Observation by Harold Okitkun:
There is weird green flesh or something growing in a goose caught a couple days ago near Stebbins. I got these pictures from a friend of mine and I told her I can post these with her permission. She is afraid to cook the bird. My friend said she put the bird in a zip lock and froze the meat.
In a follow up note on 5-20-19, Harold wrote: Good morning Mike, sorry to tell you but my friend who had the snow goose with the growth inside it doesn't have it anymore. Her boyfriend fed it to their dog without her knowing. So no bird to send in, hopefully someone else will turn something similar to what they had. They live about 68 miles North of us and we hunt in the same areas and for the same game, so that is why I reported it for her. Thank you and sorry that the bird couldn't be examined to find out what exactly it was. I will continue to keep my eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary.
Jerry Hupp, Research Wildlife Biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, writes:
Interesting. Not sure what it is. But, based on the fat depots, the bird was still in pretty good condition. May have been an foreign body that been encysted by the bird.
Kathy Burek Huntington, with Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services, writes:
Jerry has a pretty good answer there. There is a lot of fat on the animal. I don’t know what caused that structure but it looks well walled off and quiescent (i.e. inactive). Could have been an inhale or implanted foreign body, an old area of infection (bacterial or fungal), parasite migration tract. With samples of odd things we can try to get answers.
Todd O'Hara, with UAF Wildlife Toxicology Lab writes:
We can follow up on this if you like. Would they be willing to send to UAF?
Mike Brubaker, with Community Environment and Health at ANTHC, writes:
It does not look like the photos are going to provide a definitive answer about this weird structure, and as the bird has now become dog food, the case is closed. We recommend grabbing samples when you think it is needed and can help understand these kinds of anomalies, and of course including local and traditional knowledge in decisions about harvest and food safety. If there is a number of animals showing health problems, we do get considered about infectious or environmental causes. We have shared this observation with the Kawerak Association and Norton Sound Health Corporation as well as with the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Snow goose