In an unsettling wave of wildlife casualties, Florida’s Blue Spring State Park has become the graveyard for 101 vultures, prompting an investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). According to ClickOrlando, collaborating with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the FWC has closed portions of the park and collected samples for the Bronson Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Kissimmee to test for avian influenza, raising concerns about the potential spread to local birds and wildlife.
The situation echoes alarming reports from city officials in Orlando, where Lake Eola and Lake Davis parks experienced similar losses, with 37 birds deceased, including 29 of Lake Eola’s iconic swans; this comes from updates via FOX 35 Orlando, and the presence of avian flu has been confirmed in 35 counties across Florida, indicating a widespread health crisis. A visit by Brenda Stiffen, an amateur photographer and bird enthusiast from Albany, New York, to Blue Spring State Park ended in disappointment as she observed a marked scarcity of birds. “I’m shooting 840 millimeters – and I have some binoculars; I look at all the birds – I love it,” she stated.
Vultures, both the turkey and black varieties, are native to Florida and play an essential role in the ecosystem as nature’s cleanup crew, devouring carrion and reducing the spread of disease; however, they are now the subject of a concerning mortality event…