Over 2,000 Snow Geese Fall Dead From Sky in Idaho

Posted on March 17, 2015

Over 2,000 snow geese fell dead from the sky Idaho. The migrating birds died while on their way back north to their nesting grounds in Northern Alaska. Avian cholera is believed to have killed the snow geese.

The dead birds were found and collected by workers and volunteers from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG). The Spokesman Review reports that the dead geese were found at Mud Lake and Market Lake Wildlife Management Areas. Agency spokesman Gregg Losinski told Reuters, "Basically, they just fell out of the sky."

The bodies of the dead birds were incinerated to make sure avian cholera can't spread to other birds. The IDFG says in a release, "The carcasses were collected and will be incinerated so that other predatory and scavenger birds do not ingest the deadly bacteria. Results are not yet back from the IDFG Wildlife Laboratory to definitively confirm avian cholera, but apparent symptoms seem to indicate the disease."

Upper Snake Regional Supervisor Steve Schmidt says, "The important thing is to quickly collect as many of the carcasses as possible, to prevent other birds from feeding on the infected birds."

Biologists observed about twenty eagles in the vicinity of some of the dead snow geese carcasses. Avian cholera has a delayed incubation period so it will not be known right away if any other birds become infected. The public is advised not to handle dead birds. The IDFG also says humans are not at a high risk of infected from the bacteria that causes avian cholera.

ANIMALS