Bird fally from the sky in Arkansas, fish deaths worldwide still unexplained
Gallery
Dead bird mystery: Carcasses from Arkansas town sent for testing
Officials are still trying to determine exactly what caused nearly nearly 3,000 red-winged blackbirds to tumble from the Arkansas sky on New Year's Eve.
» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY
Washington Post Staff
washingtonpost.com
Thursday, January 6, 2011; 11:23 AM
After thousands of dead blackbirds dropped from the sky over central Arkansas on New Years Eve, reports of mysterious animal deaths began coming in from around the world. Our Melissa Bell asked if this was the beginning of the Aflockalypse?
Dozens dead in Sweden, hundreds washed ashore in New Zealand. Is the world witnessing the end of days or is this just a case of coincidence fueled by wild speculation?
Ever since residents of Beebe, Ark., woke up on New Year's Day to thousands of blackbirds that had dropped mysteriously from the sky, other sudden animal deaths have been reported furiously around the world. In a nearby Arkansas town, thousands of fish washed ashore on Monday. On Tuesday, another 500 blackbirds were found dead in Baton Rouge, La.
Then the story went international. Sweden reported dozens of birds falling out of the sky and New Zealand reported hundreds of dead snapper washing ashore. The Chesapeake Bay has 2 million fish estimated dead.
(VIDEO: Bizarre bird mystery puzzles Arkansas officials)
With conspiracy theorists hard at work explaining these deaths, BlogPost mapped the incoming reports and explained some of the most compelling theories here:
I scoffed yesterday at the rash of dead animals turning up all over the world, blaming the media (guilty!) for focusing too much attention on the phenomenon. I thought I'd ask the readers what they thought was the cause of all the deaths. Their answers ranged from "CIA death ray," to "I don't think it's God; I know it is," and from "It's the internet -- now we get all info from all over the world: toomuchinformationdysmorphia" to "Everything is connected from ocean currents and rivers to migration routes. Birds migrate. Birds eat little fish, etc. Ocean currents carry contaminates to every part of the globe. My theory is this is all connected to the oil spill."
The reports of bird deaths have not subsided, and on Wednesday hundreds more dead birds were found in Kentucky, as AP reported:
Kentucky wildlife officials say several hundred dead birds were found dead in the western part of the state. The grackles, red wing blackbirds, robins and starlings were found last week.
New Year's Eve fireworks have been blamed for the deaths of thousands of blackbirds in central Arkansas. Another 450 birds died this week in Louisiana, likely after hitting power lines or cars.
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources spokesman Mark Marraccini says someone called police about the discovery in Kentucky, and they alerted state officials.
More from the Washington Post
Bookmarks