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Wildlife News


Baby chick getting swabbed

What to know about the current avian influenza outbreak

Louise Moncla and Aliza Simeone of Penn Vet and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center share helpful information for the public.

Two people in a work shop room standing with a wooden bat box

Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program Launches Habitat Initiative for Philadelphia Bats

In an effort to support local bat populations, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's (Penn Vet) Wildlife Futures Program (WFP) has facilitated the design and construction of a collection of wooden bat boxes to be installed in campus parks.

Brianna Blunck and Natalie Bauer standing in front of sign

Exploring wildlife medicine in a summer externship

Two graduating Penn Vet students reflect on their Rocky Mountain Wildlife Veterinary Externship experience last summer, researching black-footed ferrets, bighorn sheep, and elk.

Wild turkey being held by a person.

Understanding disease prevalence in Pennsylvania wild turkeys

Researchers from Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program are collaborating with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Penn State on a multi-year turkey study.

Woman works in a lab.

Understanding chronic wasting disease in deer

A new collaborative study with Penn Vet researchers analyzed fecal samples to shed light on how the fatal disease impacts the gut microbiome in deer, providing a promising tool for disease surveillance.

River herring

The Endangered Species Act at 50

Ahead of the anniversary, experts from four schools across the University share their thoughts on the landmark legislation.

climate minute lectures on college green

Climate Week 2023 highlights the links between biodiversity and the climate crisis

The climate crisis impacts everyone. During Climate Week at Penn, which will be held from Sept. 18-22, everyone is invited to find their place in the climate movement.

A dog sniffing a jar

Trained dogs can sniff out a deadly deer disease

Charlie, Jari, and Kiwi are pet dogs with a superpower: Their sensitive noses can distinguish between a healthy deer and one sick with chronic wasting disease (CWD), all from a whiff of the deer’s poop.

tractors on display at the pa farm show

Partnering with farmers to advance livelihoods, food, and health

At the 107th Pennsylvania Farm Show last week, with the theme ‘Rooted in Progress,’ the School of Veterinary Medicine’s importance to the state’s agricultural industry was on full display.

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People and places at Penn: Research

From Charles Addams Fine Arts Hall to the Schuylkill River, four researchers share their science and their spaces, including Penn Vet's Roderick Gagne, assistant professor of wildlife disease ecology.

Backyard chickens

Pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 Eurasian variant has been detected in domestic and wild birds in multiple states.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 Eurasian variant (bird flu) has been detected in domestic and wild birds in multiple states within the Atlantic and Mississippi Migratory Flyways.

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SARS-CoV-2 is moving between humans and wildlife

In humans the pandemic is showing signs of ebbing. In white-tailed deer and other wildlife, however, infections appear widespread.

Bellwether Fall 2021 feature

A Hub for Zoonotic Disease Research

Penn Vet’s unique new Institute for Infectious Zoonotic Diseases

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The search for the culprit behind songbird deaths

Across the United States, songbirds are dying from a mysterious condition. Working with long-established partners, Penn Vet researchers are striving for a diagnosis.

Robin - photograph courtesy of Jack Kemp

MEDIA ALERT - 70 Reports of Mysterious Songbird Deaths in Philadelphia Region, Across State

Wildlife Futures Program experts at Penn Vet and officials from the Pennsylvania Game Commission are investigating more than 70 general public reports of songbirds that are sick or dying dying due to an emerging health condition with an unknown cause.

PA Game Commission Logo

Forward-Thinking Wildlife Futures Program Recognized

The Northeast Wildlife Administrators Association of the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in April honored the Pennsylvania Game Commission for the agency’s forward-thinking in establishing its Wildlife Futures Program.

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From animals to people and back again

Last month, it was gorillas. Before that, it was mink. And earlier still, tigers and lions. All of these species have been confirmed to have had a diagnosis of COVID-19, infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

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Bats and COVID

COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease. For the 200+ bats currently in wildlife rehabilitation facilities across Pennsylvania, this presents a threat. Eman Anis, a microbiologist with Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center, is leading a study to test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in North American bats, work being done with associate professors Lisa Murphy and Julie Ellis and Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist Greg Turner. 

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Taking on wildlife disease

When wildlife biologist Matthew Schnupp began his career, the emphasis was on conserving habitat. “The paradigm of wildlife management for the last 20 years has been habitat management,” he says, aiming to conserve the land and ecosystems animals require to thrive.

The importance of wild animal health

Penn Vet and the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) recently initiated the Pennsylvania Wildlife Futures Program (WFP), a new science-based, wildlife health program that will increase disease surveillance, management and innovative research aimed at better protecting wildlife across the Commonwealth.