The news of approximately 2000 red-winged blackbirds in Arkansas falling dead from the sky on New Years' Eve shocked readers worldwide, but that wasn't the end of it. In the days that followed more mass deaths of birds, fish and other wildlife had been reported from around the globe.
Recent Mass Deaths of Fish, Birds and Wildlife
Numerous additional mass deaths of fish, birds and wildlife occurred within the same week as the Arkansas birds. These include, among many others:
- 100,000 dead drum fish washed up in the Arkansas River
- the bodies of thousands of turtledoves raining down from the sky in Faenza, Italy
- approximately 500 birds found dead in Louisiana
- dead jackdaw birds found in Sweden
- about 80 dead pigeons found on a farm west of Quebec City
- thousands of dead fish in Spruce Creek, Port Orange, Florida
- two million fish dead in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
- Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand beaches filled with bodies of snapper fish
- 40,000 dead crabs in Kent, United Kingdom
Are Mass Wildlife Deaths Normal?
According to a recent Associated Press article, the U.S. Geological Survey has been keeping track of mass deaths of wildlife across the country since the 1970s. Apparently, they're not all that rare, with an average of 163 mass deaths reported yearly to the government. Since mid-2010 there have been 95 mass deaths of wildlife on record.
Possible Reasons For the Mass Deaths of Birds and Fish Worldwide
Many possible theories are being presented for the mass deaths of birds, fish and other creatures recently happening around the world. One of these theories is the movement of the magnetic north pole toward Russia, a natural phenomenon that may fortell the reversal of the magnetic poles from north to south. According to NASA the pole is currently moving at a rate of up to 40 kilometres per year. Another popular theory is that the cold weather portended by this year's La Niña weather pattern is the cause behind the unexplained deaths.
Conspiracy Theories and Apocalypse Predictions for the Mass Wildlife Deaths
With worldwide headlines calling the recent mass deaths an "animal apocalypse," it's no surprise that both conspiracy theorists and religious zealots have their own ideas of what may be happening. Conspiracy theories for the recent mass deaths include it being caused by HAARP, or High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program in Alaska, testing; by a Project Blue Beam misstep; or by activity along the New Madrid Fault Line. Others are offering up their own potential reasons behind the unexplained animal deaths. Pastor David Manning, a controversial religious leader, offers his own unusual Biblical hypotheses for these events in his YouTube videos, calling the deaths "The Global Katrina II."
Bird Deaths, Fish Deaths and Other Mass Deaths
Whether the recent mass deaths of birds, fish and other animals are signs of the end of the world or are simply a natural environmental phenomenon is still a hot matter of debate. In any case, experts weighing in on the matter seem to agree that mass deaths of this scale are rare and until more research is done, it may be difficult to find an explanation.
Source:
The 10 Leading Theories For Dead Birds And Fish. Activist Post. 6 Jan 2011. Retr. 9 Jan 2011.
Ark. Mayor Says Dead Red-Wing Blackbirds Removed. MSNBC. 1 Jan 2011. Retr. 9 Jan 2011.
Fact Check: Mass Bird, Fish Deaths Occur Regularly. CTV. 8 Jan 2011. Retr. 9 Jan 2011.
Mass Bird Deaths Rare, Not Apocalyptic: Experts. Yahoo News. 6 Jan 2011. Retr. 9 Jan 2011.
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