Friday, December 15, 2006

2,000 mallards die south of Burley

Bacterial infection is suspected cause of death


By STEVE BENSON
Express Staff Writer

The death of more than 2,000 mallard ducks along Land Creek Springs about 15 miles south of Burley near the town of Oakley remained under investigation Thursday afternoon but was suspected to be caused by a bacterial infection.

A hunter reported the phenomenon Dec. 8 to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which immediately found the bodies of 10 birds in and around the springs. By Dec. 10, the number of dead mallards exceeded 500, and more than 1,000 had been counted by Tuesday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Homeland Security, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Agriculture and South Central Health District joined Fish and Game in trying to determine the cause of death.

"All responsible agencies are doing everything in their power to ascertain the cause of mortality," said David Parrish, supervisor of Fish and Game's Magic Valley Region. "Tissue and water samples have been collected by local, state and federal investigators, and we are currently running tests."

Results were expected by Thursday evening.

Kelton Hatch, regional conservation educator for Fish and Game's Magic Valley Region, said avian influenza was "most likely not" the cause of death.

"That's very low on our radar right now," he said Thursday. "We're probably looking at some type of bacterial infection."

Still, the DEQ sent intestinal tract and water samples to the University of Idaho and Washington State University laboratories to examine the prospect of a bird flu infection.

Parrish said veterinarians in Boise found white and yellowish bacterial abscesses and hemorrhaging around the hearts of the birds—symptoms consistent with a bacterial infection.

Hatch said a handful of the infected birds that were still alive could not make any sound.

"Their bills were moving but there was no sound coming out," he said. "That goes along with a bacterial infection that takes away lung capacity."

He said that by Thursday the epidemic appeared to be on the "downward swing."

"We're hoping it has come and gone," he said.

It also appears that the epidemic is not affecting any other animals.

Hatch said Fish and Game officers witnessed two bald eagles and a number of other predator species, including hawks, coyotes and foxes, feeding on the carcasses of the dead mallards.

"We made quite a large loop around the area, and we're not finding any other animals dead," Hatch said.

If it is a bacterial infection, Hatch said it could clear up on its own.

"We just don't know yet, though," he said.

Parrish said he's never heard of an epidemic this size anywhere.

"Not to this magnitude, this number of ducks in such a small, confined area," he said.

He added that while the death of 2,000 ducks will hurt the local population, the region's overall population will not be impacted.

"Every year we count hundreds of thousands of ducks," he said.

People who observe dead ducks elsewhere in the state are encouraged to contact Fish and Game at (208) 324-4359.




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