MASS ANIMAL DIE-OFF: The War On Mother Nature - Dead Cows Are Mysteriously Washing Ashore In Denmark And Sweden Puzzing Everyone; 11 Dead; Cattle Found With Their Ears Cut Off?!

January 11, 2014 - DENMARK & SWEDEN - The carcasses of almost a dozen cows have washed ashore in Denmark and Sweden, puzzling police in the Scandinavian countries.

A Holstein carcass lies washed up on a beach Denmark's Zealand island. Scandinavian police are puzzled
by at least 11 dead cows that have washed ashore in Sweden and Denmark’s southern coasts. 
AP Photo / Polfoto / Niels Hougaard

Since Dec. 29, eight dead cows have been found by people strolling on beaches in southern Sweden and three in Denmark. All the animals had parts of their ears cut off. Investigators suspect this was done to remove the identification tags used to trace the cows.

Danish and Swedish police said Thursday the cows were probably dumped from a ship in the Baltic Sea. They are trying to pinpoint which livestock transports have passed through the waters separating the two countries in recent weeks.

Dumping livestock like that is illegal in both countries. It’s unclear, however, whether the cows were thrown overboard in Danish, Swedish or international waters.

Some of the cows had their back legs tied together with a blue rope, Danish police officer Boje Joergensen said, adding it was probably done to be able to lift the animals up with a crane.

Veterinarians in Sweden found no traces of disease in the animals washed ashore there, Swedish police said.

Police believe the cases are related as the cows were all black-and-white Holsteins. - National Post.

MASS MAMMAL DIE-OFF: 4 Whales Found Dead On A Beach In New Brunswick, Canada?!

November 08, 2013 - CANADA - The carcasses of four whales found beached near Murray Beach Provincial Park near the Confederation Bridge this week have been buried in the sand.

The carcasses of four stranded pilot whales were buried six feet into the sand of a beach near
Murray Park Provincial Park. (Jessica Doria-Brown / CBC)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada officials and representatives from the University of Prince Edward Island examined the whales then the province was called in to dispose of the carcasses.

The four dead whales were buried in the sandy beach near the provincial park and that is raising questions from some.

David Crocker worries what will happen once the carcasses begin to decompose.

"I don't know how far it's buried in the sand, but as it decomposes over the winter and into the summer, it's going to attract a lot of seagulls, lot of flies, and it's gonna be really yucky on that beach because the mammals are not buried close enough to the embankment and deep enough," he said. "So it's gonna be a mess there when the summertime comes.

"If you don't smell it and you don't see it, I'll be very surprised," said Crocker.

Natural Resources officials say the carcasses were buried about two metres into the sand and that is the best way to dispose of them to protect the shoreline.

Crocker says beached whales are not a common sight in the area. He saw the carcasses before they were buried.

"There was a lot of damage around the head and lower part of the female's body," he said. "It looked like it possibly got hit by cruise ships or freighters in the area," he said.

"To see a mammal lying on the beach like that, it's sad."

Officials believe the damage to the whale carcasses was likely caused by waves brushing their bodies against nearby rocks.

The whales were two females and their offspring. Female long-finned pilot whales reach a length of 5.5 metres and weigh up to 1,300 kilograms.

Pilot whales are notorious for becoming stranded, especially in groups. There are a number of theories for the behaviour, including being confused by geomagnetic anomalies or following a sick member of their group who became stranded. - CBC.

MASS BIRD/ANIMAL DIE-OFF: Over 170,000 Birds And Over 4,000 Livestock Killed From Flooding In Odisha, India!

October 24, 2013 - INDIA - Apart from 44 human lives, the twin calamities of cyclone and floods had taken a toll on 4,393 animals and 1,70,970 birds including chickens in Odisha, official sources said today.

"1,487 big animals including cattle and 2,906 small animals like goats were killed in the cyclone and floods," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra said.

Ahead of the calamity, the state government had evacuated 31,062 cattle, but it was not possible to shift all animals and birds from five km of the sea shore, he said.

Replying a question, the SRC said 533.25 MT of cattle feed have been distributed in the 17 calamity hit districts.

Animal and bird carcasses were disposed by volunteers of Anandmarg, Fisheries and Animal Resource Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said, adding 13 mobile teams comprising veterinary doctors have been sent to the affected districts to monitor the health of cattle and birds.

This apart, Mishra said the state government has set up 224 mobile medical teams which have so far treated 10,552 animals in different districts. - Business Standard.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Invasion Of Crickets - Plague Of Millions Of Crickets Overwhelms Oklahoma Towns?!

September 09, 2013 - UNITED STATES - If bugs make you squeamish, be thankful you don't live in Oklahoma.

Swarms of crickets have invaded the Sooner State recently, prompting grossed out Oklahomans to share photos of the harmless, chirping insects.

Oklahoma State University entomologists say a combination of heat and drought this summer has fueled the cricket invasion, reported NewsOn6. Yet there actually fewer crickets than last year.

“These outbreaks seem to occur after periods of prolonged dry weather in spring and early summer followed by rainfall in July and August,” said OSU's Rick Grantham in a university press release. “Extensive soil cracking may be an important factor.”

One exterminator told KRMG, "This time of year is their mating season." The invasion, which began in late August, may last as long as eight weeks.

Another expert told KTUL that the insects will feed on each others' carcasses, so residents should avoid stomping on them.


WATCH: Cricket plague overwhelms Oklahoma towns with millions of insects.

One upside to the invasion? Male crickets' chirps can serve as a crude thermometer.

According to KOCO meteorologist Brad Sowder, the number of chirps a single cricket makes in 14 seconds, plus 40, is "very close to the actual air temperature." - Huffington Post.

MASS BIRD DIE-OFF: Dead Birds Mysteriously Fall "Like Raindrops" In Winnipeg's North End?!

August 08, 2013 - CANADA - Animal experts are trying to figure out what may have killed dozens of black birds that fell from the sky in Winnipeg's North End on Wednesday.

Conservation officers have picked up more than 50 dead birds near the intersection of King Street and Dufferin Avenue, while the Winnipeg Humane Society took in 11 birds that were still alive.

Erika Anseeuw, the humane society's director of animal health, said all the living birds were reasonably bright and active, although they cannot stand or fly.

The birds will be euthanized and sent to a pathology lab for autopsies.

Anseeuw would not speculate on what exactly may have killed the birds, but she suspects they may have accidentally gotten into something.

"My suspicion is this is what it's going to be rather than any kind of apocalyptic foretelling of birds falling from the sky," she said in an interview with CBC Radio's Up to Speed program.

Possible factors may include exposure to disease or toxins, Anseeuw said.

'Falling out of the trees'

People in the area told CBC News hundreds of black birds — possibly grackles — began flocking in a "bizarre manner" atop vehicles, in the trees and near businesses starting at around 7:30 or 8 a.m.

"There was probably, I would say … almost up to the thousand birds in the trees, and then I was looking up and then one fell right in front of me," said Tanya Lee Viner.

Susan Tiganagis, who works at a Main Street chip shop, said she saw a "blanket of black" in the lane behind the store.

"My husband said, like, 'This is a Hitchcock movie.' It's crazy!" Tiganagis said.

"They were just dizzy. They didn't know where they were going. I've never seen them act like that," she added.

Later that morning, dozens of birds started dropping from the sky. The streets near the intersection of King and Dufferin became littered with bird carcasses.

"They were literally falling out of the trees and they were still dying," Tiganagis said.


 WATCH: Dead birds fall 'like raindrops' in Winnipeg's North End.

"You couldn't step anywhere without stepping on a bird."

Workers at a nearby community services agency said they saw dozens of birds falling from the sky at around 10:30 a.m.

"It was like raindrops falling," said one employee.

The workers said they called the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba Conservation and Environment Canada to see if anyone would investigate what happened.

Finally, a passing police officer called conservation officers and authorities arrived on Wednesday afternoon to pick up the deceased birds. - CBC.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Hundreds Of Dead Fish Found In Bristol Pond, Connecticut, America?!

May 12, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Hundreds of dead fish were discovered in a pond in Bristol Thursday.

Dozens of dead fish were found in this pond in Bristol's Page Park on Thursday.
NBCConnecticut.com

Bristol Parks officials and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to Page Park after someone called to report the dead sun fish floating on the surface of the pond.

Experts from DEEP classified the occurrence as a natural kill.

"The sun fish right now are spawning. When they go into spawning, they are in close proximity to each other," said Don Mysling, Senior DEEP Fisheries Biologist.

During spawning, the fish don't eat and become weak. They can get small cuts and are susceptible to illness.

"Virus or bacteria can spread quite rapidly from one individual to another," Mysling said. "So it's not an unusual occurrence."

Bristol work crews gathered some of the dead fish to keep the area looking clean. Scavengers like raccoons or turtles will take care of the rest of the carcasses, experts said. - NBC Connecticut.