Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance works to keep animals safe amid bird flu concerns
As in the name, experts say birds are under some of the highest risk right now for bird flu, but the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance is keeping a close eye on all of their animals and working to limit chances for any interaction with wild birds.
Senior Director of Wildlife Health and Conservation at the Denver Zoo, Dr. Jimmy Johnson, added, "So I think here and nationwide, our levels of concern are high."
While this isn't the first time there's been bird flu in Colorado, and there are no cases at the zoo right now, Johnson is still concerned by the national widespread illness.
"We've obviously learned that all birds are susceptible to bird flu, but a lot of mammal species are becoming more and more affected. So as we learn that information, we are kind of increasing our surveillance around different species," Johnson said.
Johnson explained that means paying extra attention to their cats and marine mammals too, all while trying to keep wild birds out.
"We've put up a variety of structures or shade sales that you might see over a penguin exhibit, help prevent the geese from seeing a pool of water and flying in," Johnson said, "We're feeding a lot of our birds and animals indoors or under a cover."
The special attention also comes as Boulder County Public Health confirmed a bird flu infection in a goose last month.
"There was a wild goose that died in someone's backyard, and they had backyard chickens," Helwig said, "But typically, wild birds are not tested because we already know that it's impacting wild birds in a widespread manner."
Carol Helwig is the communicable disease epidemiology coordinator for Boulder County Public Health. While she can't predict egg prices, she doesn't predict bird flu to go away anytime soon.
"We should expect it to remain endemic and keep biosecurity for our commercial and backyard farming operations as secure as possible," Helwig said.
Meanwhile, the Denver Zoo continues to push for that security.
"Our goal is doing everything that we can to minimize the risk, prevent it from coming into the collection, while also still allowing our animals to thrive like they normally do here at the zoo," Johnson said.
Helwig says the risk of anyone getting sick is still very low, but she does advise people to stay vigilant and try and keep family and pets away from wild birds.
