Health
Role reversal
“It was so weak it couldn’t pick up its tail,” Elbroch said. “It was dragging through the mud and the water that was out in this field.” A healthy cougar doesn’t drag its tail in the mud. “Meat and food sources have been tested with all negative results,” Itle said in an email. Researchers in […]
“It was so weak it couldn’t pick up its tail,” Elbroch said. “It was dragging through the mud and the water that was out in this field.”
A healthy cougar doesn’t drag its tail in the mud.
“Meat and food sources have been tested with all negative results,” Itle said in an email.
Researchers in the state are racing to learn more about the virus before the next outbreak hits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the Harstine Island outbreak. Possible infection sources include the cats’ food or bird droppings.
There’s still a lot Elbroch and others don’t know, including whether mammals can transfer the form of the virus now circulating on the Washington landscape to each other.
For now, scientists say the risk to orcas appears very low, since, unlike seals, they don’t come ashore, where bird poop accumulates.
“Meat and food sources have been tested with all negative results,” Itle said in an email.
Researchers in the state are racing to learn more about the virus before the next outbreak hits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the Harstine Island outbreak. Possible infection sources include the cats’ food or bird droppings.
There’s still a lot Elbroch and others don’t know, including whether mammals can transfer the form of the virus now circulating on the Washington landscape to each other.
For now, scientists say the risk to orcas appears very low, since, unlike seals, they don’t come ashore, where bird poop accumulates.
Portland-based Northwest Naturals recalled its raw-turkey cat food in December after an indoor-only cat in the Portland area contracted avian flu and died.
A week after that, 20 big cats, including five African servals, four bobcats, four cougars, and two lynxes died from avian flu at the Wild Felid Advocacy Center, a nonprofit sanctuary for displaced wild cats on Harstine Island in South Puget Sound.
RELATED: Bird flu has killed 20 big cats including cougars at a U.S. wildlife sanctuary
The researchers also found 16 dead harbor seals on Rat Island, in the first detection of the highly pathogenic flu in seals on the West Coast of North America.
“I think a lot of people don’t want to hear about it, unfortunately,” he said. “We are completely pandemicked out. But I think it still behooves us to pay attention to what’s going on.”
“Lo and behold, it’s avian flu that killed him, too,” Elbroch said.
“We found two dead cougars. There could be a lot more out there,” Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission member Melanie Rowland said of the secretive big cats.
Heat kills avian flu, but raw food can transmit the disease.
That’s why Mark Elbroch, a big cat expert with the nonprofit Panthera, was alarmed when a game warden called him to see a young male mountain lion, emaciated, on the Olympic Peninsula. It was December, and the big cat was in a cow pasture near Sequim.
“Lo and behold, it’s avian flu that killed him, too,” Elbroch said.
“We found two dead cougars. There could be a lot more out there,” Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission member Melanie Rowland said of the secretive big cats.
Heat kills avian flu, but raw food can transmit the disease.
That’s why Mark Elbroch, a big cat expert with the nonprofit Panthera, was alarmed when a game warden called him to see a young male mountain lion, emaciated, on the Olympic Peninsula. It was December, and the big cat was in a cow pasture near Sequim.
Captive cats in sanctuaries eat raw meat, mostly poultry and beef, but also rabbits, rodents, and other donated raw food, according to Washington State Veterinarian Amber Itle.
To further help cats avoid the deadly flu, experts also recommend avoiding giving them raw food, just as they recommend that people not drink raw milk.
Soon after, another young cougar died.
That raised concerns for other mammals, including the region’s endangered orcas.
Wildlife officials decided to put the cougar, a young male, out of its misery. Elbroch said that was the right decision: “A week later or so, we get the results, and it was avian flu.”
To further help cats avoid the deadly flu, experts also recommend avoiding giving them raw food, just as they recommend that people not drink raw milk.
Soon after, another young cougar died.
That raised concerns for other mammals, including the region’s endangered orcas.
Wildlife officials decided to put the cougar, a young male, out of its misery. Elbroch said that was the right decision: “A week later or so, we get the results, and it was avian flu.”
Bird flu has been around a long time, with the first U.S. outbreak hitting East Coast live-bird markets in 1924. It has become a devastating problem for America’s industrial-scale chicken farms in just the past few years.
Scientists think it had not taken a major toll on American wildlife until recently.
But on those big chicken farms, the virus mutated and evolved into something much deadlier for poultry and wildlife alike.
“The risk to wildlife has dramatically increased,” said Katie Haman, a veterinarian with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A falcon in Whatcom County became the United States’ first confirmed wild bird to succumb to the highly pathogenic avian influenza in 2012, and major outbreaks hit the state’s wild birds in 2022.
In the summer of 2023, Haman walked down a rocky beach on Rat Island, a half-mile-long wisp of sand and shrubs near Port Townsend and the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula. It was teeming with birds.
She was seeing if the major colony of Caspian terns there was infected with avian influenza.
Caspian terns are the world’s biggest tern, easy to spot from a distance by their black caps and almost comically large red bills. They aggressively defend their breeding colonies, like the one on Rat Island, sometimes attacking people who wander too close.
RELATED: Bird flu continues to spread in Washington state. What to know about the virus
Rat Island is closed to the public during breeding season to prevent such hostile encounters.But these feisty feathered friends had no defense against a recent invader. The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu tore through the colony.“What we found was a tremendous number of dead birds and sick birds,” Haman said. “It was devastating, to be honest.”To study the massive outbreak, and protect the health of visitors to adjacent Fort Flagler State Park, she and her team collected carcasses.“We were bagging them up in industrial-size waste bags and carrying them off the island by Zodiac,” Haman said. “It was many, many trips back and forth with the Zodiac piled full of garbage bags of carcasses.”They tallied 1,101 dead Caspian tern adults and 520 dead chicks.
In a study published in December, the researchers reported that avian flu had killed more than half the colony’s terns – or one-eighth of all Caspian terns on the West Coast – in a matter of weeks.
Elbroch guessed the cat probably hadn’t eaten in about a month. It was standing in the field in daylight – cougars are normally stealthy and seldom spotted.Gaydos said drawing attention to bird flu, as he and other experts do, is hard.RELATED: First bird flu death reported in the U.S., according to the CDCHere’s what we do know:“So long as there’s no really large active outbreak in the Salish Sea, the [orcas’] risk of exposure is really minimal,” Haman said.“Now, in other places, Peru, it got into sea lions, and it went from one sea lion to the next to the next, and it just killed thousands of them,” Gaydos said.Gaydos said the virus did not spread from mammal to mammal.The scientists believe terns arriving from a colony near the mouth of the Columbia River – where workers have been protecting threatened salmon by making the fish-eating terns nest elsewhere – brought the deadly virus with them.This flu had mutated enough to cause a major outbreak where it hadn’t before.RELATED: Bird flu: The challenges the Trump administration will face
The H5N1 flu has killed thousands of wild geese and ducks in Washington, as well as smaller numbers of eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, ducks, geese, swans, crows, ravens, sparrows, gulls, pelicans, cranes, and shorebirds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Mammals that have fallen to the avian flu in the Northwest include raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, mice, skunks, and foxes.Wildlife diseases are hard to fight directly. Though an avian flu vaccine exists and has been used on extremely rare California condors, there’s no feasible way to vaccinate or treat large numbers of wild animals.Helping wildlife against other threats they face, like habitat loss, pollution, and predation by introduced species, can boost their odds of survival when disease strikes.“There are other things that we can do to make species more resilient, right? We can increase their habitat quality,” Haman said.Cougar populations in Washington are generally stable, though the estimated 200 isolated cougars of the Olympic Peninsula face risks from their lack of genetic diversity.
Gaydos said one of the best actions to help wildlife is to keep domestic cats indoors.“Your cats are always better off to be inside, right? Cats kill a lot of birds. They could definitely get the virus as well.”RELATED: Bird flu Q&A: What to know to help protect yourself and your pets
“These terns that were resting in places where the seals were resting, they gave the seals the virus,” said Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian with the nonprofit SeaDoc Society on San Juan Island.“It’s now in our wildlife populations. It’s not just being carried here. It plays out, then it disappears, and then it’s reinvigorated with the next migration of birds,” Elbroch said.Scientists and volunteers with the Olympic Cougar Project said they have the opportunity now to study bird flu in wild animals – to hopefully prevent it from spreading to people.
Health
Transgender athlete's win at suburban middle school track meet sparks heated debate
Debate over a transgender student’s win in a suburban middle school girls track meet grew heated at a school board meeting Monday. The track meet took place at Jefferson Middle School in Naperville, where the student athlete won multiple events, becoming a microcosm of a national debate over trans athletes in sports. During public comment […]
Debate over a transgender student’s win in a suburban middle school girls track meet grew heated at a school board meeting Monday.
The track meet took place at Jefferson Middle School in Naperville, where the student athlete won multiple events, becoming a microcosm of a national debate over trans athletes in sports.
During public comment at a Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Board meeting Monday, nearly 100 parents could be seen in the audience, some raising transgender pride flags, others holding signs that read “Protect Girls Sports” and “Stop Exploiting Kids.”
At one point, an audience member could be heard shouting “Protect trans youth” before being escorted out of the meeting.
Parents opposed to the student’s participation in the meet have asked for federal funds to be frozen at District 203 until the board changes course on its athletics policies, arguing they are in violation of Title IX.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funds.
Awake Illinois, a non profit organization advocating against gender-affirming care for kids, filed a federal civil rights complaint against the district over the meet.
Parents who spoke in the meeting argued the student’s participation “creates an unfair playing field for our daughters” while others expressed support for the school’s inclusive policy.
Illinois’ Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in educational settings in the state.
“Transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming students often face barriers to participation in school athletics and other gender-based activities. Physical education, school sports teams, and school clubs are considered ‘facilities, goods and services’ under the Act and students are entitled to participate in these activities free from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender-related identity,” the Illinois Department of Human Rights stated, adding that “students cannot be prevented from access to, full participation in, or the equal enjoyment of extracurricular activities due to their gender-related identity.”
In a statement, District 203 said it is “committed to protecting the privacy of all students.”
“In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and district policy, we cannot and will not share personal or identifiable information about any student without appropriate consent,” the statement read. “In regards to our procedures, Naperville 203 adheres to the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Illinois State Board of Education guidance, which prohibit discrimination in schools and ensure full and equal access to programs and services regardless of gender identity or other protected characteristics.”
No action was taken at the meeting Monday.
“The initial reaction to start filing court cases with the Department of Justice and turn a 13-year-old or a 12-year-old’s life into a spectacle…that’s just not a very humane thing to be doing,” Kristal Larson with the LGBTQ Center in Grayslake told NBC Chicago.
Larson noted that a child’s ability to participate in sports is pivotal to their mental health.
Dr. Kelsey Leonardsmith, who treats transgender children from several states at the Family Tree Clinic in Minneapolis, and is a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said transgender girls and women are already underrepresented in sports and make up just a tiny percentage of student athletes. She disputed the contention of critics that allowing them to participate in girls sports gives them unfair advantages and puts other girls in physical danger.
“Shutting out trans girls helps no one, and it is profoundly harmful to those it excludes,” Leonardsmith said. “On the surface, it removes opportunities for physical activity, for fitness, for belonging. But on a more fundamental level, it says to trans youth, ‘We do not believe you, you are not real,’ and it is hard to imagine a more damaging message to send to children.”
Cases of transgender athletes in women sports have been at the center of nationwide debates since President Donald Trump took office.
In 2022, the NCAA used a sport-by-sport approach to allow transgender athletes to participate, deferring to an individual sport’s national governing organization, international federation or prior established International Olympic Committee criteria.
The NCAA changed its policy the day after Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 5 that was intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports. That ended its sport-by-sport practice in favor of a blanket policy that only allows athletes assigned female at birth to participate in women’s sports.
The Illinois High School Association “allows participation by students consistent with their gender identity subject to applicable federal and state laws,” though they have urged state officials to communicate with federal authorities to “provide clear direction.”
The Education Department has already opened reviews of San Jose State University volleyball, Denver Public Schools, Portland Public Schools, Oregon School Activities Association and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, among others.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Health
BYU women's basketball guard injures ACL twice
Many people look up to athletes, but people hardly talk about the challenges they go through. Arielle Mackey-Williams tells her story of how her injury impacted her life and mental health. “There’s been a lot of nights where I’m at home trying to go to sleep and I’m just crying myself to sleep because it […]
Many people look up to athletes, but people hardly talk about the challenges they go through.
Arielle Mackey-Williams tells her story of how her injury impacted her life and mental health.
“There’s been a lot of nights where I’m at home trying to go to sleep and I’m just crying myself to sleep because it just really hurts,” Mackey-Williams said.
10% of college athletes experience severe injuries according to the national athletic trainers association.
This is the second time that BYU women’s basketball player Arielle Mackey-Williams has injured her ACL. It has kept her from playing in another season.
“My first ACL injury, I went in to do a backdoor cut and my leg went inwards,” Mackey Williams-said. “The second time I definitely knew I tore my ACL again.”
Mackey-Williams said that staying positive has been more challenging during her second injury.
Newly-named BYU women’s basketball head coach Lee Cummard said he saw the mental toll the injury took on Mackey-Williams.
“On the court, Ari is a fierce competitor,” Cummard said. “The second time around, you can see it wearing on her a little bit more.”
Others close to her, including her mother and former coach, Mary Dawn described her firsthand experience.
“The hardest thing was, I couldn’t simply hug her and let her cry out loud and embrace that pain,” Dawn said.
BYU’s assistant athletic director of clinical mental health, Holly Binks, said athletes face tough challenges physically and mentally when they are dealing with an injury.
“There has to be almost a mourning period where they have to have grief, because they’ve had like a loss of like dreams of playing,“ Binks said.
Binks said that injuries are more than just a physical setback, they can impact scholarships and grades.
Binks and Cummard said that the sports culture is evolving to include a greater focus on mental health.
“Having a optimistic but a real point of view of where they’re at will really help,” Cummard said.
Dawn offered advice on how parents of athletes can support their mental health.
“Be a source of emotional support,” Dawn said. “Validate the feelings and remind them it’s okay to feel upset.”
Mackey-Williams said she has grown throughout her mental health journey.
“I think my injuries helped me just to be more grateful for knowing not only just basketball, but just the little things in life,” Mackey-Williams said.
Mackey-Williams said she has been able to maintain her mental health through this challenge while finding joy in the little things in life.
Health
QUOTES
Story Links Recap: Terps Beat Georgetown Maryland Postgame Quotes “Really proud of our guys. Kind of had a feeling it would feel like a Big Ten game, and that’s really what it was. Obviously give credit to Kevin Warne and Georgetown on a great year. They’ve been playing as hot as anybody and certainly their […]
Maryland Postgame Quotes
“Really proud of our guys. Kind of had a feeling it would feel like a Big Ten game, and that’s really what it was. Obviously give credit to Kevin Warne and Georgetown on a great year. They’ve been playing as hot as anybody and certainly their future is bright there. The crowd was phenomenal. Navy is such a good host for this game. I think I heard the attendance was 17-18,000 and they were awesome. We felt them all game long. Just a gritty performance. Defensively, (associate head coach) Jesse Bernhardt always does a great job with the game plan and these guys do a great job executing it. And then offensively, just kind of grinded. Not our best but when we needed to make plays we did.”
On the defense
“Jesse put together a really good plan. We have really good parts, but really smart parts. We have good athletes down there, but also guys who understand how play, not only on the ball, but off the ball. The combination of having a really good scout team and guys that buy into that role, which is not easy, then guys who know how to play and also a really good game plan put it all together.”
“We played this game like a Big Ten game, like we have played all year. Don’t change anything. It is going to be a grind; don’t flinch. We talked about it with these guys, breaking the game down and each possession matters. Don’t overthink it. We did put a big emphasis on starting strong. The first five minutes for us was huge, because if you watch the Duke game, they came out hot. Everyday at practice, the first five minutes was a focus.”
Jack MacDonald
On the pace of the game
“The prior experiences, playing Rutgers, playing Michigan, playing Penn State and all of the Big Ten teams gave us a great trial run for today. And I think we were ready. I think we knew what was coming with Georgetown; it was going to be a slower game, kind of a rock fight we called it all week. And we were prepared. We knew we were going to have to play a lot of defense, but we love it.”
On the defensive plan
“It starts with coach Bernhardt. We go over all week putting together a game plan and then watching an extensive amount of film as a group and that’s when you get to know the opposing side so well. I think that’s where we get our edge.”
“I definitely felt we left some (goals) out there. I was super thrilled with how we finished the game (offensively). Coach Warne does a great job with their defense and Georgetown as a whole. I have a lot of respect for what he’s doing over there and how that defense plays so tight knit. They slide and recover real well. We found some opportunities late, but we should play better.”
On playing against his brother Jacob
“It is hard to get emotional because we shared a big stage today. I’m super proud of him and all that he is doing at Georgetown and the player he is going to be. He has a bright future. It was a great stage and fun to share it with him. It was cool for my family to experience that, but I’m definitely happy big brother came out on top.”
Health
New training facility opens in Reading for athletes' mental and physical advancement
READING, Pa. – A training facility in Reading is officially open. Athlete’s IQ Institute celebrated their grand opening earlier on Saturday. The facility operates as a space to train athletes in almost every area – mentally and physically. The goal? Help shape them into a “total package” athlete. “Training that we deliver here… …that you […]
READING, Pa. – A training facility in Reading is officially open.
Athlete’s IQ Institute celebrated their grand opening earlier on Saturday.
The facility operates as a space to train athletes in almost every area – mentally and physically.
The goal? Help shape them into a “total package” athlete.
“Training that we deliver here…
…that you need to be for an athlete,” said Avory Cole, lead trainer/performance coach for Athlete’s IQ Institute.
Athletes IQ also partners with local colleges for tutoring and mentorship programs for their trainees.
Health
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month – WTVQ 23 hours ago 6
Health
Why Personal Growth Drives Business Success
About Icebug Icebug is a Swedish footwear brand on a mission to empower people to get outside — regardless of the season. Founded in 2001, the company is best known for its innovative traction technologies, making it a go-to for runners, hikers, and outdoor lovers facing slippery or challenging terrain. As the first outdoor footwear […]
About Icebug
Icebug is a Swedish footwear brand on a mission to empower people to get outside — regardless of the season. Founded in 2001, the company is best known for its innovative traction technologies, making it a go-to for runners, hikers, and outdoor lovers facing slippery or challenging terrain. As the first outdoor footwear brand to become climate positive, Icebug leads with bold sustainability actions, transparency, and a commitment to doing business differently. Headquartered in Jonsered, just outside Gothenburg, Icebug combines nature-first values with cutting-edge design and a deep respect for the planet.
CEO David Ekelund believes this connection to nature is essential for both mental health and in-novative thinking. With mandatory “Wellness Hours” three times a week, all employees spend at least an hour outside — whether walking, running, or simply breathing fresh forest air. It’s part of a bigger shift: a commitment to inner development and new ways of working in a changing world. As Ekelund shares on a walk through the forests of Västra Götaland, breaking with business-as-usual has helped Icebug thrive — from the inside out.
It’s quite difficult to isolate where mental issues are coming from. Is it really because of work? Or can it be a parent who is ill or a child having problems at school? But it’s for sure, that you’re not one person at work and then you’re another person in your private life. We are basically one person.
The underlying assumption is, that people get more dusk worn down at work. They need the weekend or a vacation to rest. I think it’s not a really good way of having it. What if instead, we can make the workplace the place where actual health and well-being are increased? Where people can develop towards their full potential.
David Ekelund gave valuable insights about his vision for the sports industry.
Image credit:
Thomas Plettenberg/Messe München
We know that physical activity also gives mental well-being, but that’s only one part of it. About 3 years ago, we decided that we wanted to work on inner development. This was really a departure from business as usual.
The core idea of business as usual being professional at work. But we all have strong sides and weak sides. And if we go to work, spending a lot of time trying to hide our weak side and always show our strong side, our “better side”, we lose a lot of opportunities to learn. Instead spending a lot of energy doing that, we could use it to develop together.
