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Archive for the ‘Mass Animal Deaths’ Category

Mystery Horse Virus Panics Casey Owners in Australia

04/06/2011 Leave a comment

BY KYLIE ADORANTI – “A FATAL mystery equine virus has caused panic among Casey horse owners.

But local vets are urging people to remain calm.

The Australian Veterinary Association last week issued a warning to owners following the deaths of 15 horses from an unidentified neurological illness in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

The cases are still under investigation, but AVA president Dr Barry Smyth said the deaths were believed to be the result of a mosquito-borne virus.”  Read more.

 

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Sea Turtle Deaths Continue to Climb in the Gulf

04/05/2011 Leave a comment

By Rocky Kistner – “Sea turtles continue to wash ashore along the Gulf, forcing the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to scramble and figure out what is causing the spike. Last week, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Huffington Post were first to publish blogs about the sea turtle deaths in Mississippi…

Like the dolphin strandings this year, it’s likely that many more turtles have died and will never be found. A recent study of dolphin deaths showed the true number of mortalities is probably 50 times what is recovered. As of Friday, NOAA says recent deaths of sea turtles, all of which are included on the Endangered Species list, include 6 in Alabama, 10 in Louisiana, and 47 in Mississippi.” Read more.

 

Categories: Man-Made Disasters, Mass Animal Deaths

Hundreds of Penguins Killed After Massive Oil Spill

04/03/2011 Leave a comment

“SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN — On an island chain located halfway between Africa and Argentina, local authorities say a massive penguin rescue operation is under way.

A mix of island officials and resident volunteers are struggling to save tens of thousands of Northern Rockhopper penguins threatened by an oil spill in the remote stretches of the south Atlantic, roughly 1,500 miles west of Cape Town, South Africa.

The islands’ conservation director said at least 300 penguins have died after a cargo ship leaked thousands of tons of heavy oil, diesel fuel and soya bean near Nightingale Island, a British territory part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago.”  Read more.

 

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Raining Dead Birds in Forest Hill, Michigan

04/01/2011 Leave a comment

By LINDA GITTLEMAN – “The first time Kelly Brecht of Forest Hill found seven dead birds in her yard last year, she freaked.

‘I thought it was a sign from God that I was being bad,’ she said. ‘I like birds, I have bird feeders. I was really freaking.’

This year, within the last few weeks, she’s had ‘triple, quadruple the number of dead birds. And stray cats are opening them up and eating them.’

One neighbor cleaned up two garbage bags full of the dead birds, she said.

They are all starlings and they aren’t the most popular of the species.” Read more.

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Gulf Coast Residents Dismayed as Effects of Oil Spill Continue

04/01/2011 Leave a comment

By SABRINA CANFIELD – “GRAND ISLE, La. (CN) – A billboard on Highway 1 says: Devastating Spill, Devastating Feelings. Inside the Gulf Coast Claims Facility building on the far end of Grand Isle, about 60 people have turned out for a National Resource Damage Assessment public scoping meeting. ‘You talk about 18 months or so before we get started,’ a resident tell trustees. ‘That’s a long time for us who live here, while our environment and animals are dying.’

‘We have a huge problem,’ Beverly Armand, continues. ‘We have to stop denying it. We can’t fix the problem if we deny it is there.’

The National Resource Damage Assessment, or NRDA, is being conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Department of the Interior, and the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.”  Read more.

 

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Dead Fish Fill Missoula Duck Pond, Montana

03/31/2011 1 comment

By Skylar Browning – “Visitors to the duck pond on the south side of town will find a pretty gross scene: more dead fish than actual ducks.

Roughly 50 dead fish are visibly floating on the surface of the small pond. Neighbors first noticed the issue and reported it to Missoula Parks and Rec yesterday. This morning, Parks and Rec recovered one of the fish and sent it to Fish, Wildlife and Parks for testing.

‘We don’t know what caused it. We don’t even know what kind of fish it is,’ says Morgan Valliant, the city’s conservation lands manager. ‘Right now, we don’t know much except that they’re there.'”  Read more.

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths

Around 300 Fish Found Dead in Alexandria Lakes, Minnessota

03/31/2011 Leave a comment

“ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (KSAX) – Around 300 dead fish were found in Lake Agnes and Lake Henry earlier this month in open water areas after ice had melted. But both residents and experts said they’re not sure why.

‘All winter long, I’ve been fishing the lake (Henry), and I ran into a situation where we had a four to six foot column of fish, and all of the sudden, they disappeared. I could not find a fish on the lake,’ Lake Henry resident and fisherman Rick Colden said.

Colden isn’t the only one who’s had a hard time on the lakes, as more than 2,000 anglers failed to catch a fish at a tournament on the adjoining Lake Agnes on Feb. 12.”  Read more.

 

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths

Swans, Ducks, Turtles Found Dead in Australia

03/31/2011 Leave a comment

By Laura Brodnik – “THE bodies of 24 Pacific black ducks were found in and around Lake Kimberley at Banora Point on Tuesday.

The North Coast office of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) received two calls advising of the duck deaths and has launched an immediate investigation.

A DECCW North Coast spokesman said two black swans, two moorhens, some turtles and water dragons had also been reported as being dead or sick.

‘These two reports are the only reports of this nature received in the Banora Point and Tweed region,’ the spokesman said yesterday.

‘The department has staff investigating this incident today.'”  Read more.

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths

Second Fish Kill in as Many Months Discovered in Australia

03/30/2011 Leave a comment

By Ken Warren – “DEAD mullet have been found floating on the surface of a Taree waterway for the second time in less than two months.

The fish could be seen at the wetland near Nulama Village at Taree North yesterday, also the site of a similar fish kill in February.

The heat and subsequent loss of oxygen from the water was blamed on that occasion but does not seem likely this time due to the much milder weather conditions.

Some of the fish were found on the banks of the wetland, suggesting they may have jumped from the water.”  Read more.

 

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More Dead Sealife Continues to Plague U.S. Beaches

03/29/2011 1 comment

By Elena Arteaga -“ALABAMA— Months after the hundreds of birds fell dead from the sky and after thousands of dead fish, crabs, sardines, dolphins, and whales washed ashore worldwide, more dead fish washed ashore in Alabama, and a dead whale washed ashore in Virginia.

There’s still no cause for the hundreds of dead fish that were found dead along the gulf shores over the weekend. They were also found along the gulf state pier Saturday morning. Park officials said it was unusual to see spade fish in that area this early in the year. The dead sigh spanned about three miles of shoreline.”  Read more.

Categories: Man-Made Disasters, Mass Animal Deaths

Sea Turtle Deaths Anger Mississippi Residents

03/29/2011 Leave a comment

By Rocky Kistner – “As a resident of coastal Mississippi for more than 30 years, Shirley Tillman is used to seeing a few drum fish, sea gulls or jelly fish wash up on nearby sandy shores. It’s a fact of life living by the sea. But in the past few weeks Shirley has come across something she’s never seen before; dead sea turtles washing up on beaches near spring break vacationers.

They are part of a growing number of dead fish, animals and birds she and other Mississippi residents have photographed washing in with the tides in recent weeks. For Shirley, a trip to the beach no longer provides the same relaxing refuge as before.

‘It’s very upsetting,” says Shirley, a grandmother and wife of a Pass Christian home builder. “I have never found anything like this until after the oil spill. It used to be if you found a dead dolphin or turtle it was front page news around here. Now it’s no big deal.'”  Read more.

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Deadly White-Nose Syndrome Threatens Bats in Ohio

03/28/2011 2 comments

“By Kristine Gill – Ohio bats are happily hibernating, but a fatal syndrome targeting the winged mammals could soon strike.

White-Nose Syndrome, which leaves a fungus on the nose and wings, has already killed more than 1 million bats in the northeastern United States including Pennsylvania and Indiana, as well as parts of Canada.

‘It’s knocking on Ohio’s door right now,’ said Greg Turner, an endangered-mammal specialist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Lawrence County has four confirmed sites just miles from the Ohio border.

Jennifer Norris, a research wildlife biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, is among researchers surveying caves and mines across Ohio as part of yearly tests to map the spread since the syndrome was first detected near Albany, N.Y., in 2006.”  Read more.

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