Severe fungal infection blamed for death of Monty the piping plover
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Monty, the beloved piping plover who nested with his partner Rose at Montrose Beach for three years, died of a severe fungal respiratory infection, the Lincoln Park Zoo said Tuesday.
The Lincoln Park Zoo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the University of Illinois Zoological Pathology Program conducted a necropsy on Monty. The organizations found he had died of a fungal infection that led to a laryngitis that restricted his airway.
The fungus that caused the infection has not yet been identified, but it is believed to be environmental in origin.
Monty did not have the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, the Lincoln Park Zoo said in a statement.
Earlier this month, a piping plover monitor at Montrose Beach found Monty gasping for air in distress. The bird passed away soon afterward.
Monty and his partner, Rose, had nested on Montrose Beach going back to 2019. Last summer, they welcomed four chicks.
Samples from the necropsy on Monty's body have been reserved for Dr. Francie Cuthbert and Dr. Sushma Reddy at the University of Minnesota, as part of a genetic study of the Great Lakes piping plover population.
Monty's remains will be given to the avian department at the Field Museum of Natural History to be available for future studies for revival of the Great Lakes piping plover population.