1,500 ducks at refuge die of botulism

RENO, Nev. - About 1,500 ducks at the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge near Fallon have died from a botulism outbreak brought on by unusually warm water in the Lahontan Valley.

The ducks apparently got sick from eating bugs killed by the warm water heated by temperatures in the high 90s to around 100 in the past weeks, a state official said Wednesday.

"It is basically avian food poisoning. It's food poisoning in the food chain," said Chris Healy, public information office for the Nevada Division of Wildlife.

The first duck corpse was found about three weeks ago in the wetlands northeast of Fallon. The area about 60 miles east of Reno is one of the largest stopping grounds for migrating birds along the Pacific flyway.

No real health threat exists as long as the duck carcasses are removed quickly from the refuge, Healy said.

"Last week seemed to be the peak of the die off. The key is to get the animals out of there so they can't spread the disease," he said.

If the dead ducks are left in the water, maggots typically from on the carcasses and lay eggs, which are eaten by other ducks.

"If you don't clean up the corpses you have a chance of killing lots of birds," Healy said.

"This isn't lots of birds. This is a moderate outbreak. We seem to be on top of it right now. Our biologist goes out every day if he has to gather the corpses and get them out of the system."

About 7 million fish were killed at the refuge in 1987 as a result of a drought that left mud-dried flats and dwindling puddles with concentrated salts.

An unrelated outbreak of avian cholera spread quickly at that time and clamed the lives of about 1,500 birds.

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