Wildlife Health
Overview
One component of the National Park Service (NPS) mission is to conserve the “wild life” within its units. To the NPS, “wild life” includes everything from mega-fauna, such as bears and moose, to the smallest organisms, such as bacteria and protozoa. Native pathogens that cause diseases may be part of a naturally functioning ecosystem that is protected within a park. However, more frequenly Wildlife are victims of diseases introduced by Human Activities. In these cases prevention & management are often necessary. Wildlife and ecosystem health is a key component of the “One Health” concept which recognizes that human and animal health is inextricably linked and that a holistic approach is needed to understand, protect, and promote the health of all species.
Wild animal populations are affected by diseases of all types, every day. Prevention of exotic disease introduction, for example from contact with domestic animals or translocation of wildlife, is preferred to management of an established disease. A few wildlife diseases that are currently of concern in units of the National Park Service are: white-nose syndrome, rabies, plague, tularemia, bighorn sheep pneumonia complex, chronic wasting disease, bovine brucellosis, epizootic hemorrhagic disease, foot-and-mouth disease, chytridiomycosis, avian botulism, West Nile virus, and highly pathogenic avian influenza. These are only a few of the diseases which may affect wild animals in NPS units.