Animals
S


Fish

Trapped in ice, 'thousands' of fish die in Detroit River

Frances Willick
The Windsor Star
Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:08 UTC
Image
© Nick BrancaccioFish appear to be trapped by ice flows on the Detroit River near Windsor's Alexander Park at Riverside Drive East and George Avenue Thursday Jan. 20, 2011. Dead fish can be seen with thousands of live fish schooling just below the surface.

Residents in Riverside are concerned about what they say is a major fish kill in the Detroit River.

Andre Mailhot was out walking his Jack Russell terrier in Alexander Park - a municipal park that runs along Riverside Drive roughly between Strabane and George Avenues - on Tuesday when he saw "thousands and thousands" of dead fish floating in the water.

"I couldn't believe it. As far as I could see, I could see all those little white spots," Mailhot said. "They were just coming down the river like somebody threw them in the water."
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Hourglass

First dead birds, then dead fish ... now crickets


MSNBC
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:50 UTC
dead crickets
© Unknown

A virus has killed millions of crickets raised to feed pet reptiles and those kept in zoos.

The cricket paralysis virus has disrupted supplies to pet shops across North America as a handful of operators have seen millions of their insects killed.

Some operations have gone bankrupt and others have closed indefinitely until they can rid their facilities of the virus.

Cricket farms started in the 1940s as a source of fish bait, but the bulk of sales now are to pet supply companies, reptile owners and zoos, although people also eat some.

Most U.S. farms are in the South, but suppliers from Pennsylvania to California also raise crickets.

Comment: A virus?
"However, biologists say these mass die-offs happen all the time and usually are unrelated"
The above article certainly does it's best to alleviate any concerns people may have with these animal mass-death events, but are they all unrelated? With more information and study, time will surely tell..

Dead birds rain down on towns half a world apart

Dead birds found in Koroneia Lake, Greece

Dead Birds in China: Birds continue to fall around the world - may be a precursor to reversal of poles

Mystery as thousands of dead birds fall from sky in Australia

Romania: A Second Wave of Dead Birds

New Zealand: Mystery as sparrows drop dead

Hundreds of dead penguins wash up on Brazil shores

More mass animal deaths: Hundreds of fish meet an icy end in a frozen pond in Manchester

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Bad Guys

Japanese Dolphin Slaughter Caught on Video


3 News, New Zealand
Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:56 UTC
Dolphin Slaughter
© 3 News, New ZealandIn this screenshot from YouTube, a fisherman is seen wrestling a bleeding dolphin.

New footage shot in the small Japanese town of Taiji shows dolphins are still being slaughtered inhumanely and in mass quantities, despite assurances from authorities the annual hunt no longer used such techniques.

The video, shot by US group Save Japan Dolphins, was shot on Tuesday and uploaded to YouTube.

It appears to disprove claims dolphin hunting was made more humane in the wake of 2009's documentary on the hunt, The Cove, which exposed the brutal methods used to kill around 1500 dolphins every year.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Australian marine science student Nicole McLachlan, who is in Taiji: "One of the hardest things I have witnessed here is the distress and anguish of these animals during a slaughter... ''And today some were taken under the tarps and killed while the rest of their family remained in the waters nearby.

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Eye 1

12 Pelicans Dead, 100 Sick In Mayport


News4Jax.com
Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:28 UTC
pelican
© news4jax.com

Mayport, Florida -- Bird experts in Jacksonville are trying to figure out what killed a dozen pelicans in Mayport and sickened more than 100 others.

The recent deaths come just weeks after the mysterious deaths of thousands of birds falling from the sky in Arkansas.

Cindy Moseling, who's been caring for and rehabilitating birds at Bird Emergency Aid and Kare Sanctuary on Big Talbot Island for decades, said she has seen her feathered friends die for various reasons, but is especially concerned this time.
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Black Cat

Mysterious Bird Deaths Investigated Near Dacono


CBS 4
Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:09 UTC
dead,bird,colorado
© credit: Stacia ShaneDead Bird Found Near Dacono

Dacono, Colorado - Colorado is now on the list of states where birds are mysteriously dying.

CBS4 You Reporter Stacia Shane sent in pictures of dozens of dead birds she found on I-25.

The birds were found near Dacono.

More than one hundred birds were found and most of them were under trees.

Health investigators picked up the birds and will try to determine how they died.
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Wolf

Yakutia: Russians hunt down rumoured 400-strong wolf pack


Herald Sun
Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:27 UTC
wolf pack
© Unknown
A rumoured 400-strong pack of wolves that has slain 30 horses and is said to pose a threat to human life has sparked fear in the northeastern Russian region of Yakutia.

Hunters have been dispatched to deal with the beasts, state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported, and a single pelt would be met with a reward of 10,000 roubles ($335).

"We have gathered 24 hunting parties to patrol the neighbourhood on snowmobiles. We also set traps. Using poison against wolves is forbidden though. When daytime becomes long enough, the hunters will shoot the predators from helicopters," said a spokesman for the administration of the Verhnoyarsky region, where the wolf pack lives, as cited by Interfax news agency.
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Cow Skull

Preliminary Results Show Pneumonia As Cause Of Mass Cattle Death


Channel 3000
Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:53 UTC
Amherst, Wisconsn -- Preliminary results show acute interstitial pneumonia is to blame for a mass death of cattle outside of Wausau.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Veterinary Diagnostic Lab is studying tissue samples from two of the 200 dead Amherst steers.

The steers all came from one farm, and while the lead veterinarian said the preliminary results pointed to pneumonia as the cause of death, associate lab director Peter Vanderloo said nothing is being ruled out until the final tests are completed.

"We can approach the problem both from looking at what's going on microscopically in the animal, to identifying a pathogen, viral or bacterial, or looking for a toxin that might be causing deaths," Vanderloo said.
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Wolf

Wolves return to Moldova for first time in 40 years


RIA Novosti
Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:41 UTC
Image
© WikipediaWolves return to Moldova for first time in 40 years
Wolves have returned to the territory of Moldova after 40 years of their absence, with more than 20 predators seen in several areas of the country, Moldovan Deputy Environmental Minister Lazar Chirica said on Wednesday.

He added that the appearance of wolves should not cause panic among local residents as no cases of attacks have been reported yet.
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Attention

The loyal dog who refuses to leave his owner's muddy graveside as Brazil mudslides death toll tops 630


The Daily Mail
Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:15 UTC
After the deluge of photographs showing devastated landscapes, this scene is one which perhaps sums up the loss floods have brought to Brazil.

As the mudslides death toll hits 630, a loyal dog refuses to leave the muddy graveside of its owner.

Leao cuts a pitiful figure beside the grave of Cristina Maria Cesario Santana, who died in Teresópolis, one of the areas hardest hit by last week's natural disaster.

Renewed rainfall was slowing rescue helicopters today in south-east Brazil as officials focused their attention on the survivors they could reach more immediately, mapping out a plan to get people living in tents in the short term.

Image
© Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesVigil: Leao sits for a second consecutive day next to the grave of his owner Cristina Maria Cesario Santana
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Attention

US: More dead birds found, this time in Scottsboro, Alabama

Stephen McLamb
Waff
Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:52 UTC
Dead blackbird
© WaffDead blackbird

More dead birds are found, this time in a suburban Scottsboro neighborhood.

A sample of 15 birds was sent to Auburn University. The remainder were picked up and discarded. Officials say this could just be something that happens naturally in nature.

It was Monday afternoon around 1:00pm along Morning Glory and Golden Rod Drives that the dead blackbirds were found. Many dead blackbirds.
"We estimate between 50 and 100," said Jackson County Emergency Management Agency Director Victor Manning.
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