Wildlife
Hopping to the Rescue: Researchers Work for Endangered Toads
Many of the world’s frog and toad populations are reaching critically endangered levels. There are many contributing factors to their decline, but one thing is certain: if these amphibians aren’t able to reproduce, they won’t be bouncing back anytime soon.
Such is the case for the Boreal toad, a species that has become increasingly threatened in recent years. Sure, toads may be known for their supposedly slimy, wart-covered skin and bulging eyes, but it’s not just looks that are keeping these Colorado Rockies natives from, shall we say, hopping to it. Scientists believe Boreal toads’ reproductive... Read more.
Posted by MAF on May 17, 2012
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PermalinkEvaluating E. coli Transmission Between Humans and Mongoose
Emerging infectious diseases are on the rise, and they threaten both human and wildlife populations. In this pilot study, Morris Animal Foundation–funded researchers from Virginia Tech evaluated Escherichia coli transmission between humans and banded mongoose in Chobe National Park and surrounding villages in Botswana. They found that human populations are transmitting E. coli and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms to the banded mongoose, even in protected areas, such as national parks.
These findings have resulted in interest in the project findings from the Botswana government and the potential to contribute to the... Read more.
Posted by MAF on May 4, 2012
Categories: Animal health
PermalinkParasite Control in Giraffes
Captive giraffes are highly susceptible to parasitic infections that cause weight loss, lethargy and even death. Treatment to prevent parasites has caused some animals to develop resistance to medications, likely because of improper dosing. The increasing incidence of this resistance has limited the kinds of drugs caretakers can use to treat captive giraffes with intestinal parasites. Using Morris Animal Foundation funding, researchers from Kansas State University tested oral and topical formulations of an antiparasitic drug to determine the treatment that was most effective without contributing to the development of resistance. They... Read more.
Posted by MAF on March 19, 2012
Categories: Animal studies, Wildlife health
PermalinkIdentifying patterns of movement
By Kelley Weir
fellow works to prevent parasite outreaks that kill sea otters
By all accounts, southern sea otters have had a tough road. Their silky coats were once a hot commodity, and the commercial harvesting of these endearing animals began in 1786 and resulted in their near extinction by 1911. Since then, major efforts have been made to bring the species back from the brink, but infectious diseases are a constant threat to the population, especially for those who reside near freshwater runoffs.
A particularly deadly foe is Sarcocystis neurona, a parasite... Read more.
Posted by on February 17, 2012
Categories: Animal health, Animal studies, Wildlife health
PermalinkWild Animals Get Stressed Out, Too
By Kelley Weir
We know that our pets can get stressed out, but what about wild animals? What would they have to worry about?
It turns out, the answer is us.
Human activities can negatively affect wildlife populations and, in some cases, may result in long-term stress and health problems in individual animals. Bears appear to be particularly affected. Aside from the normal stressors, like searching for prey, foraging for food or merely surviving the winter, human interference, like habitat encroachment, has been shown to cause long-term stress in bears.
With funding from Morris Animal Foundation, Dr.... Read more.
Posted by MAF on January 9, 2012
Categories: Animal health, Animal welfare, Wildlife health
PermalinkMonitoring stress in bears
Dr. David Janz
University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Human activities can negatively affect wildlife populations, and in some cases may result in long-term stress and health problems in individual animals. This study resulted in the development of a technique to measure a primary stress hormone, cortisol, in hair collected from grizzly bears and polar bears. In combination with collaborative research into environmental changes and animal health, the research team validated hair cortisol testing as a sensitive, reliable and noninvasive measure of long-term stress in wildlife.
Posted by MAF on December 29, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Animal studies, Wildlife health
PermalinkA Call to Save the Whooping Crane
A Call to Save the Whooping Crane
International effort to bring the five-foot-tall bird back from the brink of extinction
By Megan Gambino
Smithsonian magazine, November 2011
Click here to read the article.
Read more.Posted by MAF on December 22, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Animal studies, Wildlife health
PermalinkStudy Findings Will Help Veterinarians Prescribe Pain Medication for Bearded Dragons
Veterinarians are aware of the need to manage pain in their reptile patients, but little research has been conducted on this subject. As a result, doses of pain relievers used in reptiles are arbitrary and based on subjective factors rather than scientific information. The researcher’s previous work, also funded by Morris Animal Foundation, showed that various pain relievers are effective in bearded dragons, a commonly kept pet lizard. She also determined that many drugs, particularly antibiotics, move quickly through the bloodstream of bearded dragons. This study showed how... Read more.
Posted by MAF on October 25, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Veterinary research , Wildlife health
PermalinkFoundation-Funded Study Is Instrumental in Changing Legislation
By Kelley Weir
Sportspeople from around the world enjoy hunting duck on the wetlands of Santa Fe, Argentina, one of eight provinces in the country that allows hunting each year. As a result, millions of pounds of spent lead ammunition are deposited into the ecosystem, and waterfowl ingest the lead as they forage for food in the sediment, soil and wetland vegetation.
Because lead has negative effects on people and the environment, its use in gasoline, paint, pesticides and food canning has nearly been eliminated worldwide. Lead shot was banned for waterfowl hunting in the United States in 1991, but... Read more.
Posted by MAF on September 26, 2011
Categories: Animal welfare, Veterinary news, Wildlife health
PermalinkCelebrating World Rhino Day
September 22, 2011 marks the Second Annual World Rhino Day. Although the international event was started by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to take a stand against illegal rhino poaching and horn trade, Morris Animal Foundation is proud to celebrate its worldwide hand in helping these majestic animals in other ways. The scientific studies we have funded over the years have ranged from research in nutrition, genetics, cardiac health and more. Our current studies include research into safer anesthesia techniques, ecological-based disease and a potentially fatal blood disease. More on these studies can be found... Read more.
Posted by MAF on September 22, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Wildlife health
PermalinkSwimming in dark waters
By Kelley Weir
Researchers study a deadly pathogen’s move to the Pacific
On any given day you can be sure that there are at least a dozen people lined up to see two of the best attractions at any zoo: the sea otters and sea lions. Kids run back and forth in front of the animals’ glass enclosures to encourage the hopelessly cute animals to follow them.
For most travelers to Alaska, wild sea otters and sea lions are also a not-to-be-missed attraction. But with pollution, oil spills and infectious disease significantly affecting some marine populations, that could change.... Read more.
Posted by MAF on August 23, 2011
Categories: Animal studies, Veterinary research , Wildlife health
PermalinkFoundation funding played significant role in conservation of endangered island foxes
Lead researcher instrumental in saving species from extinction
The Catalina Island fox has been living on Catalina Island for at least 4,000 years. Weighing only 4 to 6 pounds, this tiny fox is the largest predator on the island. This subspecies, a descendent of the gray fox, is found only on Catalina Island, one of the Channel Islands off the southern coast of California, and no one is completely certain how these foxes came to live there. One thing is certain: without a decade-long conservation program, this species would likely have become extinct.
A catastrophic population... Read more.
Posted by MAF on July 8, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Animal studies, Animal welfare
PermalinkDietary Patterns in Giant Pandas Explained
Gastrointestinal problems and stunted growth from poor nutrition are the top causes of premature death of giant pandas, which can live up to 30 years in captivity. Although physiologically giant pandas have the digestive tract of a carnivore, they subsist on an almost entirely bamboo-based diet. With Morris Animal Foundation funding, researchers from the Memphis Zoological Society evaluated the nutritional composition of bamboo shoots compared to mature bamboo and related these findings to the dietary preferences and health of pandas. They found that there are seasonal differences in the nutritional components of bamboo that correlate... Read more.
Posted by MAF on June 27, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Wildlife health
PermalinkResearch in Action: Distemper in vulnerable marine mammals
Populations of northern sea otters and Steller sea lions in Alaska have declined drastically over the past 30 years. The ice seal population is also being evaluated. Phocine distemper virus (PDV) has caused massive harbor seal deaths in the Atlantic Ocean, and with Foundation funding researchers recently identified PDV as the cause of sea otter deaths in Alaska. This was the first confirmation of PDV in marine mammals in the Pacific Ocean. The researchers will further examine the association of PDV with recent sea otter deaths and determine the ongoing presence of this pathogen in Steller sea lions, harbor... Read more.
Posted by MAF on June 3, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Animal welfare, Wildlife health
PermalinkGoing to bat for bats
By Kate Jordan
Though viewed as symbols of good health and fortune in many parts of the world, bats have often been maligned in Western culture as evil, bloodthirsty creatures. In truth, bats play a crucial role in our ecosystem. Capable of devouring thousands of insects in a single night, bats are a tremendous asset in helping to maintain healthy crops, such as cotton and corn. They also serve important aesthetic and economic functions by pollinating countless flowers and vegetables.
Bats’ significant contributions are starting to be recognized. Over the past two years, about one million... Read more.
Posted by MAF on May 13, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Wildlife health
PermalinkResearch in Action: Santa Catalina Island foxes
After a catastrophic population decline of about 95 percent, only about 100 island foxes survive on Santa Catalina Island. Santa Catalina Island foxes have an unusually high prevalence of ear canal cancer, whereas foxes on the other Catalina islands are not affected. With previous funding from Morris Animal Foundation, scientists from the University of California–Davis determined that ear mites cause inflammation that may play a role in the development of ear canal cancer. In this study, scientists treated foxes on Santa Catalina Island for ear mites to assess whether treatment can reduce inflammation and ultimately prevent ear... Read more.
Posted by MAF on May 6, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Animal studies, Wildlife health
PermalinkResearchers Identify Potential New Tool for Identifying Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an infectious disease that affects the neurological system in mule deer, elk and moose. It was originally found only in northern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming, but its range is spreading. CWD is part of a family of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which today can only be accurately diagnosed in terminally sick animals. Researchers from Colorado State University adapted a current diagnostic technique in the hopes of developing a quicker, easier and more sensitive detection test. Researchers were successful in amplifying prions, the infectious agent that causes CWD, but... Read more.
Posted by MAF on April 18, 2011
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PermalinkCaptive-rearing Efforts Promote Survival of Amphibians Released into Wild
Amphibians bred in captivity are often reared in ideal rearing conditions to maximize growth and survival in captivity, but once the amphibians are released into the wild, they may lack the ability to respond to natural stressors. Scientists from the University of Georgia compared stress levels of two captive-reared amphibians—southern leopard frogs and marbled salamanders—to that of their wild counterparts and then investigated rearing conditions that affect stress. Results from the study supports the use of captive rearing and release practices for amphibian conservation. Captive rearing produces physiologically normal... Read more.
Posted by MAF on March 31, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Wildlife health
PermalinkNew Tool Monitors Stress in Injured Owls Undergoing Rehabilitation
Fecal hormone monitoring is a noninvasive tool used to assess stress responses in many species of wild and captive animals. Researchers at the University of Minnesota assessed stress hormone levels and stress responses in injured great horned owls, as they went through the stages of rehabilitation. Using fecal hormone analysis, they compared the differences in stress hormone profiles between free-ranging owls in a highly stressed state and owls acclimated to captivity. The findings provide a methodology to clearly quantify the stress response of an individual animal at any given time and could lead to intervention... Read more.
Posted by MAF on March 10, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Animal welfare, Wildlife health
PermalinkDeveloping Safer Anesthesia for Hippos
Research in Action: We often get amazing photos from researchers in the field as part of their progress reports. Rather than keep these gems to ourselves, we hope to share some with you each month. These photos were taken as part of a study, led by Dr. Scott Citino, former member of the Wildlife Scientific Advisory Board, that is developing safer anesthesia for hippos. The Nile hippo faces a high risk of extinction in the wild and is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. Read... Read more.
Posted by MAF on February 15, 2011
Categories: Animal health, Wildlife health
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