00:03Behind the bird call, a silent struggle.
00:07She's getting there but she's not quite recovered.
00:11Magpie Paralysis Syndrome, a neurological condition also affecting butcher birds and mudlarks.
00:18They are paralysed or unable to move their legs or very weak.
00:22Typically we see about a 50% recovery rate but it does take a huge amount of supportive care and
00:28rehabilitation
00:29to get them through to release again.
00:31First detected in 2017, a sharp spike seeing WA Wildlife take in more than 1,000 birds over the last
00:39two years
00:40with cases detected from the mid-west to the south coast.
00:45A year ago from September to January, looking back through the records,
00:50we were having an average of six birds coming through per month.
00:54Researchers from a working group collecting data and inspecting samples
00:59The changes that we're seeing are very, very subtle and they're not what we call non-specific
01:05so they don't necessarily point to just one thing.
01:08They could be a range of different possibilities.
01:12While bird flu and botulism have been ruled out, researchers are testing for viruses and bacteria
01:17with heavy metals and rodenticides also under the microscope.
01:21The focus now shifting to blood parasites and insect-borne viruses.
01:26And while the cause remains unknown, researchers refuse to give up.
01:31We still haven't exhausted all of our avenues.
01:33We've got a lot of good people working on this now and a lot of different avenues that we're investigating.
01:40One of WA's most notorious birds grounded by a mystery illness.
01:44Of course in this time, we're sort of like and more poisonous because of their dramatic
01:45and wumble footsteps.
01:47Number of WA's most unique is these very clear areas of temperature.
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