Over the past five days there have been increasing reports of unusual behavior in a variety of bird species including brant goose, snow goose, white-fronted goose, and Canada goose.

A wildlife pathologist in Saskatoon says his lab is testing several skunks and fox kits showing neurological signs that could be caused by avian flu. The transmission to mammals is not a surprise to Bollinger, who said cases have been showing up in the United States. There are other viral diseases - such as distemper and rabies - that cause similar symptoms in these species.

There are at least 10 or more what appears to be otherwise healthy trees that have just fallen over.

Biologists say the bison population took a big hit this winter. More than a dozen were hit and killed by vehicles because the animals were using roads in lieu of their usual trails, which were covered by deep snow and ice.

An eagle that died in the Sitka National Historical Park this month tested positive for the avian influenza. A second eagle that died in the park was also tested for the virus, and results are pending. 

A B.C. photographer and her dog found a Giant Pacific octopus washed up on the shore of a Vancouver Island beach.

These cases represent the first detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 A/goose/Guangdong/1996 (Gs/GD) lineage in wild mammals in Ontario, Canada and in the Americas. One of the kits was found dead and the other was exhibiting severe neurological signs (including seizures) and died shortly after admission to a wildlife rehabilitation centre.

The flu now affecting birds in Saskatchewan is a severe strain of influenza that has mingled genes from Eurasia and North America, according to Dr. Trent Bollinger, a professor at Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and a pathologist. Bollinger said that the severity of the disease, which he says is the H5N1 strain, depends on the species.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency say avian influenza has been detected in additional poultry flocks in southern Alberta as well as in Saskatchewan.

Ewart Eveleigh has lived in Hampden for more than 60 years and he’s never seen anything like this. Hundreds of turrs are dead or dying on the ice in White Bay. “The eagles were eating them,” Eveleigh said, adding the living ones are “groggy,” “cuddled together,” and appear too weak to fly away.

The mortalities to date include a snow goose (Hyde County), redhead duck (Carteret County), red-shouldered hawk (Wake County) and bald eagle (Dare County).

There was a dead whale out in the bay by King Cove. Then couple locals pulled the whale into town.

A number of sick and / or dying songbirds were reported in McCarthy including pine grosbeaks and red polls. A sickly golden eagle was reported ten days earlier. "It flew up to a tree top but appeared weak and a bit awkward."

The humpback whale was first reported dead or stranded on Killisnoo Island on Feb. 10th, by Alaska Marine Highway System personnel, said Sadie Wright, a large whale entanglement response coordinator with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division. The animal with a long history in the area has been necropsied.

Over the last two years, more than 500 northern fulmars were found sick or dead along the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts. What is ailing these seabirds?

Close to 300 birds were found during a sweep of East Fjords beaches. No sign of bird flu was found in samples from dead seabirds. It is thought likely the birds died of hunger, as most were very thin. No widespread seabird deaths have been reported in any other region at this time.

An outbreak of avian flu that has killed vast numbers of domestic and wildfowl in recent weeks in northern Israel has likely reached its peak and began to abate over the past week, officials said Friday. In the Hula Lake Reserve, some 5,000 cranes died of the disease. The grim job of collecting crane carcasses from the lake by the ministry’s staff and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority was expected to end on Monday, the report said.