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More than 1,000 mallard ducks die along Idaho creekbed
JESSE HARLAN ALDERMAN, Associated Press Writer
December 13, 2006 10:33 AM
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - State wildlife agencies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wednesday were testing tissue samples from more than 1,000 mallard ducks that are dying in a bizarre cluster along a southeastern Idaho creek bed, hoping to rule out an avian flu outbreak.
The ducks mysteriously began dying last week in and around Land Springs Creek, near the remote town of Oakley. Ducks that gather in the area year-round and migratory mallards from Canada were still slowly perishing at the creek, staggering and struggling to breathe before collapsing, said Dave Parrish, regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
''It's a mystery,'' he said. ''I've never seen anything like this in 20 years here. There were dead mallards everywhere - in the water and on the banks. It was odd, they were in a very small area.''
Parrish said state wildlife biologists and federal investigators are not ruling out any cause of death. The symptoms - bacterial lesions in the lungs and hemorrhaging in the heart wall - likely point to a bacterial infection, not bird flu, Parrish said.
Tissue from the ducks' intestinal tract and water samples from the creek were sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national laboratory in Wisconsin for testing. Samples were also sent to the University of Idaho and Washington State University. Results were expected Thursday and may reveal the cause of death.
Parrish said that the ducks may have contracted a bacterial infection by eating grain treated with pesticides by local cattle farmers. Farming chemicals may also have spilled into the creek, he said.
Farmland surrounds the remote waterway. A cattle feedlot is close by and several corn and alfalfa feeds ring the nearby town of Oakley. Parrish said there are no factories in the area that discharge toxins into local streams and rivers. Wastewater does not run into the creek, he said.
The massive outbreak is puzzling scientists because only mallard ducks are dying. Golden eagles, geese, magpies, crows and other birds in the area all remain healthy, Parrish said.
In the past, small outbreaks of botulism have killed water birds in Idaho, but the disease quickly spreads among different species.
''Typically, you'd see this spread into other types of waterfowl as well,'' Parrish said.
In addition to Fish and Game and Homeland Security, the deaths are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the local health district.
The agencies posted signs warning hunters not to eat any birds killed near the creek.
JESSE HARLAN ALDERMAN, Associated Press Writer
December 13, 2006 10:33 AM
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - State wildlife agencies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wednesday were testing tissue samples from more than 1,000 mallard ducks that are dying in a bizarre cluster along a southeastern Idaho creek bed, hoping to rule out an avian flu outbreak.
The ducks mysteriously began dying last week in and around Land Springs Creek, near the remote town of Oakley. Ducks that gather in the area year-round and migratory mallards from Canada were still slowly perishing at the creek, staggering and struggling to breathe before collapsing, said Dave Parrish, regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
''It's a mystery,'' he said. ''I've never seen anything like this in 20 years here. There were dead mallards everywhere - in the water and on the banks. It was odd, they were in a very small area.''
Parrish said state wildlife biologists and federal investigators are not ruling out any cause of death. The symptoms - bacterial lesions in the lungs and hemorrhaging in the heart wall - likely point to a bacterial infection, not bird flu, Parrish said.
Tissue from the ducks' intestinal tract and water samples from the creek were sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national laboratory in Wisconsin for testing. Samples were also sent to the University of Idaho and Washington State University. Results were expected Thursday and may reveal the cause of death.
Parrish said that the ducks may have contracted a bacterial infection by eating grain treated with pesticides by local cattle farmers. Farming chemicals may also have spilled into the creek, he said.
Farmland surrounds the remote waterway. A cattle feedlot is close by and several corn and alfalfa feeds ring the nearby town of Oakley. Parrish said there are no factories in the area that discharge toxins into local streams and rivers. Wastewater does not run into the creek, he said.
The massive outbreak is puzzling scientists because only mallard ducks are dying. Golden eagles, geese, magpies, crows and other birds in the area all remain healthy, Parrish said.
In the past, small outbreaks of botulism have killed water birds in Idaho, but the disease quickly spreads among different species.
''Typically, you'd see this spread into other types of waterfowl as well,'' Parrish said.
In addition to Fish and Game and Homeland Security, the deaths are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the local health district.
The agencies posted signs warning hunters not to eat any birds killed near the creek.
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline vAlign=top width=375>Idaho Fish and Game biologists Randy Smith, left, Regan Berkley, center, and Conservation Officer Tim Ferguson discuss the finding of more than 1,000 dead ducks between near Oakley. Photo courtesy of Idaho Fish and Game </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>South Idaho Press
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