SALT LAKE CITY — Nine beavers were found dead over the last few weeks in Summit, Wasatch and Utah counties. Three were tested and found to be positive for a disease called tularemia, which can also affect humans. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is asking the public to take caution by not touching the animals and to report any dead beavers to DWR officials.
The beavers were found in the following locations:
- Five dead
beavers were discovered near the Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter by
preserve staff between March 23 and April 2. All five beavers shared one
beaver lodge at the preserve.
- Another dead
beaver was found near Midway on April 5 by a DWR fisheries crew.
- Two additional
beavers and a vole were found dead near the Jordanelle Dam on April 8.
- Another dead beaver was discovered in the Birdseye area of Utah County on April 10.
The carcasses of two beavers discovered at the Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter, the beaver discovered at Midway, and the beaver found near Birdseye were all submitted for disease testing to the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and the Utah Public Health Lab. All three tested positive for tularemia.
“The bacteria that causes this infection is known to be in the environment in many parts of Utah; however, it is unusual to see this many animals die from it at once,” DWR Veterinarian Ginger Stout said.
Tularemia — also known as rabbit fever, hare plague and deerfly fever — is caused by a bacteria and is an acute, fatal infectious disease of rabbits, hares and other rodents, including beavers. The disease is present throughout North America and is transmitted:
- Through the
bite of a tick or deerfly
- By direct
contact with blood or tissue from infected animals
- By ingestion of contaminated water or undercooked rabbit or hare meat from an infected animal
Humans are susceptible to tularemia, and human cases typically result from the bite of a tick or deerfly in the summer or when someone handles infected animals harvested during hunting or trapping seasons. The disease can be life-threatening for people if not treated quickly, but most infections can be treated successfully with antibiotics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“There
is a concern about the possibility of tick-borne or fly-borne diseases, so it’s
advised to take the necessary
precautions by
wearing protective clothing, using appropriate insect repellent and checking
for ticks after being in brushy areas,” Stout said.
Anyone
who sees dead rabbits, beavers or other rodents should not touch the carcasses
and should report them to their nearest DWR office .
The
last confirmed case of tularemia killing wildlife in Utah was in 2017 with a
cottontail rabbit in the Kanab area.
Find
more information about tularemia on
the Utah Department of Health & Human Services website.
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Photos
courtesy of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15p0IyltjJ7nfQu2DruPe8wRr1Np2Vtbg?usp=drive_link
Media contacts:
- For wildlife-related inquiries: DWR Public Information
Officer Faith Heaton Jolley at 385-266-2640
- For human-safety inquiries: Utah
Department of Health and Human Services PIO line at 801-597-2775
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Faith Heaton Jolley M: (385) 266-2640 Utah Department of Natural Resources |
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