BOTULISM SUSPECTED AS 2,000 PELICANS DIE.

Byline: Steven J. Gorman Daily News Staff Writer

A naturally occurring bacteria is the suspected cause of an illness that has left 2,000 white and endangered brown pelicans dead and dying on the Salton Sea in Southern California, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported Friday.

Staff from the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, about 160 miles southeast of Los Angeles, have been collecting sick birds and carcasses since the outbreak was identified Thursday, said agency spokesman David Klinger.

Avian botulism, a disease that affects muscle control and regularly recurs in birds, is believed to be the culprit, but scientists are awaiting the results of laboratory tests to confirm the cause of the outbreak, he said.

Between 7,000 and 10,000 white and brown pelicans normally are found during the summer in the vicinity of Salton Sea, a shallow, saltwater lake about 80 miles inland and 235 feet below sea level.

The lake and surrounding marshes in Imperial County provide habitat for a wide variety of water fowl.

Avian botulism typically occurs later in the year, after much of the pelican population has left the area, and primarily strikes ducks and geese, Klinger said.

``If it is botulism, it's starting earlier than normal and hammering pelicans a little harder than normal,'' Klinger said.

Attempts are being made to nurse sick brown pelicans back to health, including development of an anti-toxin to combat the infection, he said.

The brown pelican, driven to the brink of extinction by the pesticide DDT and other contaminants in the 1960s, has been making a steady comeback in recent years but remains listed by the federal government as an endangered species on the West Coast.

``The loss of any members of an endangered species is significant,'' Klinger said, adding that the latest outbreak does not appear to threaten bird populations outside the Salton Sea area.