tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post116384135226590354..comments2024-03-26T22:16:26.572-04:00Comments on Terrierman's Daily Dose: Whatever Happened to the Bubonic Plague?PBurnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05781540805883519064noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-89990279097430484412019-03-29T21:01:43.710-04:002019-03-29T21:01:43.710-04:00There is a very readable book about the West Cost ...There is a very readable book about the West Cost plague that came out years ago called "The Barbary Plague" by Marilyn Chase. I highly recommend it.Aoibheallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16929820631345914364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-30836972373072878012008-11-20T01:43:00.000-05:002008-11-20T01:43:00.000-05:00Zara, I'm so sorry for your loss. My love of the...Zara,<BR/> I'm so sorry for your loss. My love of the outdoors has been tempered by the crossover of disease from animal to human and tick to dog and I regret so much that I now have a fear of the forest. Surely, education and enlightened awareness of the dangers of the actually unknown(to most)risks of animal illness is key. I hope we will continue to learn and teach the reality of the natural hazards of life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-19230056004632608902007-11-15T11:13:00.000-05:002007-11-15T11:13:00.000-05:00Paul--Hi Paul!-- is right about plague in NM, thou...Paul--Hi Paul!-- is right about plague in NM, though oddly it might be a "good" place to catch it because local docs are very aware that iot exists. A few years back a tourist from Boston contracted it, broke out with it there, and died before being diagnosed.<BR/><BR/>There have been cases a few miles from me too but no deaths, though a cat died a couple of years ago near the ranch where I run my dogs. Most mammals can get it though some (canids?) seem to die of it less. But as Paul says rock squirrels are the big reservoir. (We call them "plague squirrels"-- Libby thought it was the actual name and I recall her telling a visitor at Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge that that is what they were!)<BR/><BR/>Country Mongolians are mad about marmots and hunt them obsessively. Son Jackson (Peculiar of Odious and Peculiar blog) has eaten them stuffed with hot rocks and thrown into a fire to burn the hair off. He said that after a month of boiled mutton it was delicious. I have never been so lucky-- the Kazakhs with whom I travel think it is nuts to eat marmot because of plague and because "they stand up like little people". Ulan Bataar has a ban on what Jack calls "marmot paraphernalia" but it is routinely violated.<BR/><BR/>There used to be a New Mexico T- shirt that Read "Land of the flea, home of the plague".<BR/><BR/>Personally I'd rather get plague than hantavirus- at least my doc claimed she could cure me faster and with fewer side effects. I do NOT give deer mice any space!Steve Bodiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14434597061701369867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-5606950048370039382007-11-14T07:25:00.000-05:002007-11-14T07:25:00.000-05:00I'm sorry for you loss. Eric sounds like a hell o...I'm sorry for you loss. Eric sounds like a hell of a guy. That said, I did say he got the Plague while doing a necropsy on the lion. The lion, of course, got the Plague from the Black Rat Flea found on a Praire Dog. The Rat Flea and the Plague exist in this hemisphere because of the story told.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps some good can come out of this, if only to remind people about zoonotic diseases. The Bubonic Plague is a VERY treatable disease, and about $20 worth of antibiotics (or rubber gloves and a face mask) might have saved Eric's life. <BR/><BR/>For a listing of other zoonotic diseases (some of them devastating the planet) see >> http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2005/07/sharing-death-and-disease-across.html<BR/><BR/>PatrickPBurnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05781540805883519064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-88034794359861225602007-11-14T03:33:00.000-05:002007-11-14T03:33:00.000-05:00It was not the Black Rat Flea as your article sugg...It was not the Black Rat Flea as your article suggests that gave Eric the plague. It was his selfless devotion to wildlife conservation that put him in contact with this disease. He contracted the plague while performing a necropsy on of one the mountain lions in his study.<BR/><BR/>Eric was a unique individual who could work well with different personalities and in different cultures. His connection to wildlife and his unassuming manner were rare gifts and pleasures to witness. His endless knowledge caught anyone off guard because of his quiet nature. He showed a caring and thoughtfulness toward others that his rugged nature sometimes disguised from those who did not know him well. His work ethic was unmatched and his field capabilities were extremely special.<BR/><BR/>Eric was one of the most extraordinary individuals I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and his contributions to conservation were not broadcast widely enough. He was preparing to join Felidae in Patagonia on December 15th to lead a capture team in the launching of a long-term ecological study where pumas will be a central focus.<BR/><BR/>Eric was often referred to as analogous to the animals he studied, in that he moved within their world so naturally. He pushed all of his limits to navigate impossible, and at times, risky terrain that required long field hours, with a firm dedication to answering some difficult conservation questions.<BR/><BR/>Learn more about Eric’s work at www.felidaefund.orgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-77492431456487743202007-11-14T00:17:00.000-05:002007-11-14T00:17:00.000-05:00Love your blog!! I found it a couple of weeks ago...Love your blog!! I found it a couple of weeks ago when looking for photos of a bear with mange (you probably heard about the camera station photos of "bigfoot" that were probably a bear with a severe case of mange). I keep coming back because your writing is excellent and the topics are fascinating. If you haven't already written a book on natural history, you should.<BR/><BR/>Lisa B.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-40429065028145565582007-11-13T15:24:00.000-05:002007-11-13T15:24:00.000-05:00Welcome to Sedillo Hill, NM an exit on I-40 in the...Welcome to Sedillo Hill, NM an exit on I-40 in the town of Tijeras, NM. Last year my neighbor died of plague, not bubonic, but the nastier septicemic variety. She was 54 and in good health, she felt sick for a couple of days and when her fever spiked up to 103 or 104 her husband brought her to the emergency room, she died hours later. Hers was the first death from plague in NM in 12 years, since then there was another death just a few miles away. <BR/><BR/>The carrier of the fleas in our area are rock squirrels, about the same size as an eastern grey squirrel but with a rattier tail. They dig warrens and live in the ground and are very elusive and tough to kill. <BR/><BR/>Plague is endemic in our neighborhood, the woman who we bought our house from in '93 had contracted it, caught it early and was cured. My son's best friends Mom caught it in '89 and wasn't diagnosed until it was well underway, she was cured but still feels crappy sometimes. All of the folks who've caught plague had cats - another reason not to.<BR/><BR/>PaulAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-47414525320796240592007-11-13T13:13:00.000-05:002007-11-13T13:13:00.000-05:00Plague is why I always spend some time fretting wh...Plague is why I always spend some time fretting when, like yesterday, I find evidence the dogs have caught and killed some small animal.<BR/><BR/>Between it, hantavirus, and the tularemia that killed Kodos's dam, small fuzzy things always have a bit of an air of vermin to me even when they're minding their own business.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-36499739768509877042007-10-25T22:05:00.000-04:002007-10-25T22:05:00.000-04:00I love the way this it written!I love the way this it written!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com