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Animals Feel Drought
Aired July 22, 2002 - 14:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Forty-nine of the 50 states in the United States are experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions. Climatologists say 36 percent of the country is now in one of the stages of a full- fledged drought, a percentage rarely matched this early in the year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: For some of us, the drought spells water restrictions and brown lawns. For others, devastating wildfires. But what about the animals that live outdoors?
CNN's Kimberly Osias joins us from Cisco, Colorado.
Not only the animals, but a lot of tourism affected too -- Kimberly.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Kyra. Of course, this whole industry, tourism -- boating, kayaking, you name it -- is affected by these record-high temperatures that we've been having.
And believe it or not, Kyra, I'm standing in a marina -- or what was a marina -- just last summer, in fact, this whole area was build, and now look at it. All you can see are some stones, very, very dry soil here, and a buoy doesn't do too much good now, of course.
And you know, one thing is you drink a little bit water, because it is so dry, just to keep yourself hydrated, and very quickly, it all evaporates. And that's just for us, as humans; you can imagine what it's like for the wildlife.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS (voice-over): The sound of flowing water, one not often heard these days since the precious commodity is becoming more scarce...
JEFF BUTLER, COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE: If we keep up with no rain and the heat and what-not, there's going to be all sorts of problems.
OSIAS: ... creating a trickle-down effect throughout the entire food chain.
BUTLER: Well, we are running into problems with our fish and wildlife, both.
OSIAS: No rain means grass can't grow, animals can't feed, sending some foraging for food any way they can.
BUTLER: They use their nose, and they can smell people food.
OSIAS: Elk, deer, and of course, bear are known to bulk-up in the summer, building a layer of fat to keep them alive throughout winter. But these days, scant food is sending some inland, threatening people.
BUTLER: Once we get a bear that's causing a problem and we ear tag him and move him, if he comes back, he is a dead bear.
OSIAS: And the heat is creating troubled waters for fish as well...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The big fish like to live in deep water, so, most of them, the pelicans are getting them, because they have to go up to shallow water.
OSIAS: ... getting trapped there. The problem is so bad that for the first time, some wildlife officials now have full power to close lakes and streams to fishermen. In one extreme case, an entire reservoir full of trout will be drained to help supply a larger reservoir.
JAE TORNQUIST, FISHERMAN: I feel bad, I feel sad, and everybody I have talked to is upset. Everybody is upset about it, especially all of the fishermen.
OSIAS: Water levels keep dropping, and the heat keeps coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we better do some praying.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
That well may be exactly what's needed right now since there are no signs of anything abating anytime soon.
Now, take a look from up above. This is a higher vantage point than where I am standing. And you can see very clearly how far out boats have to go to actually hit water. They have to move this marina almost a quarter mile all the way down, Kyra. So of course, you can see the very, very dramatic effects of this drought.
PHILLIPS: All right, now you've told me a lot about the sod squad. Are they out?
OSIAS: They are out. They are out over a dozen strong. They go out, and the first time, you, of course, get a warning. They are kind in that regard. And they said so far people have been pretty cooperative; as a matter of fact, everybody wants to do their part, what they can do to conserve water. And then after that, after that first warning, you would get some subsequent fines.
PHILLIPS: All right, Kimberly Osias, thank you so much.
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