What are you really stepping in?

What are you really stepping in?

We are all familiar with the iconic Canada Goose and their gleaming black necks, majestic V-shaped flight formation, and of course green fecal material smeared on the bottom of our shoes.  These common Canadian birds are ubiquitous and can be found almost anywhere there is fresh green grass to eat or food to steal.

But did you know that waterfowl such as geese may harbour bacteria in their feces?  Dr. Nadine Vogt, DVM, is a graduate student in Population Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College interested in learning more about fecal pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni, E. coli, and Salmonella (among others).  She is swabbing fresh fecal samples in order to investigate bacterial load in these birds and potential antibiotic resistance.

This is part of a series of photo essays submitted by the wildlife rotation students at the Ontario Veterinary College and the Ontario/Nunavut region of the CWHC.
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