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Posted by Ken Schneider on 15:33:06 07/19/07
During the past 36 hours I have observed the deaths of 6 Muscovy Ducks and one White Ibis on our small lake in Monaco Cove, West Miramar, described more fully in my Blog entry
Just this morning, I saw a news report of a Type C botulism epidemic in waterfowl on Lake Ontario. The symptoms suffered by two birds that I actually watched as they died do fit the picture. There was one more dead Muscovy on our lawn this afternoon. The vultures had already gotten to it, and not much flesh was left. They also were eating the large fish that I photographed yesterday. I wonder if the vultures might suffer toxic effects if it is indeed botulism that is killing the ducks.
A contributor to my Blog cited this article. Pertinent passages:
"Type C botulism - Type C botulism occurs principally in waterfowl and other birds living in an aquatic environment and causes tremendous losses, most notably in waterfowl in the western United States...
"Type C toxin occurs in carcasses of dead invertebrates, in the flesh of birds dying of botulism, and in maggots feeding on toxic carcasses...
"The only meaningful sign of botulism is the loss of strength due to muscular paralysis. The degree of paralysis is related to the dose and time of exposure and the amount of toxic material consumed. Gulls show wing-droop and difficulty in getting air-borne in mild intoxications. In more advanced cases, gulls are unable to stand, ducks are unable to hold up their heads."
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