Months after the fact, people are still concerned about, and talking about, the deaths in July of two ravens and a turkey vulture at the Alameda Park Zoo.
"I was shocked and saddened. I was fond of Edgar," zoo director Steve Diehl said Tuesday during an interview in his office. Edgar, one of the ravens, was named after Edgar Allen Poe, author of "The Raven."
Diehl explained that during a severe windstorm, a branch carrying a bee colony dropped and landed on top of the raven exhibit in the Bird of Prey area. The bees stung and killed the three birds, and stung a great horned owl and a Harris hawk, which Diehl said he treated with Benadryl, and they recovered.
"We removed the birds in that area as a precaution, and now we've put them back," he said. "The park has been here for 100 years, and the bees have been here for 100 years. They pollinate our trees and flowers.
"I've been here 27 years," Diehl continued. "I've walked by those bees every day, and we've never had anything like this happen before. I've never had a bee sting. This was an isolated situation, a catastrophic event."
Rob Shepler, of Mayhill, a member of the board of directors of the New Mexico Beekeepers Association, was in Diehl's office. Shepler said he had just heard about the incident Friday while attending the Western Apicultural Society meeting in Santa Fe.
It was reported there by a USDA inspector, who requested anonymity. The USDA has to be informed of deaths of animals and introduction of new animals at the zoo.
"The bees that attacked the birds were probably Africanized bees," Shepler told Diehl. "That you had any birds killed is a matter of concern."
Shepler was also one of the founders of the Southern New Mexico Beekeepers Association.
A revision of the Alamogordo ordinance to allow beekeeping within the city limits is currently under consideration by the city commission. Advocates note that more kinder, gentler European bees will dilute the already identified Africanized bee population, making the city safer for those allergic to bee stings.
European bees and Africanized bees look the same; the only way to differentiate them is genetic testing, which is no longer available at New Mexico State University by state entomologist Dr. Carol Sutherland due to the recent federal sequestration, which eliminated funding.
"All we can do is judge by their behavior," Shepler said. "The Africanized bees came up from Mexico and extended out through the bee population, so some here are highly Africanized. I've worked with colonies captured in Alamogordo and they are scary."
He is frequently called to capture swarms and remove them. He was called to capture a swarm in the Walgreens parking lot, but it left before he arrived. Shepler theorized it could have been the same swarm that invaded the nearby Alameda Park Zoo.
Shepler termed his own European beehives "petting bees, because they are so gentle."
Diehl said he and the zoo "try to promote bees because they are so vital to our environment." He added that Hollywood has built up deaths from killer bees in movies to scare people and sell tickets."When this happened here at the zoo, we were all saddened because we are close to these animals, and we are bee advocates," Diehl said.
Shepler added that last year there was a national loss of 31 percent of bees. This was due to factors ranging from colony collapse disorder and the varroa bee mite infestation; and urbanization and indiscriminate spraying of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, which have been banned by the European Union, but not by the USDA.