Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center Content

H5N1 Is Increasingly Adapting to Mammals

Katherine E Kerlin — June 05, 2024 - 9:45am

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses are adapting to mammals in new ways that could have global consequences. �鶹��ý study finds clear evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission.

Avian Influenza Virus Is Adapting to Spread to Marine Mammals

Katherine E Kerlin — February 28, 2024 - 8:00am

Avian influenza virus H5N1 has adapted to spread between birds and marine mammals, finds a study from �鶹��ý and partners in Argentina.

Love Songs Lead Scientists to New Populations of Skywalker Gibbons in Myanmar

Katherine E Kerlin — February 14, 2024 - 8:30am

The love songs of the Skywalker gibbon alerted scientists at �鶹��ý and Myanmar to a new population of the endangered primate in Myanmar.

Elephant Seal Die-off in Argentina Caused by Bird Flu

Katherine E Kerlin — January 22, 2024 - 3:53pm

Avian influenza, or bird flu, caused the die-off of thousands of elephant seals in Argentina, reports researchers from �鶹��ý and Wildlife Conservation Society.

Sea Lion Rescued From Deadly Plastic Entanglement

Katherine E Kerlin — November 18, 2022 - 2:27pm

Dramatic footage of a rescue mission with �鶹��ý' SeaDoc Society to save a Steller sea lion entangled in plastic.

Chew On This: Personalized Health Care for Mountain Gorillas

Katherine E Kerlin — October 20, 2022 - 7:00am

Chewed plants are helping Gorilla Doctors and �鶹��ý veterinarians provide personalized health care to wild, endangered mountain gorillas in East Africa.

Tons of Lost Fishing Gear Recovered off Southern California Coast

Katherine E Kerlin — June 07, 2022 - 9:15am

The California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project recovered more than 45 tons — 90,968 pounds — of lost, abandoned or otherwise discarded fishing gear along the Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego coasts and from around the Channel Islands in 2020 and 2021. The project is a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the �鶹��ý School of Veterinary Medicine.

Citizen Divers Aid Understanding of Fish in the Salish Sea

Katherine E Kerlin — March 24, 2022 - 10:27am

Hundreds of fish species live in the Salish Sea, and many face a number of threats. Monitoring the health of these fish populations is crucial. But with nearly 5,000 miles of coastline and more than 400 islands, it’s no small task.

A Possible COVID-19 Silver Lining for Great Ape Conservation

Katherine E Kerlin — February 10, 2022 - 12:15pm

Respiratory illness outbreaks among wild mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park have declined since the start of COVID-19, according to a “Correspondence” report in the journal Nature from Gorilla Doctors and the Rwanda Development Board.

Mountain gorillas are susceptible to human-transmitted respiratory pathogens. Respiratory illness is the second leading cause of death in wild, human-habituated populations.

Detecting Wildlife Illness and Death With New Early Alert System

Katherine E Kerlin — July 14, 2021 - 8:00am

From domoic acid poisoning in seabirds to canine distemper in raccoons, wildlife face a variety of threats and illnesses. Some of those same diseases make their way to humans and domestic animals in our increasingly shared environment.