Walcher: Feel better now?

Last week’s column about wolves carrying coronavirus touched a nerve with some readers, concerned about the current epidemic. One took me to task about scientific accuracy, so it makes sense to clarify it. To be sure, I get taken to task a lot for the views expressed here, and mostly it’s rewarding to know someone is reading. I’ve even been told a national environmental organization monitors this space, and occasionally pays people to respond with its carefully crafted talking points.

This, however, was from a scientist I’ve known for years, one whose credentials are beyond question, and whose opinion I greatly respect. He assures me that “There is no evidence whatsoever that wolves carry COVID-19,” the specific coronavirus so much in the news lately. As he says, “There is a great diversity and many species of coronaviruses in nature.” Indeed, those include hoof-and-mouth disease, which infects deer, elk, cattle, and sheep; Canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV); and Pantropic canine coronavirus. Wolves are also common carriers of bubonic plague, hydatid disease, and alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a disease caused by tapeworms found in wolves, foxes, and coyotes. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta says it causes tumors in the liver, lungs, brain, and other organs that, if left untreated, can be fatal. I don’t know anybody who wants more of that in Colorado, either.