A black bear cub euthanized at Glacier Bay Nationwide Park this fall is the primary within the nation to check constructive for a extremely contagious pressure of hen flu. Park guests alerted wildlife officers after they observed the animal’s unusual habits.
The cub was having a tough time strolling and struggled to maintain up with its two siblings and mom at Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay Nationwide Park.
Kimberlee Beckmen is a wildlife veterinarian for the state’s Division of Fish and Recreation. She says involved park guests captured movies of the cub in October.
“They thought it was drunk — it was stumbling, after which was deserted by the mom,” Beckmen stated in a telephone interview Tuesday.
These signs are widespread with the pressure, additionally referred to as H5N1. It causes exhaustion and neurological issues like seizures.
Beckmen says the bear had no likelihood of survival at that time.
“It was very unhappy to see the animal (was) not going to recuperate,” she stated. “Its mind was swollen, and it will have died, most likely inside hours, had it not been euthanized.”
After euthanizing the cub, scientists took swabs and a pattern of the bear’s mind to check for rabies and canine distemper. They despatched the samples to labs in Washington and New York for evaluation.
Beckmen says the outcomes got here again constructive for the pressure of flu often known as extremely pathogenic avian influenza, generally referred to as “high-path AI.”
“We do check all wildlife that die with medical indicators or which might be suspicious of getting irritation within the mind — encephalitis — for rabies,” she stated. “We needed to do the rabies testing on this animal earlier than we might check it for high-path AI due to the chance from the tissues if it was contaminated with rabies.”
It’s the primary time the pressure has been noticed in an Alaska bear. Wildlife officers say two foxes have additionally examined constructive this yr — one in Unalaska and one in Unalakleet.
Beckmen says the one different bear identified with the pressure was an grownup feminine black bear in Quebec.
“As a result of it was the primary report within the U.S., that makes it reportable to the World Group for Animal Well being. They’ll report (to) the federal authorities … due to it being thought-about a overseas animal illness and of worldwide significance, it’s reportable,” she stated.
Beckmen says the cub discovered at Bartlett Cove was seemingly contaminated after scavenging a sick or lifeless hen.
“They must inhale a big dose (of the virus) whereas they’re scavenging contaminated birds, then get that virus laden into their respiratory passages,” she stated. “It doesn’t go bear-to-bear.”
Animals can even turn out to be contaminated by the virus by ingesting water that has been contaminated by sick waterfowl. She says the chance to people may be very low — simply 4 folks have examined constructive for the H5N1 flu worldwide, and only one in North America.
However the virus has devastated poultry and wild birds — almost 50 million have been killed or euthanized this yr alone, in keeping with the CDC.
In Alaska, wildlife officers say the Matanuska-Susitna Borough continues to be a hotspot for infections amongst yard flocks. Beckmen additionally says Sitka has lately seen infections amongst eagles. Fish and Recreation additionally reported infections amongst shorebirds, ravens and waterfowl statewide this summer season.
Wildlife officers say residents ought to report sick, orphaned or lifeless animals to the Alaska Division of Fish and Recreation.
