Park horror as nearly 100 dead deer discovered by scientists in Spain
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Loading... - Rogers Griffiths
- 16 May 2022
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Following the deaths at the Sierra de Baza Natural Park in Spain's Granada province earlier this year, an investigation was launched. The Centre for Analysis and Diagnosis of Wildlife (CAD) has now revealed that they were suffering from diseases linked to stress most likely induced by sudden changes in the weather of the region.
Scientists discovered that the deer mortality was the result of severe pulmonary congestion caused by 'Mannheimia haemolytica', an agent that is normally present in the respiratory tract of the animals and which, in the event of a decrease in their defences or weakness, can cause death.
Abrupt changes in the weather of the area in the second half of March is thought to have caused their illness.
An episode of heavy rain hit the region in late March, following on the heels of a drastic drop in temperatures that covered part of the park with snow.
The sudden changes in the meteorology of the area, which is a protected environment, are thought to have caused the animals extreme stress as they struggled to adapt.
This stress is thought to have triggered the disease and eventually their death, according to scientists.
Employees in the natural park began to receive the first reports of deer carcasses around March 26.
They then declared a wildlife health emergency protocol as they tried to find the cause of the deaths.
The protocol is part of the Epidemiological Surveillance Program of Wildlife in Andalusia, Spain, which is in place to detect diseases and determine their prevalence in the natural environment to coordinate an emergency response. Read More…
