- By Greg Harman Sun Herald Ocean Springs - Alabama August
2, 2003
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- More blind alligators found on coast, with a similar
disturbing trait...
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- Two more blind alligators, both phoned in as "nuisance"
alligators by local residents, have been recovered in Ocean Springs, Alabama,
bringing the number of blind alligators trapped between Ocean Springs and
Mobile Bay in the last year to 54.
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- Speculation by researchers and trappers regarding the
affliction ranges from parasites and disease to an increased exposure to
saltwater and possible chemical contamination. But so far, little is known.
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- Trapper and river guide Lynn McCoy, who has trapped all
4 of the blind Mississippi alligators -- 2 of them off the Ocean Springs
beach, the other 2 from in-town -- said he is concerned that whatever is
to blame may have been responsible for the dozen or more pelican deaths
that occurred in that area in January. "When everything's happening
in one area, you've got to check out what's happening in that area,"
he said.
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- Although toxicology reports are still pending with US
Fish and Wildlife, Missy Dubuisson, vice president of Wildlife Care and
Rescue Center, a nonprofit group specializing in rescuing animals in distress,
said there is no connection. "There is no way, shape or form they
could be connected," she said. A call to US Fish and Wildlife in Jackson
was not returned on Monday.
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- McCoy has trapped the 4 blind alligators in Ocean Springs
in the past 2 months. But the most recent pair, trapped just before the
July 4 weekend, share an unusual trait: both have a small cavity eaten
away through the flesh and bone between their eyes. "That's just not
right for it to be in the same spot in 2 skulls," McCoy said. McCoy
said he is holding one specimen, whose left eye is completely eaten away
and whose right is badly damaged, for study at the University of Alabama.
Blind alligators aren't just a risk to themselves. McCoy said the disoriented
or injured animals are more likely to show up in areas inhabited by people,
leading to a greater chance of confrontation.
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- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD Please visit my "Emerging
Diseases" message board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa Go with God and in Good Health
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