Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Patient of the Week: Canada Goose

What can one sick Canada Goose tell us about the health of wildlife, domestic animals, and even people? Quite a lot.

This Canada Goose arrived at the Center from Spotsylvania County after being found lying on the ground, barely responding to people approaching.

Our veterinary team immediately recognized several concerning symptoms: cloudy, swollen corneas, head tremors, and an inability to stand. These are classic warning signs of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu.

Unfortunately, the severity of this goose’s neurological and visual impairments left no humane treatment options, and our team made the difficult decision to euthanize the bird.

Laboratory testing later confirmed what our veterinarians suspected: this was our first positive Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) case of the season.

More commonly known as “Bird Flu”, HPAI has been circulating in North America since 2021, with devastating consequences for wildlife populations and domestic poultry.

The virus has also crossed into mammals, including dairy cattle, seals, and other species. While the risk to the general public remains low, each new infection presents another opportunity for the virus to evolve.

So why should you care about a sick goose in Spotsylvania County?

Because diseases don’t recognize the boundaries between wildlife, domestic animals, and people.

At BRWC, our work doesn’t end with treating individual patients.

Through our active infectious disease surveillance, we investigate illnesses in wildlife, identify emerging threats, and collect valuable information that contributes to our understanding of diseases affecting animals and people.

This is One Health in action: recognizing that the health of wildlife, people, domestic animals, and our shared environment is interconnected.

This goose’s outcome was heartbreaking, but the information gained from its diagnosis matters. Understanding where diseases like HPAI are circulating, which species are affected, and how they are spreading is essential to protecting wildlife populations and informing broader public and animal health efforts.

Our patients have important stories to tell, and through One Health research, we’re working to ensure those stories contribute to something bigger.

This week, we’re continuing our Giving Tuesday campaign by highlighting One Health Research, one of the four pillars of BRWC’s mission.

When you make a donation, you’re helping us do more than care for the animals who arrive at our doors. You’re supporting critical research and disease surveillance that helps us understand emerging health threats, protect wildlife populations, and contribute to the health of domestic animals and people.

What we learn from the wildlife we care for today could help protect countless lives tomorrow. Please, help us make that possible!