Earth Changes
Thousands of birds inexplicably dropped like rocks from the sky over Australia.
The mysterious catastrophe has taken place over a period of three weeks in Esperance, about 450 miles southeast of Perth. The area was declared a disaster zone by government officials.
So far, authorities are clueless as to the cause. Autopsies on the birds have shed no light.
The main casualties, according to Australian news sources, are wattle birds, yellow-throated miners, new holland honeyeaters and singing honeyeaters. Some dead crows, hawks and pigeons have also been found.
Some birds were seen convulsing when they died.
Chinanews, Jinan, Dec. 19 - Hundreds of seagulls were found dead on the beach of Zhouge Village, eastern China's Shandong Province.
The remains of these seagulls were found on December 16, which still kept white feathers and red claws without any wounds.
LEWISTON - Residents unnerved by the unexplained deaths of dozens of crows in a neighborhood next to the Promenade Mall hope tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide some answers.
To residents, it seems almost as though dead crows were falling from the sky. Damien Perreault, 71, said he disposed of 10 dead crows he found on a walk Monday. That didn't count crows dead in the trees.
Officials are baffled by the unexplained deaths which have affected Australia and the U.S.
Mercury from coal-fired power plants and other sources is absorbed through the environment, concentrating as it moves upward in the food chain. Researchers said the greatest threat to humans comes from eating the fish. In 44 states, residents face varying forms of consumption advisories.
Climate change has resulted in a dramatic decline in the numbers of sandeels - a major part of the staple diet of the porpoises.
Marine scientists have recorded a significant rise in the percentage of porpoise deaths due to malnutrition. They are also becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of the declining sandeel populations on other species such as the bottle-nosed dolphin and the minke whale, believing this could jeopardise the future of Scotland's booming whale-watching sector.