Animals
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Cloud Lightning

Storm kills 10 thousand birds in Jhenidah, Bangladesh


The Independent, Pakistan
Sun, 21 Apr 2013 06:16 UTC
About ten thousand birds of various species were killed when a storm with heavy rainfall lashed them at village Madanpur and Hatfazilpur under Shoilakupa Upazila in the district on Friday night. The birds were living at the branches of Mahogany trees there. As no one from the livestock department visited the spot even after a day, it had created dissatisfaction among the villagers. The dead birds might pollute the environment in the locality, it is apprehended by the locals and health departmental officials.

Even on Saturday morning, large number of birds were found lying there. Shalik, ghughu, bulbuli, tuntuni, crowm, stork, masranga, sprow, babui, suichora and others species were among the dead birds.There were a number of rare species among the dead, some locals said.
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Question

Wales: Worry over marsh horses 'dropping dead like flies'

Richard Youle
South Wales Evening Post
Sat, 20 Apr 2013 05:22 UTC
Horses have been "dropping like flies" on the Loughor Estuary, according to a lifeboatman.

John Edwards said horses have congregated at the marsh near Loughor inshore lifeboat station for years, and knew how to steer clear of the incoming tide, but that a high number of the animals had got stuck in the mud or perished.

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Grim sight bones found near the Loughor Estuary.
The Post has been emailed photographs which are too shocking to print of horse carcasses on the marsh. The photographer, who asked the Post not to name her, also sent this snap (left) of what she says are horse bones at the same location.

The RSPCA is investigating. Swansea Council said the dead animals were on the Carmarthenshire side of the estuary, while Carmarthenshire Council said the area was "a bit of a no-man's land".

Loughor inshore lifeboat station secretary Mr Edwards said: "I don't know what is going on. We have never had these problems before. All of a sudden they are dropping like flies."

Mr Edwards said the lifeboat had launched to help mud-trapped horses, but had to be careful not to scare the animals and make the situation worse.

"Unless they are actually in danger we won't respond," he said.
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Question

Update: More than 12,000 birds crashed in Utah's Dugway proving grounds


The Salt Lake Tribune
Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:57 UTC
The number of eared grebes rescued - and killed - after their Monday crash-landings at the U.S. Army's Dugway Proving Ground was far higher than originally estimated.

Wildlife biologists and volunteers spent Monday and Tuesday gathering 12,800 water birds, carrying the 7,828 surviving birds by pickup trucks to ponds in the region.

The birds were migrating back to the Great Salt Lake for the summer, but apparently became disoriented by snow and fog and mistook wet roads and parking lots for water. Built for water, with legs far to the back of their bodies, they can lift off from the ground only with great difficulty.

An estimated 100 birds were taken to rehabilitation facilities, Dugway spokeswoman Paula Thomas said.

Biologists working under a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were burning and burying the birds that died or were so seriously injured they had to be euthanized.

Comment: This is not the first mysterious or odd event to have happened in recent years at the Dugway proving grounds.

Missing vial of nerve agent shuts down Dugway

US: Did meteor hit near Dugway, Utah?

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Snow Globe

Canada: Reports of many deer dead along Saskatchewan highways


CBCnews
Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:47 UTC
Search for food leads to carnage after long winter

It's always a good idea to keep an eye out for animals such as deer and moose along Saskatchewan highways.

At this time of year the animals are hungry after a long winter of deep snow, and the winter has been longer and harsher than usual this year.

With the snow starting to melt, deer are finding some grass in ditches along the roads.

That is leading to carnage, according to many reports on social media. Drivers say they have spotted unusually high numbers of dead deer in ditches along Saskatchewan's highways.

[View the story "Deer dying in ditches across Saskatchewan " on Storify]
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Question

Australia: Oyster crop hit by unknown disease

Malavika Santhebennur
foodmag.com.au
Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:39 UTC
An unknown flesh-eating disease has killed millions of dollars worth of Pacific oysters in Port Stephens, and has caused financial devastation for many growers.

The Department of Primary Industries said yesterday it was also investigating mysterious deaths of previously unaffected Sydney rock oysters.

The department's scientists are trying to identify the disease to curtail any further damage to the industry.
Image
© news.net
There is concern the incident at Port Stephens, along with the recent Hawkesbury River oyster deaths, may result in an oyster shortage in NSW.

Many growers told the Newcastle Herald the disease, which first emerged in January, had ruined their 2013 winter crop as well as next year's crop.

"It's pretty much wiped me out - it's had a massive impact on the industry," Lemon Tree Passage grower Paul Merrick said.

He has lost 80 per cent of this year's crop, worth $200,000.
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Snow Globe

Enduring winter tough on migratory birds in Great Plains


earthweek.com
Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:20 UTC
A rare sequence of spring snowstorms across the northern Great Plains is causing difficulties and even starvation for some migratory birds.

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© Eric Landwehr, South Dakota State UniversityBirds that normally winter in the Dakotas, like this Junco hyemalis, are having a tough time scavenging for food as winter refuses to end, even in April.
While it's not unusual to get a single snowstorm in April, the weekly storms during late March and the first half of April are taking their toll on wildlife, according to bird expert Kent Jensen of South Dakota State University.

He and others beneath North America's Central and Mississippi migratory "flyways" have found dead robins in their backyards, with the birds emaciated and even having burned up their breast muscles for nutrition in a last-ditch effort to survive.

"The ground to the north in North Dakota and Canada is still frozen, and we're only getting occasional thaws that allow the birds to feed from the ground here in eastern South Dakota," Jensen tells Earthweek.

He said many species are holding back far to the south, but the early-arriving robins have been forced to eat the wax coating of cedar berries to keep their fat supplies up.

Frozen lakes are also holding back migratory waterfowl, which could mean they are using up energy during their unplanned layover that they need for successful breeding this summer, Jensen says.

The fat supplies those birds need for laying eggs high in the Arctic is also being depleted as the birds hold back to the south, waiting for spring to finally arrive.
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Question

238 pigs and 89 dogs "suddenly dead" in Chinese village

Anthony Tao
shanghaiist.com
Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:32 UTC
This is alarming. According to Nandu.com, 238 dead pigs and 89 dead dogs were found in Dongtun village in Luoyang, Henan province yesterday. By all accounts, they died suddenly and at the same time.

Initial tests have ruled out the H7N9 virus as a cause. Thank goodness for that and all, to know the zombie apocalypse has not yet arrived, but the question still remains: why are pigs and dogs dropping dead?

Some are speculating that a nearby chemical plant's gas emissions may have poisoned the animals. "Usually there's a smell," a villager said, "today it was especially bad, really big."

People have also complained about dizziness in the gas's presence.

"Overnight, all the dogs in the village had basically died off," one villager said. "Those that hadn't died were in their last gasps."

Dozens of canines were apparently dumped by the side of the road, which may or may not be better than a river.

An official from Shanhua, the town where Dongtun is based, said the exact cause of this incident is currently under investigation.
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Question

Sea lion strandings climb, scientists still stumped

Megan Gannon
LiveScience
Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:09 UTC
Sea Lions Rehab
© Pacific Marine Mammal CenterThis year, an unusually high number of sea lion pups have stranded on southern California's shores, overwhelming marine mammal rehab centers.
Scientists still don't know why nearly 1,300 sickly sea lions have beached themselves on the shores of southern California since the beginning of the year. However, they think some weird oceanic phenomenon may be blocking off the sea lion pups' source of food, scientists reported today (April 17).

The stranded sea lions - mostly pups born last summer - are typically turning up alive, but severely emaciated, some weighing less than 20 pounds (9 kg) when they should be well over 50 pounds (22 kg), marine officials say.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared an "unusual mortality event" last month in light of the spike in strandings. Since the beginning of the year, 1,293 sea lions have washed ashore from San Diego County to Santa Barbara County.

That's more than five times higher than the region's historical average of 236, averaged from the same period of time (January through April) from 2008 to 2012, said Sarah Wilkin, NOAA's marine mammal stranding coordinator for California.

The problem is most pronounced in Los Angeles County, where 459 strandings have been reported this year as of April 14. During the same period last year, 60 strandings were reported.
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Question

Australia: Another fish kill stinks out Wonnerup

Sharon Kennedy and Barry Nicholls
ABC Australia
Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:21 UTC
An estimated 7,000 fish are dead in the Vasse estuary at Wonnerup

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© Ruslan Kulski - ABC OpenThousands of fish are dead in the Vasse estuary
The latest fish deaths, the third such event in five years, has again called in the question the health of the Busselton waterways.

Low flows, poor water quality and phosphorus are the likely cause of the fish deaths in the Vasse estuary over the weekend, says Dr Kath Lynch of the Department of Water.

Water quality in the estuary is often poor but was notably bad this summer, she says.

Recent rains which washed down nutrients, combined with warm days, created perfect conditions for algae.

As a result, the water was depleted of oxygen, she explains in a nutshell.
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Snow Globe

Snow storm: Sheep death toll reaches 20,000 in Northern Ireland


BBC
Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:55 UTC
More than 20,000 sheep were lost in the recent snow blizzard, and it may be next month before all the dead animals are found and counted.

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Many farmers faced serious dangers as they tried to reach their animals
The news emerged at a meeting of the agriculture committee at Stormont.

It is estimated that almost 800 farms were affected by the severe snow storm.

With snow still lying in some high parts of Northern Ireland, dead animals are still being recovered, but the committee heard that one sheep was found alive 25 days after the blizzard.

An official from the Department of Agriculture told the committee that as of 14: BST on Tuesday, the number of dead animals collected was:

20,179 sheep (including 15,195 lambs)
603 cattle
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