| The Magazine of the CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES |
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Letters to the Editor Clear Lake Remembered My sister, who lives in Oroville, sent me the Spring 2003 issue. I was born (1925) and raised in Lake County, but live on Lummi Island, one of the lesser known San Juan Islands seven miles west of Bellingham. As far as I know Juliane Poirier Locke's article was factual but for the number of guests that could be accommodated at Bartlett Springs. My first memory of visiting Bartlett Springs was about in 1935 when I was there with my family. The only resident was a caretaker. The buildings were in need of repair, but as I recall there were not anywhere near enough to accommodate 5,000 guests. The figure should be more like 500. My father, who was born in Lakeport in 1898, told me that guests came up from San Francisco by train to Hopland and then took stagecoaches over the hill to Lakeport, were taken across the lake by steamer and then again by stagecoach to Bartlett Springs. I question the title of the article. Clear Lake has
not been forgotten by people who have moved there. When I graduated from
Lower Lake High School in 1943, the school had about 100 students. Today
it has over 1,000. If this is an indication of growth in Lake County it
has not been "forgotten." Locke mentioned Henry Mauldin. He
was a distant relative on mine and I recall him visiting with my family
many times and spinning tales about the "History of Lake County."
In fact I think he wrote a book. Clayton Wray replies: It is possible that someone added a zero in the records, because you're right, 5,000 does sound a bit amazing. Gorillas at Risk Pamela Turner's important article on disease in wild gorillas (Summer 2004) gives the strong impression that the deaths of mountain gorillas in the wet season of 1988 in the Virunga Volcanoes were caused by new exposure to human measles, and that further death was prevented by veterinary intervention. The vets immunized 65 gorillas, Turner wrote, and "disaster was averted." Transmission of disease from humans (or their livestock) to wildlife is always a danger, particularly when we get close to the wildlife, and the wildlife is closely related to us-as is the case with gorillas visited by tourists. But not all diseases in wild populations are introduced by humans. Wildlife suffers from wild diseases. And Yale University's David Watts' analysis of the records of the Karisoke Research Centre, established by Dian Fossey, shows that an 'epidemic' of wet season respiratory illness and deaths is the norm in the Virungas, most of which is over 8,000 feet in altitude (International Journal of Primatology, 19, 929-948). So, not only do we still not know whether in fact any of the deaths that prompted the immunization campaign were the result of measles, but such a peak of mortality might be the norm. Yes, human infection could exacerbate the situation, but we actually have no idea whether a disaster was averted. The measles inoculation by the Park authorities and
the vets was a courageous decision. But in the excitement of hands-on
management of wild animals, let us never forget the cardinal rule of interventions,
"First, do no harm." Sandy Harcourt replies: Thank you for your comments on the dangers of human-gorilla disease transmission. Gorillas do indeed suffer from natural diseases, and my article notes how difficult it is to distinguish between a "natural" gorilla disease and one transmitted to gorillas by humans. There is no definitive proof that the 1988 respiratory disease outbreak among mountain gorillas was due to human measles. However, according to Linda Lowenstine, Professor of Veterinary Pathology at the University of California, Davis, "there was good circumstantial evidence of measles" (Proceedings of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, 1991, pp. 192-199). Lowenstine and others in the field felt the pathology results and the alarming virulence of the disease clearly justified giving measles vaccinations. Combating a deadly disease often requires taking action before all the data are available. In this case, the risks of vaccinating were considered minimal, while the risks of not acting were frightening. There are also two problems with the captions of my article "Gorillas in our Midst." The woman with Mike Cranfield (page 12) is Felicia Nutter, not Lynne Gaffikin, and the photo was taken in Rwanda, not Uganda (which is where Bwindi is). On page 13, the statement that "Gorillas that stroll outside the national park are vulnerable to poaching and injuries from snares" is incorrect, as the poaching (of which snares are a part, since people are setting the snares to poach antelope) occurs inside the parks, not outside. Gorillas that stroll outside the park are vulnerable to diseases they pick up from humans, such as scabies mites in old clothes. By His Hat You Shall Know Him Imagine my pain when after writing a glowing letter on behalf of Robert Drewes in which I praised his ecumenical spirit towards all scientific tribes, I read a disparaging comment about botanists at the very front of his article ("Angst Aloft," Summer 2004). They are accused of wearing ridiculous hats. I reel from this unjust thrust. The only biologists I know who wear silly hats are birders. They like huge billed caps with appendages draped over their necks. Like many, Drewes probably feels botanists are weak, defenseless folk presenting perfect targets for jibes and jokes. It is true we do not appear half naked and wrestle huge serpents for the amusement of carnival crowds, but we do toil with great purpose for the advancement of science. Watson Laetsch replies: I feel your pain, and perhaps I have been insensitive to the delicate, easily-bruised nature of the botanical community, especially with regard to sartorial matters. |