CHEYENNE, Wyo. — West Nile virus season is in full swing, and wildlife managers are asking residents to keep an eye out for dead sage grouse and report any if seen, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Per Game and Fish, West Nile virus is spread by certain mosquitoes, with research showing sage grouse have a low resistance to it. The virus can be and is usually fatal to the birds, and evidence of its presence has been reported in past years in northeast Wyoming and in surrounding states.
“We haven’t had an outbreak of West Nile in sage grouse since 2003 in northeast Wyoming, but monitoring for the disease is still important,” Nyssa Whitford, sage grouse biologist, said in a statement. She also said that while this spring started out wet, the summer has been drier and resulted in less favorable mosquito conditions.
For Game and Fish, testing dead birds helps monitor the scope and impact of the disease across the state, the department said in a press release.
“We are particularly interested in sage grouse found in remote areas that have no obvious injuries that might have resulted in their death,” Whitford said. “These may occur near water holes or hay fields on private lands.”
Whitford emphasized the need to report dead birds to local wildlife managers quickly so the birds don’t deteriorate to the point they can no longer be tested, though there is no need to report obvious roadkill.
Per Game and Fish, for individuals willing to collect carcasses they find, the chance of getting the virus from handling a dead bird is remote but it is still encouraged to pick up birds with an inverted plastic sack while wearing gloves. The bagged carcass should be placed into another plastic bag, tied and taken to a regional office.
Birds that can’t be delivered quickly to Game and Fish should be placed in a freezer, the release states, adding that residents can help reduce the risk of West Nile virus by eliminating standing water in small receptacles where mosquitoes tend to breed.
