Bird flu found in whooping cranes ‘troubling’: Wildlife expert

Avian influenza has been detected for the first time in endangered whooping cranes after two birds were found dead in Saskatchewan last October, marking a troubling milestone for one of North America’s rarest species.

“This is the first time we’ve ever confirmed avian influenza in whooping cranes,” said Trent Bollinger with the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Centre. “Any time a new threat shows up in a population this small, it raises red flags.”

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The two birds were found in different farmers’ fields near Saskatoon in October and later tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. While the virus has been widespread among wild birds across North America in recent years, it has never before been documented in whooping cranes.

Mark Bidwell with the Canadian Wildlife Service says he and his team discovered the first dead whooping crane in Meacham, a community east of Saskatoon, after noticing one of the satellite trackers Canadian Wildlife Service has tied on about 50 whooping cranes hadn’t moved in days.

On Oct. 9, when Bidwell tracked down the carcass, he learned it was a two-year-old female that his team marked with a tracker right after it was born in Wood Buffalo National Park, which straddles the boundary between Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

A second dead whooping crane was found 100 kilometres away in Leask, northwest of Saskatoon, nearly two weeks later by a birder.

Both birds tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza on Nov. 4, Bidwell said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Bollinger said the discovery is exceptionally troubling given the species’ long and difficult recovery history.

“At one point, whooping cranes numbered more than 10,00 across North America,” he said. “Today, the global population is only around 830 birds. When you’re working with numbers that low, even isolated cases, (it) become significant.”

He said avian influenza can cause severe illness in birds, including neurological symptoms, respiratory distress and sudden death, making it particularly dangerous for migratory species.

“These birds migrate thousands of kilometres and pass through many different ecosystems,” Bollinger said. “That means they’re exposed to a wide range of potential sources of infection along their migration routes.”

Bollinger said the case also fits into a broader and evolving pattern that researchers are closely monitoring. In recent years, avian influenza has increasingly been detected in mammals that likely came into contact with infected birds.

“We’ve seen spillover into mammals such as foxes, raccoons, and coyotes,” he said. “That tells us this virus isn’t behaving the same way it did historically, and that’s something wildlife health experts are paying close attention to.”

While there is no evidence of sustained transmission within the whooping crane population, Bollinger said the first confirmed detection alone warrants concern.

“This doesn’t mean the species is facing an immediate collapse,” he said. “But it does mean there’s another pressure on an already vulnerable population.”

He said continued monitoring will be critical moving forward, particularly during the migration period when whooping cranes interact with other bird species.

“This case reinforces why long-term surveillance and conservative work matter,” Bollinger said. “Whopping cranes have come from the brink before, but their recovery remains fragile.”

Wildlife officials continue to track avian influenza activity across Saskatchewan and monitor the health of endangered species as researchers work to better understand how the virus spreads among birds and, increasingly, between species.

– with files from The Canadian Press