https://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/abs/10.7589/2018-11-267

Tyzzer's disease. Never hear of it. The entire paper on the study will be released soon. Click on the blue PDF.

Read the report....My question....is there anything that can be done to fix the problem? I saved rat carcasses for the Pa Game Commission last season for research purposes. Their biologists were also researching the rat decline problem.

Do you suppose this has any merit or are they only looking for research money?

Tyzzers disease has been named as a likely culprit in threads on this forum several times in the past dozen years. Confirmation in modern biological studies might aid in widespread acceptance of the disease as a probable major cause of recent muskrat population declines. Since the disease can be harbored in vole populations it is unlikely that control of the disease would be easy or perhaps even possible.

Hopefully someone posts what that actually is unfortunately in MY area we have had decades of cold long drawn out springs which have hampered all our small game drastically

Tyzzers disease is the same as "hemorrhagic disease" or "Errington's disease" and is caused by Clostridium piliforme. Famous wildlife biologist, Paul Errington observed it in Iowa muskrats years ago.

That Paul Errington muskrat book is crazy. I'd have never thought one could study and write that much about muskrats. I have it.

No

I think the have a bad case of raptoritis

Something we have now that we didn't in the 80s, hawks and coyote. Another thing I noticed is that every ditch I had rats on then are now clear of any trees and brush. The rats have nothing to hide under or in.