Siberia's Amur Tigers Face Mystery Disease; May Impair Ability To Hunt - Guardian

[hatrack]

A mystery disease is driving the Siberian tiger to the edge of extinction and has led to the last animal tagged by conservationists being shot dead in the far east of Russia because of the danger it posed to people. The 10-year-old tigress, known to researchers as Galya, is the fourth animal that has had a radio collar attached to it for tracking to die in the past 10 months. All had been in contact with a male tiger suspected of carrying an unidentified disease that impaired the ability to hunt. "We may be witnessing an epidemic in the Amur tiger population," said Dr Dale Miquelle, the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Russia director.

Galya had recently abandoned a three-week-old litter of cubs and come into the town of Terney looking for an easy meal. Following a series of all-night vigils by researchers, attempts to scare the tigress away failed. She was reported to the Primorsky State Wildlife Department as an official "conflict tiger", and a state wildlife inspector was called in to destroy her earlier this month. "This tiger had lost its fear of humans – typically Amur tigers will never expose themselves for observation. It was like seeing someone you know turn into a vampire," Miquelle said.

Scientists are attempting to understand what compromised the tigress's ability to capture wild prey, which she had lived upon almost exclusively since birth. Her cubs, which were subsequently found dead at the den, are likely to have had their mother's disease transmitted to them through the placenta. "Initial necropsy results show an empty digestive tract, which is highly unusual. We're still waiting for results of further tests, but the abnormal behaviour suggests disease, possibly neurological," said Miquelle. "We are extremely concerned about the possibility of an epidemic that could be sweeping through this region. Animals we have studied extensively, and known well, have demonstrated radically changed behaviour, which is extremely disconcerting."

Weighing only 91kg at death – down from an estimated 140kg at full health – the tigress's death represents the end of an 11-year lineage of related "study" tigers, and leaves the WCS's Siberian Tiger Project with no radio-collared animals for the first time in 18 years. WCS Russia has tracked more than 60 tigers since inception in 1992.

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/20/siberian-tiger-mystery-disease-extinction

[joeybee12]

1. Well this really sucks...knr...n/t

[Liberation Angel]

2. I hesitate to beat a dead Tiger but global radiation pollution

has been causing new strains of mutated viruses and bacteria to which most creatures have not yet evolved immunity or resistance.

This was predicted by Andrei Sakharov in the 1950's: radiation from nuclear testing and nuclear power causes mutations of viruses and bacteria. He predicted global pandemics caused by new strains of quickly evolving disease causing mutations which we cannot evolve quickly enough to gain resistance.

When Sakharov suggested that global nuke powers need to stop nuclear testing and stop the nuclear pollution because it would cause mutartions in all life - humans, animals, viruses and bacteria and plants, he became a pariah and was persecuted.

Such damage to endangered species is the possible and likely result.

We KNOW even sunshine and natural background radiation causes mutation of cells and dna and cancer -- when we ADD tons of man made radioactive effluents and emissions to our air and water and earth as we have been doing for more than 65 years on this fragile planet we virtually GUARANTEE such plagues and pandemics in humans and animals.

Tragic but real and something we all need to be aware of.

It is not a mystery to those who do research on these things: new mutations and varieties of disease causing and deadly bacteria and viruses destroying more of life on this planet.

Just like BP and the Ridley Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico: the shit is killing our planet and hence all of us.

[Nihil]

3. Self-delete

(No point in getting myself banned because of your annoying idiocy.)

[Liberation Angel]

4. I suppose you think Sakharov was an idiot too.

Just sayin': HE said there would be pandemics of strange new mutated diseases.

I am just quoting what he said.

[Liberation Angel]

5. Link to article on Sakharov, mutations of bacteria, viruses radiation

http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/9500-fallout-swine-flu-and-a-pandemic-of-awareness.html

For anyone who thinks I am blowing smoke about this stuff.

Sakharov was the nuclear physicist, NOT me or anyone else here at DU who claim to know the facts on issues like these (as far as I know).

The tragedy is that people do NOT recognize this poissibility as a cause of these "mysterious" species murdering diseases.

[Liberation Angel]

6. k&r