“I’m glad you’re here, doc. This is really starting to get spooky….”
It was a hot August afternoon and Bill was standing in a field at the edge of a woodland on his farm. He had about 200 acres in northwestern Minnesota, including some woods, a couple of fields he planted in corn and soybeans, and a small pond.
Bill was talking to Carl Spackler, a veterinary pathologist, one of the few in the country. Carl had been the veterinary pathologist for the state for about 10 years, and he had never seen anything like this before.
It hadn’t rained in about two weeks, and the air was hot and still. The stench rising from the deer carcass that Bill and Carl were standing over was starting to get pretty strong. A dead deer wouldn’t be enough to bring Carl out to the farm, but the dozen or so animal deaths that had occurred on the farm within the last week was of concern.
“So tell me what’s been going on, Bill.”
“Well, last Monday I found a couple of dead ducks at the edge of the pond. Then Tuesday a deer in the soybean field. Thursday it was a coyote at the edge of the woods. To be honest, I didn’t mind the dead coyote too much—with chickens around, the fewer coyotes the better. But it’s still strange. Saturday was bad—another couple of ducks, a couple of raccoons, and a deer. That’s when I called the state. I think someone is poisoning my land. This deer here is fresh from this morning. It’s not like any of them were shot or anything, so I don’t think it’s a poacher or a jerk shooting animals for kicks. But I’ll tell you, doc, this is kind of weird.”
Carl had to admit he was a little puzzled. The animals were different kinds of vertebrates and they had all been found dead in the same area within a week.
Taking a step back from the stinking carcass, Bill wished he had been able to get here earlier in the day. For one thing, it might have been a little cooler, but mainly because the deer carcass would have been a little fresher. Judging by the smell and the level of rigor mortis, the deer had probably been dead for about 12 to 18 hours, meaning it died some time last night. And that meant Carl would have to work fast.
Lucky for Carl, Lauren, a first year veterinary pathology resident, was with him. She had about three years experience as a vet, but had wanted a bigger challenge and so had decided to try veterinary pathology. She was a vet in the Twin Cities, and didn’t have too much experience with “non-traditional” animals.
It would be a challenging case for both of them. But where to start?
List possible reasons the animals may have died. Your reasons can be stated as testable hypotheses, along with data supporting the hypotheses.
Date Posted: 03/09/05 nas
Image Credit: Based on a photo by Henk Badenhorst.
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