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25 penguins die at Sea World
Brian Williams
March 13, 2007 11:00pm
GOLD Coast attraction Sea World has lost one of its prized attractions with the deaths of 25 of its 37 fairy penguins.
The birds started dying on Thursday, leading to fears they may have been infected with avian bird flu.
This was ruled out last night by the newly established Biosecurity Queensland, which has been conducting tests.
Sea World's manager of marine sciences Steve McCourt last night said he suspected the deaths were caused by a load of contaminated gravel that had been placed in the bird's enclosure as part of three-monthly maintenance.
"All the staff here are absolutely devastated about this," Mr McCourt said. "We think there is some sort of toxin in the gravel."
Sea World first took samples to a private laboratory and then called in Biosecurity, which worked on Monday night to clear up fears of bird flu.
Mr McCourt declined to say from where the gravel came.
Biosecurity Queensland principal veterinary officer Ian Douglas said tests for bird flu were negative.
"It's a bit too early to speculate what's happened," he said. "But in the veterinary world, it's not unusual to get a large number of animals affected at the one time. If one is exposed to a toxin then often they all are and you get large crashes."
Dr Douglas said he had never seen a similar occurrence with penguins.
The display has been closed and the remaining penguins are in quarantine.
Mr McCourt said
the 12 surviving birds were of mixed sex and, with the species being a prolific breeder, this would be sufficient for numbers to recover.
"We've had the penguins here for over 20 years and never had any issues before," he said.
"Our primary focus is on the remaining birds and the welfare of some very upset staff. The enclosure has been completely stripped and we're confident the situation has passed."
Dr Douglas said it might take two or more weeks to determine what had killed the birds.
"It's a bit of detective work. We've got to look at the damage and go through a diagnostic process."
Sea World's original salt water public swimming pool was turned into a Penguins on Parade exhibit about two decades ago.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21377725-3102,00.html
Brian Williams
March 13, 2007 11:00pm
GOLD Coast attraction Sea World has lost one of its prized attractions with the deaths of 25 of its 37 fairy penguins.
The birds started dying on Thursday, leading to fears they may have been infected with avian bird flu.
This was ruled out last night by the newly established Biosecurity Queensland, which has been conducting tests.
Sea World's manager of marine sciences Steve McCourt last night said he suspected the deaths were caused by a load of contaminated gravel that had been placed in the bird's enclosure as part of three-monthly maintenance.
"All the staff here are absolutely devastated about this," Mr McCourt said. "We think there is some sort of toxin in the gravel."
Sea World first took samples to a private laboratory and then called in Biosecurity, which worked on Monday night to clear up fears of bird flu.
Mr McCourt declined to say from where the gravel came.
Biosecurity Queensland principal veterinary officer Ian Douglas said tests for bird flu were negative.
"It's a bit too early to speculate what's happened," he said. "But in the veterinary world, it's not unusual to get a large number of animals affected at the one time. If one is exposed to a toxin then often they all are and you get large crashes."
Dr Douglas said he had never seen a similar occurrence with penguins.
The display has been closed and the remaining penguins are in quarantine.
Mr McCourt said
the 12 surviving birds were of mixed sex and, with the species being a prolific breeder, this would be sufficient for numbers to recover.
"We've had the penguins here for over 20 years and never had any issues before," he said.
"Our primary focus is on the remaining birds and the welfare of some very upset staff. The enclosure has been completely stripped and we're confident the situation has passed."
Dr Douglas said it might take two or more weeks to determine what had killed the birds.
"It's a bit of detective work. We've got to look at the damage and go through a diagnostic process."
Sea World's original salt water public swimming pool was turned into a Penguins on Parade exhibit about two decades ago.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21377725-3102,00.html