Strange Animal Death Tally Grows
Posted January 6, 2011 2:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The worldwide tally of animals that have died for apparently unknown reasons has grown.
Some 2 million fish washed ashore at Chesapeake Bay in Maryland this week. State environment officials believe the deaths can be attributed to cold-water stress, as water contamination has been ruled out as a cause.
Most of the dead creatures are juvenile spot fish, the Maryland Department of the Environment said Thursday.
Officials in other parts of the United States and around the world have also pointed to the weather and fireworks as possible causes of the mass deaths.
In England, approximately 40,000 velvet crabs, also called devil crabs, washed up along the Kent shore. Smaller numbers of whelk, sponges and anemones have also washed up dead in the area.
Experts there believe the creatures died of hypothermia due to a sudden drop in temperature. A large number of sea creatures died last year and following an investigation, officials determined cold weather was to blame in that case, too.
On Wednesday it was reported that hundreds of dead red snapper, some reportedly missing eyes, washed ashore in New Zealand. The Department of Conservation there believes the weather may have been a factor.
Last week hundreds of dead gizzard shad fish washed up on the shore of the St. Clair river in Sarnia. The Ministry of Natural Resources believes the fish died of temperature shock, which is a normal occurrence but usually happens in the spring.
Thousands of dead fish have reportedly also washed up in Brazil. In Sweden about 50 birds called jackdaws were found dead on street in southern part of the country this week. Experts believe cold weather is a possible cause.
Concern about the apparently coincidental animal deaths started to appear after reports surfaced about some 3,000 red-winged blackbirds falling from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas on New Year’s Eve. There has been speculation that fireworks and/or cold weather may have been to blame.
A few days later approximately 100,000 dead drum fish washed up along the shore of the Arkansas River. Water contamination has been ruled out in that case.
