park, Carter County, Kentucky, United States, North America -- White Nose Syndrome has been found in two Kentucky state parks. State officials announced today that infected bats have turned up in caves at Carter Cave State Resort Park in Carter County and the Kingdom Come State Park Nature Preserve in Letcher County....Now, the disease has been found in seven Kentucky counties: Bell, Edmonson, Breckenridge, Trigg, Carter, Letcher and Wayne counties. From the Kentucky Department of Parks: Bats with the disease were found recently at Carter Caves, near Olive Hill, in caves that are not open to the public. The three caves where bats with the disease were found are Bat, Saltpetre and Laurel Caves, which were closed in 2008 as part of the effort to stop the spread of the fungus causing the disease. Carter Caves is home to about 40,000 Indiana bats, which are federally endangered. The majority of those are found within Bat Cave, which is also part of the Bat Cave State Nature Preserve. A bat with the disease also was found in January at Line Fork Cave at Kingdom Come State Park during a routine cave survey. The cave is gated and not open to tourists. This cave is in Letcher County, located inside the 225-acre Kingdom Come State Park Nature Preserve and is home to the federally protected Indiana bat. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/17/13


• Fatal Bat Disease Found in Two Kentucky State Parks - WFPL News - wfpl.org on 2/15/2013
  Kingdom Come State Park Nature Preserve, Letcher County, Kentucky, United States, North America -- White Nose Syndrome has been found in two Kentucky state parks. State officials announced today that infected bats have turned up in caves at Carter Cave State Resort Park in Carter County and the Kingdom Come State Park Nature Preserve in Letcher County....Now, the disease has been found in seven Kentucky counties: Bell, Edmonson, Breckenridge, Trigg, Carter, Letcher and Wayne counties. From the Kentucky Department of Parks: Bats with the disease were found recently at Carter Caves, near Olive Hill, in caves that are not open to the public. The three caves where bats with the disease were found are Bat, Saltpetre and Laurel Caves, which were closed in 2008 as part of the effort to stop the spread of the fungus causing the disease. Carter Caves is home to about 40,000 Indiana bats, which are federally endangered. The majority of those are found within Bat Cave, which is also part of the Bat Cave State Nature Preserve. A bat with the disease also was found in January at Line Fork Cave at Kingdom Come State Park during a routine cave survey. The cave is gated and not open to tourists. This cave is in Letcher County, located inside the 225-acre Kingdom Come State Park Nature Preserve and is home to the federally protected Indiana bat. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/17/13


• Sick Animal Concerns - WLOS News ABC 13 - www.wlos.com on 2/15/2013
  Marion, McDowell County, North Carolina, United States, North America -- Marion Police say an alarming number of wild animals have been spotted acting strangely inside city limits lately. There have been eight calls of residents reporting clearly sick animals close to businesses and residences since January 1. Now officers are warning residents to beware. Two raccoon carcasses were sent to a lab near Asheville and today, the results on one of the animals came back revealing it was infected with two diseases. One infection was Canine Distemper Virus, which is a highly contagious disease among animals that can be spread through touching common surfaces, but there is a vaccination for it. The second disease the lab reported finding is a bacterial infection called Leptospira that can be spread to humans - and is potentially fatal if left untreated. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/17/13


• Scores of birds found dead at Gold Coast school - ABC News - www.abc.net.au on 2/15/2013
  Merrimac State High School, Queensland, Australia, Australia -- Authorities are investigating the death of at least 100 birds in the grounds of a high school on Queensland's Gold Coast. Dead magpies, crows, ibis and butcher birds have been found at Merrimac State School since last September. Thirty have been discovered since school resumed in recent weeks.But RSPCA Inspector Sommer Heath-Crilley says investigations have not established a cause. "It could be that something is happening in the school ground that hasn't been identified or it could be that there's something's relatively close by," she said....She says the evidence suggests deliberate poisoning. "You can't actually test for absolutely everything so there may be something that is being used that is just not being picked up," she said. "Unfortunately from the information that I have been provided, it seems as though there is potential foul play being conducted in connection with the birds." Currumbin Wildlife Hospital chief vet Michael Pyne says a handful responded to antidotes and that suggests a common poison has been used. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/25/13


• Redfin dead in Lake Ginninderra fish kill - The Canberra Times - www.canberratimes.com.au on 2/14/2013
  Lake Ginninderra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, Australia -- A redfin virus is believed to be responsible for a fish kill in Lake Ginninderra last week. Staff from Territory and Municipal Services and the Environment Sustainable and Development Directorate were called out to clean up many hundreds of dead fish on Thursday last week. A TAMS spokesman said the majority of dead fish were redfin, an introduced species, and a virus is the suspected cause. "Tissue samples of the dead fish have been sent for laboratory testing in Sydney with results expected early next week," the spokesman said. "EHN or redfin virus, which has previously been reported in Lake Ginninderra and Lake Burley Griffin, is believed responsible. EHN poses no risk to human health." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/17/13


• Distemper Found in Foxes Near Flower Mound - 5 NBCDFW - www.nbcdfw.com on 2/14/2013
  Flower Mound, Denton County, Texas, United States, North America -- Flower Mound is warning pet owners that some wild foxes are carrying distemper. Animal Services said four foxes have tested positive for the canine strain of distemper. Previously, it had identified six raccoons with the disease. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/17/13


• ProMED: Undiagnosed fatality, elephant - ProMED Mail - www.promedmail.org on 2/14/2013
  Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal, India, Asia -- Anthrax fear grips state tiger reserves yet again. The sudden death of an adult makna (male without tusks) elephant in Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary has set the alarm bells ringing among forest department officials. Though attending vets ruled out poisoning as the cause of death, they were cautious not to specify any other reason. The carcass of the elephant was found on Tuesday morning [12 Feb 2013] at the Siltorsa compartment in the west range of the forest. During examination, veterinary doctors found blood oozing out from the nose and mouth of the animal which has sparked panic among foresters. While anthrax might be a remote possibility, nothing can be said for sure until the test reports for viscera samples are received, said sources. The samples have been sent to Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Kolkata. The elephant carcass was buried hastily to prevent the virus from spreading. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 3/12/13


• Devastating Bat-killing Disease Spreads to Kentucky's Cumberland Gap National Park - Center for Biological Diversity - www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd on 2/11/2013
  Cumberland Gap National Park, Bell County, Kentucky, United States, North America -- The devastating fungal disease that has already killed nearly 7 million bats has struck Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky..."The arrival of white-nose syndrome in yet another national park is the latest chapter in this tragedy, which is threatening the very existence of several bat species," said Mollie Matteson, a bat advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. "This is the 10th national park in the United States now at risk of losing its bats - and all the services they provide to the places where they live." -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/13/13


• Raccoons test positive for distemper in Burnet; pet owners warned of danger - Daily Tribune Online - www.dailytrib.com on 2/11/2013
  Burnet, Burnet County, Texas, United States, North America -- Pet owners are being warned of a distemper outbreak found in a number of Burnet area raccoons. According to the Burnet Police Department, about 15 raccoons in the West Jackson and Hamilton Creek River Walk area have tested positive for the distemper virus, which affects dogs and cats but not humans -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/13/13


• Alberta's first documented case of CWD in a moose was confirmed in January 2013 - My Wild Alberta - mywildalberta.com on 2/11/2013
  Alberta, Canada, North America -- An adult male moose that collided with a vehicle in the CWD risk area in eastern Alberta was submitted for disease testing. This moose was confirmed to have prion changes in the brain consistent with CWD infection -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/13/13


• Four New Positives Found in Trans Pecos CWD Surveillance - Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. - www.tahc.state.tx.us on 2/11/2013
  Trans Pecos, Pecos County, Texas, United States, North America -- Nearly 300 tissue samples were collected from hunter harvested mule deer from the Trans Pecos ecoregion of far West Texas during the 2012-13 season for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing. Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory and National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) have confirmed CWD in four of those samples. All CWD-positive deer were harvested within the CWD Containment Zone. Of 298 deer sampled during hunting season, 107 were harvested in the Containment Zone, 93 were harvested in the adjacent High Risk Zone, 25 were harvested in the Buffer Zone, and 73 deer were harvested outside of the CWD zones. Nineteen of the samples collected from the Containment Zone were from deer harvested in the Hueco Mountains. "The good news is that CWD has not been detected in Texas outside of the Hueco Mountains of northern El Paso and Hudspeth counties," said Mitch Lockwood, Big Game Program Director with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Including the two positives reported from TPWD's strategic sampling effort last summer, and the three positives reported by New Mexico Game and Fish last year, CWD has been detected in 9 of 31 deer sampled in the Hueco Mountains. -- Added to the WDIN News Digest on 2/15/13