Re: Fresno women dies of hantavirus

Link: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/05/31/3322392/fresno-county-woman-dies-from.html

Sorry to hear about this. Really bad luck.

Is the mice population under control?

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Ohnivy-Drak
Is the mice population under control?

I thought I read something from NPS last summer (though I can't find it now) pointing out that deer mice were native here, and that reducing or eliminating the population wasn't being considered. So far the best solutions seem to be aimed at keeping them from moving in with people.

I wouldn't mind at all seeing more snakes and owls around the valley. If they were to trim the ground squirrel population a bit too, so much the better. No one's said anything about ground squirrels carrying hantavirus but they're attracted to campgrounds and outdoor eating facilities and regularly make a nuisance of themselves.

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gophersnake

I thought I read something from NPS last summer (though I can't find it now) pointing out that deer mice were native here, and that reducing or eliminating the population wasn't being considered.

Bears and mountain lions are native too (and far less common than deer mice), but if either a bear or mountain lion becomes too habituated in regards to humans, the park service has no problem in putting down bear or mountain lion for human safety.

There's absolutely no reason why deer mice that enter human sleeping quarters in the lodging or residential areas of the park shouldn't be treated as vermin by the park service and be exterminated.

There's hundred of square miles of habitat inside Yosemite where deer mice can live without being at risk of being exterminated.

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Only deer mice carry hantavirus in California but other rodents such as the white-footed mice, rice rat and the cotton rat that live in other states can carry the virus. If you go to this website: http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/rodents/ you can see what areas they are native to. Nation wide around 12% of deer mice carry the hantavirus.

It is pretty hard to find areas where the mice don't live so people just have to take precautions.

The article was pulled?