Kindgo
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If the raptor (predator) population dwindles too low, there would be an increase in the rodent population. Introduce some Hantavirus and wala!: increase in vectors and thus a deadly epidemic.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/local/4065418.htm
Raptor epidemic overtakes Midwest
West Nile virus suspected in deaths of thousands of birds of prey. Ohio hardest hit; toll 800-1,000
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Ed Suba Jr., ABJ
Christy Morgan of the Sanders Center of Outdoor Eduction displays a great horned owl and a red-tailed hawk.
Owls and hawks began dying in Louisiana in late July.
Then the mysterious avian epidemic jumped to Kentucky and southern Ohio.
Once in Ohio, the disease established a stronghold, killing up to a thousand raptors since mid-August and spreading to other states in all directions.
Now, so many great birds are dying that federal wildlife officials can't keep up with the testing that would prove the suspected culprit is West Nile virus.
``It hit the raptors throughout the Midwest like a juggernaut... and we're still counting bodies,'' said Dr. Pat Redig of the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota.
No one knows how many of the infected birds die. With treatment, some sick owls and hawks have recovered.
The Sanders Center of Outdoor Education in Perry Township, operated by the Stark County Park District, has two great horned owls and five red-tailed hawks in its care, said spokeswoman Christy Morgan.
The birds arrived at the center emaciated, lethargic and suffering seizures, Morgan said.
The recovery of one great horned owl required nearly three weeks of care, including hand-feeding rats and frozen chicks to the bird.
The center has released three owls and hawks back into the wild after caring for them, she said, but seven birds have died or been euthanized.
The center's nine resident raptors, which are used in school programs, have not become ill, although their health is a big concern, Morgan said.
Ohio appears worst hit
For unknown reasons, Ohio appears to have more dead raptors than any other state. The state's Department of Natural Resources believes that 800 to 1,000 owls and hawks have died in Ohio. That's far more than its preliminary estimates of 100 to 150 dead birds.
``It hit Ohio hard,'' Redig said.
Shortly after Ohio wildlife officials reported large numbers of raptor deaths in mid- to late August, similar reports started to come from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and southern Ontario.
Later, reports came from Pennsylvania, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey and Wisconsin, said Dr. Emi Saito of the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis.
Minnesota got hit about Aug. 20, Redig said, and since then, ``a steady stream'' of sick raptors has been brought to his center in St. Paul.
Normally, the center would be treating 10 to 12 raptors, but it has had 40 in recent days.
``It's something no one anticipated,'' Redig said. ``The West Nile virus has been on the East Coast since 1999. An occasional raptor may have died, but nothing like the epidemic proportions we're going through now.''
The sick birds appear to suffer depression, aversion to food and weight loss. These symptoms are followed by head tremors, mental dullness, blindness, unawareness of surroundings and sometimes seizures.
The widespread deaths of the raptors will probably ``peter out in the arid West,'' Redig said.
Owls at high risk
The epidemic is hitting great horned owls the hardest. As many as three are dying for every red-tailed hawk that dies, Redig said.
While wildlife experts believe West Nile virus is causing the epidemic, testing to confirm that isn't complete.
Tests on the first two great horned owls sent by Ohio to the National Wildlife Health Center showed that both had West Nile, but it wasn't clear that the virus had caused the deaths.
Ohio is awaiting results on 10 dead birds submitted for testing, plus blood samples from 30 sick ones. The federal center is getting hundreds of dead owls and hawks each week and is swamped, said Dr. Grace McLaughlin, a wildlife disease specialist. That has made it impossible to get tests completed as quickly as officials would like, she said.
The center, which is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, is looking at West Nile, pesticides, other viruses and bacteria as possible causes of the raptor deaths, she said.
Virus mutation possible
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found some evidence that the West Nile virus has changed slightly, McLaughlin said, and it's possible that mutation triggered the raptor deaths.
Redig said wildlife officials are looking at whether West Nile could be transmitted to raptors by means other than mosquito bites. One possibility is that a type of fly found on many of the sick birds may have spread the virus, Redig said. It's also possible that the owls and hawks got the virus from prey they ate.
Raptors, a category that includes eagles, falcons and kestrels as well as owls and hawks, may eventually develop an immunity to the virus, he said. ``But we don't know how long that will take... or how many raptors we'll lose in the meantime,'' Redig said.
West Nile virus has been detected in 111 species of birds; crows, blue jays and ravens are most affected. But McLaughlin said her center has received reports from Ohio and other states of other species, including sparrows and finches, dying off in significant numbers, possibly because of West Nile.
Officials with Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Stark County Park District all report no evidence of a significant number of birds dying.
But Redig said it may be next spring before experts can fully assess the impact of West Nile on birds. ``The losses could be tremendous,'' he said. ``They could be staggering. We just don't know.''
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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