Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, July 23, 2007

FORT SMITH - A dead bison found in Wood Buffalo National Park is being double-checked for signs of anthrax.

Three field tests on the carcass - found July 17 along the rugged Parson's Lake Road - showed negative results for the disease.

Samples have been sent to Alberta for a more detailed laboratory test as a precautionary move and results are expected at any time.

The carcass was found in a sawhorse position - on its back with its legs in the air. That position, which can be caused by severe bloating, is one characteristic of anthrax infection.

"It looks suspicious," said Mike Keizer, the park's communications manager.

The park put formaldehyde on the dead bison to ward off scavengers and predators, and flagged the area around the carcass.

Burning of the carcass began July 20 and was expected to take a couple of days. It was being done with the help of GNWT staff who conducted the process in the past during outbreaks in areas of the NWT outside park boundaries

Aerial and ground-level monitoring of the area around Parson's Lake Road is also being conducted to look for any more dead animals and to ensure public safety.

As of July 20, no other dead buffalo had been spotted.

Keizer cautioned people not to jump to conclusions.

"One dead bison does not make an anthrax outbreak," he said. "It could be much ado about nothing."

Keizer said the bison could have died from some other cause.

During the park's last anthrax outbreak in 2001, the number of visitors to the park declined, even though the outbreak was in a remote area.

"It has a huge impact," Keizer said of the effects on tourism in the park and businesses in Fort Smith.

As of last week, Parson's Lake Road - a 42-kilometre, single-track dirt road - had been temporarily closed to protect the public until the lab test results are known. The road can be accessed from Highway 5 or Pine Lake Road, neither of which are closed.

Parson's Lake Road begins at a junction at the Salt Plains viewing area, which is still accessible to the public.

All other visitor facilities in the park remain open to the public.

Anthrax in wildlife is a naturally occurring disease caused by the bacteria bacillus anthracis. The anthrax spores can remain viable in soil for many years.

Under certain conditions, such as high water followed by hot and dry weather, the spores concentrate in low-lying areas. Bison can contract the disease by inhaling contaminated soil while wallowing in dust baths.

Eight anthrax outbreaks have occurred in Wood Buffalo National Park since 1963.

The 2001 outbreak was in the remote Sweetgrass region in the Alberta section of the park. It killed 92 bison and one moose.

The park is home to about 5,400 wild bison.