OHI | School of Veterinary Medicine

What's Killing Sea Otters?

UC Davis scientists have pinpointed specific strains of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii that are killing southern sea otters, tracing them back to a bobcat and feral domestic cats from nearby watersheds.

Environment/Wildlife

How Housecats Are (Indirectly) Killing Monk Seals

An article in Salon describes how scientists over the last couple decades have compiled evidence that cat feces, which often drains into the ocean in coastal cities, can infect Hawaiian monk seals with toxoplasmosis — a potentially fatal disease caused by a single-cell parasite.

Environment/Wildlife

Where on Earth Is the Salish Sea?

Less than half of the people in Washington and British Columbia have heard of the Salish Sea, even though they live alongside it.

Environment/Wildlife

Life-Threatening Foot Disease Found in Endangered Huemul Deer in Chile

Scientists report the first cases of foot disease for endangered huemul deer in Chilean Patagonia in a study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of California, Davis’ One Health Institute, with partnering institutions in Chile and the United States.

Environment/Wildlife

Pre-empting zoonotic disease threats

A multimillion-dollar Defense Department grant is helping veterinary researchers predict the emergence of highly pathogenic zoonotic viruses and prevent them spilling over to humans.

Human & Animal Health

Local Extinction of Southern California Mountain Lions Possible Within 50 Years

Two isolated mountain lion populations in Southern California’s Santa Ana and Santa Monica Mountains are at risk of local extinction, perhaps as soon as within 50 years, according to a study published in the journal Ecological Applications.

Environment/Wildlife

One Health for One Earth

In an increasingly crowded world where people and animals come into ever-closer contact, the lines that separate us – physical, biological, ecological, behavioral – are essentially gone. So, the future of conservation will be initiatives that address the entire ecosystem – a ‘One Health’ approach.

Environment/Wildlife

Sea Stars Imperiled by Wasting Disease Along West Coast

The combination of ocean warming and an infectious wasting disease has devastated populations of large sunflower sea stars once abundant along the West Coast of North America in just a few years, according to a study co-led by the University of California, Davis, and Cornell University published Jan. 30 in the journal Science Advances.

Environment/Wildlife

Scientists Discover Ebola Virus In West African Bat

The government of Liberia, in partnership with the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and EcoHealth Alliance, announced the discovery of Ebola virus in a bat in Liberia. This is the first finding of Zaire ebolavirus in a bat in West Africa, adding to other evidence suggesting bats serve as a natural wildlife reservoir for Ebola and other related viruses.

Human & Animal Health

Individual Treatment for Ailing Orcas?

SeaDoc Society is a nonprofit born out of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. It's trying to form a new medical database to diagnose and treat individual, ailing orcas. The project is being modeled after a personalized veterinary approach used on critically endangered mountain gorillas in Africa.

Environment/Wildlife