# 5219
Last week the Internet, and the mainstream media, were suddenly preoccupied with stories of large bird die-offs in Arkansas and Louisiana, along with similar reports in Italy and Sweden.
Suddenly, we had a new conspiracy in town. The coming `Aflockalypse’.
Adding fuel to the firestorm, thousands of dead crabs washed up on the shores of Britain, and millions of fish were found floating belly up in the Chesapeake Bay and in New Zealand.
To some, these events seemed mysterious and somehow connected. Wild conspiracy theories, ranging from UFO death rays to government sponsored `chemtrails’ and the always handy HARRP project were proposed by various websites.
Wildlife experts were quick to caution that animal die-offs like the ones reported happen frequently, although they often go unnoticed.
Causes can range from extreme weather changes, viral and bacterial infections, and starvation to toxins in the environment (including intentional poisoning).
(Note: Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu has yet to appear in North America, so – for now, anyway - it remains an extremely low probability event here. In some parts of the world, however, it must be considered as a possible cause of a bird die-off.)
Sometimes, as in the case of the New Year’s Eve bird deaths in Beebe, Arkansas – man’s activities may be to blame, as is suspected of that night’s fireworks display.
Although perhaps not as entertaining as some of the wild theories floating around the Internet, the USGS has a far more sensible perspective on these wildlife die-offs, which they offered in a press release last night.
This is just an excerpt. Follow the link to read the whole thing.
Wildlife Die-Offs are Relatively Common, Recent Bird Deaths Caused by Impact Trauma
Released: 1/10/2011 4:51:01 PMContact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National Center
Reston, VA 20192
Marisa Lubeck
Phone: 303-202-4765
Large wildlife die-off events are fairly common, though they should never be ignored, according to the U.S. Geological Survey scientists whose preliminary tests showed that the bird deaths in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve and those in Louisiana were caused by impact trauma.
Preliminary findings from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center's Arkansas bird analyses suggest that the birds died from impact trauma, and these findings are consistent with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's statement. The State concluded that such trauma was probably a result of the birds being startled by loud noises on the night of Dec. 31, arousing them and causing them to fly into objects such as houses or trees. Scientists at the USGS NWHC performed necropsies—the animal version of an autopsy—on the birds and found internal hemorrhaging, while the pesticide tests they conducted were negative. Results from further laboratory tests are expected to be completed in 2-3 weeks.
"Although wildlife die-offs always pose a concern, they are not all that unusual," said Jonathan Sleeman, director of the USGS NWHC in Madison, Wis., which is completing its analyses of the Arkansas and Louisiana birds. "It's important to study and understand what happened in order to determine if we can prevent mortality events from happening again."
In 2010, the USGS NWHC documented eight die-off events of 1,000 or more birds. The causes: starvation, avian cholera, Newcastle disease and parasites, according to Sleeman. Such records show that, while the causes of death may vary, events like the red-winged blackbird die-off in Beebe, Ark., and the smaller one near Baton Rouge, La., are more common than people may realize.
Admittedly, running this `official’ explanation instead of embracing one of the more popular (albeit, looney) conspiracy scenarios, probably won’t draw many new visitors to this blog.
But somehow, I think I can live with that.
