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Location
Saratoga Springs, NY
Start Date
4-5-2009 12:00 AM
Description
Striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) are the most important reservoir of rabies on the Great Plains. In August, 1988 a skunk rabies epizootic proceeded from the "index case" west of Cowley, WY. By 1991, epizootic had reached nearly all areas in the Shoshone River Basin (SRB), and it ended in 1993. This area and the remainder of the SRB had been previously considered rabies-free. The USDA's Wildlife Services (WS) cooperated with state and local officials in a rabies monitoring and control program starting in 1990. Using information from the literature, signs, tracks, and radio-telemetry of normal and rabid skunks, WS decided to trap mainly riparian and irrigated agricultural habitats in the valley's floor. Here, a mosaic of irrigation ditches (e.g., Buffalo Bill Cody's circa 1908) was shown to be travel corridors for skunks. Trapped species (>1,000 skunks) were sent to the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory for rabies testing using immuno-fluorescent of brain tissues. The study area extended from the Bighorn Canyon and Lake on the east up river to Buffalo Bill Reservoir on the west. The study area and subsequent epizootic encompassed a portion of the Shoshone River ~90 km in length and an area of ~ 85,000 ha (54 mi2). Traditional surveillance data composed <10% of the sample -public referrals of suspiciously acting wildlife and road kills. We analyzed 215 rabid skunk locations and dates together with GIS hydrology and land use information. Hypothetical barriers were modeled using potential synergisms formed among restricted habitat, depopulation, and vaccine (if one had been available), combined with the natural epizootiology of this rabies strain with high virulence. Two dates for barrier locations were identified that may have halted the spreading epizootic: 1) before April 1989, when the rabies epizootic might have been limited to Polecat and Sage Creeks, and 2) June 1989, when the epizootic may have been stopped before it entered the majority of SRB including the larger population centers of Byron, Powell, and Cody.
Recommended Citation
Ramey, C., Mills, K., McLean, R., Engeman, R., & Fischer, J. (2009). Retrospective barrier placements for a skunk rabies epizootic in NW Wyoming. In Boulanger, J. (Ed.), The Thirteenth Wildlife Damage Management Conference (263-264). Saratoga Springs, NY: Thirteenth WDM Conference.
Included in
Retrospective Barrier Placements for a Skunk Rabies Epizootic in NW Wyoming
Saratoga Springs, NY
Striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) are the most important reservoir of rabies on the Great Plains. In August, 1988 a skunk rabies epizootic proceeded from the "index case" west of Cowley, WY. By 1991, epizootic had reached nearly all areas in the Shoshone River Basin (SRB), and it ended in 1993. This area and the remainder of the SRB had been previously considered rabies-free. The USDA's Wildlife Services (WS) cooperated with state and local officials in a rabies monitoring and control program starting in 1990. Using information from the literature, signs, tracks, and radio-telemetry of normal and rabid skunks, WS decided to trap mainly riparian and irrigated agricultural habitats in the valley's floor. Here, a mosaic of irrigation ditches (e.g., Buffalo Bill Cody's circa 1908) was shown to be travel corridors for skunks. Trapped species (>1,000 skunks) were sent to the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory for rabies testing using immuno-fluorescent of brain tissues. The study area extended from the Bighorn Canyon and Lake on the east up river to Buffalo Bill Reservoir on the west. The study area and subsequent epizootic encompassed a portion of the Shoshone River ~90 km in length and an area of ~ 85,000 ha (54 mi2). Traditional surveillance data composed <10% of the sample -public referrals of suspiciously acting wildlife and road kills. We analyzed 215 rabid skunk locations and dates together with GIS hydrology and land use information. Hypothetical barriers were modeled using potential synergisms formed among restricted habitat, depopulation, and vaccine (if one had been available), combined with the natural epizootiology of this rabies strain with high virulence. Two dates for barrier locations were identified that may have halted the spreading epizootic: 1) before April 1989, when the rabies epizootic might have been limited to Polecat and Sage Creeks, and 2) June 1989, when the epizootic may have been stopped before it entered the majority of SRB including the larger population centers of Byron, Powell, and Cody.