Keeping Rabies in Mind as Hunting Season Begins in NYS-Updated 10/20/20
Updated 10/20/20 - Positive rabies in white-tailed deer in Orleans County A DEC Environmental Conservation Office collected a white-tailed deer carcass after it was found dead in a pond by the homeowner in Orleans County on 10/13. ...
Category: Wildlife 411
Guidelines for Wildlife Rehabilitators: SARS-CoV-2 & RHDV2
SARS-CoV-2 The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on wild animals is currently unknown. There is evidence that SARS-CoV-2 has been transmitted from infected humans to some animals (anthropozoonosis or reverse zoonosis) including: domestic cats,...
Category: Disease Watch
Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2) Monitoring In NY - Updated 9/3/2020
USGS National Wildlife Health Center Update - August 31, 2020 An Update on National Wildlife Health Center Support to Wildlife Managers and Response to Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 A large-scale outbreak of rabbit...
Category: Disease Watch
Careers in Wildlife Health Panel Discussion
On May 20, 2020, the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab hosted a panel discussion to benefit DVM students interested in career options in the field of wildlife health. The panel included former students, some who worked and trained with the...
Category: In the News
Understanding the Basics of Mathematical Modeling
"All models are wrong, but some are useful." -George Box You have likely heard this quote repeated during the COVID-19 pandemic. At quick glance, it seems to convey broad permission to comprehensively dismiss the use of models...
Category: In the News
What the Heck is Herping?
Now that the equinox has come and gone, precipitation has turned from snow to rain (usually), skunk cabbage is unfurling through the leaf litter and robins forage on the lawns…they’re out. The herps are out, and along with them, the...
Category: In the News
One is the Loneliest Number...
There are numbers coming at us from every corner of the planet. How do we distill them down to understand the underlying trends? In particular, how do we quickly answer the question "What is the current trend of COVID-19 in a...
Category: In the News
Wildlife Vaccination - Growing in Feasibility?
Each fall we see announcements reminding us to get a flu shot and those of us with pets get reminders from our vets to bring Fluffy in for her annual shots. These shots are vaccinations intended to help our immune systems protect us from...
Category: In the News
Wildlife's Winter Preppers and more!
Leaves are turning (and falling) and the first frost has already hit….winter is right around the corner – seriously, it’s happening. Many wildlife species have been out and about ramping up their fat and food stores getting ready for the...
Category: Wildlife 411
On the Lookout for Eastern Equine Encephalitis
Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) is a virus that is spread by mosquitoes. It is carried by many species of native songbirds, and sometimes will cause serious neurologic illness in the rare cases of people and horses that become infected...
Category: Disease Watch
Parvovirus: An Ounce of Prevention is Worth It...
Parvovirus Outbreaks in Raccoons Parvovirus outbreaks are often reported in raccoon kits at rehabilitation facilities in the summer and early fall where it can sweep through animals causing high numbers of mortalities. It can be very...
Category: Disease Watch
West Nile Virus - UPDATED2/1/2021
Current WNV Positive Cases 2020 (updated Feb. 1, 2021) Date Species County Exception* 1/29/21* American Crow Erie *Submitted 8/10/20, tested 1/29/21 1/29/21* American Crow Erie *Submitted 9/16/20, tested 1/29/21 11/4/20* Bald...
Category: Disease Watch
Killing Them with Kindness
We've all seen the news stories covering tragedies like the "rescued" baby bison that had to be euthanized thanks to human interference despite clear warnings, the baby dolphins mobbed at the beach by tourists desperate for selfies...
Category: Wildlife 411
Finding the delicate balance using math! Try IsoPOPd, our new interactive software app for understanding the link between life history traits and population-scale growth rates
Conservation functions at the population scale Population growth rates are important in assessing the viability of populations. The growth rate of a population summarizes the net contribution of a population to its subsequent generation...
Category: In the News
Dr. Schuler goes to Washington
Dr. Krysten Schuler, wildlife disease ecologist with the New York State Wildlife Health Program, testified before the U.S. House Natural Resource Committee – Oversight Subcommittee on June 25. The topic was chronic wasting disease (CWD...
Category: In the News
Behind the Diagnosis Curtain: Histopathology
Solving the mystery of wildlife mortality with diagnostics When the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab investigates mortalities in wildlife, our specially trained pathologists use diagnostic tools to crack the case . Our pathologists are...
Category: Wildlife 411
Weird & Wonderful Wildlife - The Opossum
The Virginia opossum, or North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial species in North America – that’s right, like the kangaroo or koala bears of Australia, opossums raise bumblebee sized babies in a pouch for...
Category: Wildlife 411
Everything you wanted to know about Snake Fungal Disease but were afraid to ask
What is Snake Fungal Disease? Snake Fungal Disease (SFD) is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola and it poses a significant threat to wild snakes in the eastern United States. First discovered in 2006 in a declining New...
Category: In the News
What's a necropsy? The science behind this valuable diagnostic tool
The word “autopsy” comes from the roots autos (“self”) and opsis (a sight, or seeing with one’s own eyes)- so an autopsy is the examination of a body after death by someone of like species- another human. So what do you call the post-...
Category: In the News
How does math help restore wildlife communities? Try StallPOPd, our new interactive software app to Stall Growth of a Human Subsidized Predator and find out!
Professionals who manage animals regularly face challenging decisions Veterinarians, zoo personnel, biologists, scientists, and resource managers sometimes share the professional duty to dispatch animals. In the case of resource...
Category: In the News