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Frank La Rue
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I have noted that several of the members on this forum have particluar tastes in choise of household animals (pets!??), camels, whales and so on and so on. Beware the danger of lichen for your animals. Regular chock-up is advisable:
Mysterious Wyoming elk deaths solved
Animals died after feeding on lichen
Monday, March 22, 2004 Posted: 1:40 PM EST (1840 GMT)
CHEYENNE, Wyoming (AP) -- A lichen native to the Rockies has been blamed for the deaths of at least 300 elk in southern Wyoming, a mystery that had baffled wildlife scientists and cost the state thousands of dollars, the state said Monday.
Wildlife veterinarians had suspected the lichen after finding it in the stomachs of many of the elk that died in south-central Wyoming.
To confirm their suspicions, three elk were fed the lichen at a research facility. One collapsed and was unable to rise Sunday, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said. A second elk also started stumbling and a third is expected to succumb quickly, officials said. All three will be euthanized.
The ground-dwelling lichen, known as Parmelia molliuscula, produces an acid that may break down muscle tissue, said Walt Cook, a Wyoming Game and Fish Department veterinarian leading the inquiry.
Elk native to the area weren't affected by the acid, but those killed in the die-off apparently had moved in from Colorado and may have lacked microorganisms needed to neutralize the acid, state biologists said. The Colorado line is 50 miles south of the area where the elk died.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:23 am on Mar. 23, 2004
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