16.06.2006

What caused Lenka's Death?

The Institute for Fowl Diseases of the University of Berlin forward a preliminary finding of the cause of death of Lenka.

Diagnosis: Aspergillosis (a rare ailment of animals in the wild, most often a lung disease triggered caused by the mould fungus aspergillus fumigatus).

Findings of the lung: The lung was laced with white lumps. A multifocal, acute to subacute granulomatose pneumonia with a profound evidence of fungus hyphae.

Conclusions: Clearly Meto also died of the same infection as the chicks of the previous year. As far as Hugo is concerned, we can only hope that he will survive. He came to the eyrie later and is already much larger, so that he not become profoundly infected. A treatment is out of the question. We keep our fingers crossed. Continuing searches for causes were already decided upon by NABU, Regional Association Calau. The nest material which the storks bring to the eyrie has to be the main focus. After the last brood period, eight inches of nest material was removed from the eyrie which was treated twice in autumn and once in spring for mould fungi. Were these measures insufficient or was the fungus reintroduced with the new material? Many questions which need to be cleared up.

Winfried Boehmer
NABU-Project Leader

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