11 burros found dead at Death Valley National Park from suspected harmful algae at a spring

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (KVVU/Gray News) - Officials at Death Valley National Park have deemed a spring unsafe after 11 burros were found dead nearby.

The feral burros were found dead near Owls Hole Spring in Death Valley National Park, according to a news release from the National Park Service.

Although the cause of death remains under investigation, the park service suspects a harmful algae bloom is to blame for the animals’ deaths.

“I hate to see any animal suffer,” Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in the press release.

The park service said while they have only found dead burros, other animals in the area have likely been affected.

They also reported no pupfish, an endangered species of fish found in Death Valley, were living in the spring.

In a press release, the park service reported a warning sign has been placed at Owls Hole Spring, advising visitors and their pets from drinking or coming in contact with the water.

Visitors were also advised to not handle or allow their pets to handle the carcasses.

Algae and cyanobacteria blooms occur naturally in fresh, salt and brackish water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While not all blooms are harmful, some can be toxic.

The CDC reported harmful blooms are more likely to occur in warm, slow-moving waters that contain high levels of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Environmental changes, such as warmer weather, can also worsen harmful blooms.

Park rangers said the conditions were present in the spring for the formation of a harmful bloom.

They said the water in the spring was stagnant as Death Valley experienced its hottest summer on record this year and burros were known to defecate in and near the spring.

The park said burros are not native to Death Valley. The estimated 4,000 that currently live in the park are reported to be descendants of burros released by miners decades ago.

Reynolds said that the National Park Service is working to remove and relocate the burros out of the park, for “their own safety and to reduce the impacts to native wildlife.”

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