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SALT LAKE -- Groups of dead birds are washing up on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and wildlife officials say it's the remains of an outbreak two years ago.
In 2007 an outbreak of avian cholera spread through a few types of birds on the Great Salt Lake, killing around 15,000 of them. This spring some of those dead birds are reaching the shoreline.
Leslie McFarlane, with the Department of Wildlife Resources, said, "The carcasses that everybody will see along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, you'll mostly see bones and feathers."
McFarlane tracks wildlife disease for the DWR and says the bacteria that causes the outbreak is found naturally in waterways and there aren't any recent outbreaks.
McFarlane say the disease does not affect humans or other mammals, including dogs, but if you find a pack of dead birds, the DWR would like to hear from you so they can check it out.
Most of the birds that died in 2007 were Eared Grebes.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
