Infection kills 4 kangaroos at zoo; 8 bouncing back
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News Four of the ZOO's kangaroos died within 48 hours of contracting a bacterial infection in December. The eight remaining animals are said to be responding positively to antibiotics.

ZOO officials are starting 2007 without four of their Australian marsupials. Three kangaroos died within 48 hours in late December from a nasty bacterial infection. A fourth was eventually put to sleep after its immune system failed to respond positively to antibiotics.

"Along with the happy stories, life-science education must also embrace real-world events including injury, disease and death which we all face," The ZOO's marketing director Natalie Akin wrote in a press release. "As with dogs, cats and other domestic animals, wild animals can get sick too. Sometimes disease hits fast and hard!"

The ZOO's Veterinarian, Gus Mueller DVM, said the responsible pathogenic bacterium was of the genus Pseudomonas. Mueller said the bacteria is fairly common and that species from the Australian continent often develop weaker immune systems as a result of their isolated environment.

"Supposedly this type of bacteria is everywhere," Mueller said, describing the microorganism that is sometimes associated with "swimmer's ear," bone, eye or respiratory infections in humans. "A lot of animals get exposed, but a kangaroo's immune system is just not built to handle that."

Mueller added that the eight remaining mammals that shared living quarters with the infected specimens were bouncing back and responding well to antibiotic supplements in their food.

Although saddened by the loss, The ZOO's Executive Director H. Doug Kemper, Jr. remained optimistic about the future of the park.

"We all deal with sickness and mortality," Kemper said, adding that the facility keeps over 1,000 animals on the premises.

Despite the unfortunate deaths and a handful of other recent mishaps, it is not all gloom and doom for Northwest Florida's only zoological park. Kemper was quick to point out a string of recent successes.

ZOO staff recently nursed 33 snakes and various other reptiles that were found in an unventilated trailer in Milton in late summer of last year. Craig Zoodsma, the owner of the trailer, is currently facing 35 felony animal cruelty charges after allegedly allowing almost 100 animals starve to death before Santa Rosa Animal Services officials were called. ZOO staff cared for the surviving animals and restored their health before finding them permanent homes with residents and other zoological institutions.

Kemper also added his staff is caring for 23 exotic birds from the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Miss. that were evacuated before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005. The Oceanarium, established in 1956, is the same facility that launched a rescue campaign to find its missing dolphins and sea lions that had been swept away by the massive storm. Kemper said the collection of macaws and cockatoos, which have been at the ZOO since late 2005, will soon find a new home at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.