Bizarre death of fish and birds in Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Brazil
Following on the heels of thousands of red-winged blackbirds dying in a small Arkansas town, several hundred more mysteriously died farther south in Louisiana.
Officials are trying to determine what killed an estimated 500 of the small birds, who littered Louisiana Highway 1 near Pointe Coupee Parish when they fell out of the sky, according to Baton Rouge’s The Advocate.
Among this new batch of dead birds were several starlings, the newspaper reported.
“We have sent bird carcasses to two individual labs to obtain toxicology reports,” Bo Boehringer, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told the Daily News.
He said it was not clear what had caused the birds to die off, despite random theories including fireworks or hail, as well as the wrath of God and government conspiracies. Boehringer downplayed any connection between the red-winged blackbird deaths in Louisiana to the ones in Arkansas, several hundred miles away. Read the full story at NY Daily News.
Dead Birds and Fish in Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana
Birds fall from the sky and fish wash up on shores. Although in small quantities these natural occurrences are not unusual, the sheer volume of events is worrisome.
Growing Number of Dead Birds and Fish
At this time, there is growing concern that the numbers of dead birds and fish may point to environmental factors that may soon affect other species. Currently there are about 500 dead birds in Louisiana, 5,000 birds in Arkansas as well as reports of numerous dead birds in Kentucky.
Roughly 100,000 dead fish are littering the shores of the Arkansas River and the dying marine life in Chesapeake Bay is measured in the tens of thousands. While overly cold water and perhaps diseases are being blamed for the fish deaths, loud noises from fireworks are thought to be the culprits for the bird deaths. Read the full story here.
