Cornell Wildlife Health Lab

08/20/2026

Curious about what a Research Scientist at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation does as part of the Wildlife Health Program? Check out our latest article, "August: A Day in the Life of a DEC..." featuring Dr. Therese McNamee from the Wildlife Health Unit. https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/article/august-day-life-dec

07/28/2026

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? We know where the cool kids hang out. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
Visit https://bit.ly/3TtJKM8 to register!

07/16/2026

Today is ! And they really are something to celebrate. We can all coexist; chances are you are already doing so and just don't know it!.

Snakes are called lots of things, from 'Nope Rope' and 'Danger Noodle' to 'Caution Ramen' and 'Snek', but I call them awesome...

These beauties are all-natural pest control. And since one of their typical meals just happens to be the main reservoir of Lyme disease, they help control the disease and keep you safe.

Snakes are under threat from habitat loss and anthropogenic impact, and throw some disease risk like Snake Fungal Disease (https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/project/fungal-pathogens-ny-snakes) in the mix, and our slithery friends sure could use some support.

Read more at "Coming to an understanding with native snakes" (https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/article/coming-understanding-native-snakes).

Snake Week

07/05/2026

While America is celebrating its 250th today, we celebrate the every day at the NYS Wildlife Health Program! We just love the enigmatic and amazing . Did you know it’s been 50 years since a SINGLE breeding pair began restoring New York’s bald eagle population? There are now over 500 breeding pairs in NY! Visit NYS Department of Environmental Conservation https://on.ny.gov/4p0OB2W for more info.

Want to know how YOU can help protect bald eagles and what happens AFTER we perform a ? Since last year, we’ve lost over 220 bald eagles in NY. Many were from diseases such as Avian Influenza, but anthropogenic causes are the overwhelming cause of death. We saw 91 cases of trauma -ranging from vehicle, blunt impact, and electrocution, including a case from February involving one unfortunate female who encountered power lines while building her nest – visit https://bit.ly/4bbPxfh for more details on the case.

We also still see lead toxicosis, likely due to scavenging hunter-harvested deer and ingesting lead ammo - visit “What You Leave Behind - Lead Ammo Risk to Wildlife Species” https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/article/what-you-leave-behind to see how you can help reduce the risk. Why do we worry about lead? Well, check out our research on its reproductive impact negatively affecting population recovery-visit “Bald Eagles Population Impact Study” https://bit.ly/4fhEaoy for more on the science.

After performing necropsies, we send all eagle carcasses and parts to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s National Eagle Repository https://bit.ly/4pe1bft. This repository, located in Colorado, distributes these eagle remains to members of federally recognized Tribes within the United States for cultural purposes.

From slowing down in areas eagles congregate to rethinking how you dispose of your gut pile or even your ammo choice, small things have big impacts. #

06/30/2026

Science is a beautiful thing; it discovers, reveals, explains, and creates... in this case, it builds. It built a bridge across continents, languages, cultures, and generations. It built a friendship that helped to solve an ecological problem impacting a species and a country's economy.

"The Friendships That Science Builds" https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/article/friendships-science-builds

Three generations of scientists spanning two continents, working in two languages towards an important ecological solution on one shared planet.

06/29/2026

Did you know that, as part of the NYS Wildlife Health Program, we have a Resource Library dedicated to ? With 60 Disease Fact Sheets, a video library, data portal, and more, we've got your wildlife health questions covered!

Visit https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/resources and see what we have for you!



NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

06/23/2026

Speculation is not a diagnostic tool, but necropsy is. Experts, like our Dr. Krysten Schuler, agree that to determine the cause of death, you need a necropsy, not guessing.

Want to learn more? Check out our article "What's a necropsy? The science behind this valuable diagnostic tool" https://bit.ly/3CJh7Q1

"Dead Duck Found in Reflecting Pool: Experts Weigh In on 3 Potential Causes"
https://www.newsweek.com/dead-duck-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-potential-causes-12104768

The duckling's cause of death is still unclear amid concerns about water quality, chemical treatments, and environmental conditions.

06/12/2026

Shhhhh...it's a secret.... Here is one really simple way you can be a ... while the urge to tell (or show) everyone you meet/know about an amazing turtle find or hotspot you've come across is strong, keeping that location info to YOURSELF is best practice and protects wild turtles. That means making sure any photos you post don't include the GPS location in the metadata, don't include super-identifiable landmarks, or zoom in on that fabulous chelonian, eliminating the background!

- How does that help turtles, you wonder?
1) It protects their habitat by preventing an increase in human visitors
2) It reduces the risk of pathogen spread - as does practicing good biosecurity, like disinfecting footwear before AND after visiting sites
3) It guards against not-so-awesome folks finding them and grabbing one for themselves, or worse, part of the wildlife trafficking trade... wow, that sounds so dramatic! But unfortunately, according to UNODC, "World Wildlife Crime Report 2024: Trafficking in Protected Species (2015–2021)", 4% of all seizure incident reports were turtles or tortoises, which is out of ~140,000 reports, which is over 5,500 incidents involving turtles or tortoises stolen from the wild, and EACH incident could be one or 100+ animals. Whoa.

06/12/2026

On this last day of Wild Turtle Week, we want to remind you that wild turtles belong in the wild, and pet turtles belong in responsible homes (aka NOT in the wild)!

Did you know it's illegal in New York to A) collect turtles from the wild or B) to release pet turtles into natural habitats? Taking wild turtles can harm native turtle populations, especially because many species reproduce slowly and are already facing many threats, such as habitat loss.

Releasing pet turtles is also a problem. Turtles have very complex needs and a long lifespan, which can lead to people abandoning them when they outgrow their small tanks. Releasing a pet turtle, or "setting it free," can do more harm than good for the animal and for the area it was released into. Many dumped pets don’t survive, and those that do can introduce diseases, compete with native wildlife, and disrupt local ecosystems. For example, the red-eared slider turtle (pictured here) is a popular pet and is now invasive on every continent except Antarctica!

If you or someone you know can no longer care for a pet turtle, contact a local reptile rescue, animal shelter, or wildlife agency for guidance. And if you see a turtle in the wild, the best thing you can do is admire it from a distance and leave it right where you found it.

📷: Melissa Fadden

06/12/2026

We are excited to be a 2026 Academic Venture Fund awardee! This funding will support research to investigate whether wildfire smoke may also carry the prions that cause chronic wasting disease.

Learn more about -
https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/resource/chronic-wasting-disease

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/06/cornell-atkinson-awards-drive-progress-tech-ag-sustainability

Cornell Atkinson has awarded $900k to support six new research projects that seek to protect coral reefs, improve greenhouse agriculture and understand whether wildfires affect disease spread.