West Nile's Widening Toll - Impact on North American Wildlife Far Worse Than on Humans

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By Rick Weiss Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, December 28, 2002; Page A01

First there was the silence of the crows.

Then the horses fell ill -- more than 14,000 this past summer alone -- along with squirrels, chipmunks and mountain goats. Even mighty raptors -- eagles, hawks and great horned owls -- dropped from the sky.

Now scientists are beginning to taking stock of West Nile virus's North American invasion, and they are taken aback by the scale and sweep of its ecological impact. While the human toll dominated the nation's attention this year -- the virus killed at least 241 people and infected many thousands more -- the effects on wildlife were far worse.

The virus swept westward with alarming rapidity this year, appearing in almost every state in the nation -- an astonishing expansion for a bug that had never been seen in the Western Hemisphere until three years ago. Equally unexpected, nearly 200 species of birds, reptiles and mammals fell ill from West Nile this year, including rabbits and reindeer, pelicans and bats, even a few dogs and cats. The virus also slammed dozens of exotic species in about 100 U.S. zoos, killing cockatiels, emus, seals, flamingos and penguins. Florida alligator farms lost more than 200 of the reptiles. Remainder.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2002


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