mysterious animal deaths

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Starfish Turning Into &#39;Goo Piles&#39;

 Starfish 
 Turning Into 
 'Goo Piles' 
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Nov 2, 2013 12:16 PM CDT

Starfish Turning Into 'Goo Piles'

Researchers not sure what's causing 'sea star wasting syndrome'

(Newser) - A mystery in the waters along the East Coast—and the West: Starfish are deteriorating, shedding limbs and ending up as "goo piles," which is the actual term used by a taxonomist with the Vancouver Aquarium. "That's as technical as it gets right now," she...

Dolphin Deaths Skyrocket Off East Coast

Reports cite 7 times more deaths than usual in July

(Newser) - Bottlenose dolphins off the East Coast are suffering what officials have dubbed an "unusual mortality event." There have been 124 strandings reported between Virginia and New York since July, with 89 occurring in that month—a figure some seven times higher than July's usual death rate, the...

Die-Off of Manatees, Dolphins Baffles in Florida

Hundreds have died since last July in Indian River Lagoon; pelicans also hard-hit

(Newser) - Hundreds of manatees, dolphins, and pelicans are dying in Florida's Indian River Lagoon, and authorities don't know why. Some of the manatees—111 have perished since last July—have died so quickly, they still have food in their mouths, Wired reports; they appear to have died from shock...

Racehorses Are Dropping Dead in California

17 confusing deaths since July

(Newser) - Racehorses that die in California are subject to one of the country's most comprehensive post-mortem reviews, and what those reviews are finding—or not finding—is unsettling. Racehorses have been dropping dead in the state, and no one knows why, reports the New York Times . Nineteen died in in...

Now 1K Dead Ducks Pulled From China River

As number of dead pigs passes 16K

(Newser) - First Shanghai pulled thousands of dead pigs from one of its rivers; now another river in China is experiencing a similarly disturbing problem. One thousand dead ducks have been pulled from Nanhe river in Sichuan province, the BBC reports. Residents found the duck carcasses inside more than 50 woven bags...

Peru: Climate Change Behind Dead Animals?

Dead dolphins, birds could have been affected by warming waters

(Newser) - Peru may finally have an answer for the 5,000 birds and nearly 900 dolphins that have died on its northern coast: climate change. As waters warm, food supply is disrupted, says the country’s deputy environment minister. A weather expert also confirms warmer waters due to El Niño...

Peru: Steer Clear of Beach Til We Solve Animal Mystery

Government claims virus, starvation likely causes of dolphin, bird deaths

(Newser) - Peru insists that the hundreds of dead dolphins that have washed up on its coast are not related to the hundreds of dead seabirds that also recently began turning up. But no definitive cause has yet been released, three months after the government started testing the dolphins, and some are...

Cape Cod Awash in Mass Dolphin Strandings

177 dolphins beached in past month

(Newser) - Over the past month, 177 dolphins have stranded themselves on Cape Cod , nearly five times the average of a typical full year, and 124 of those have died. As researchers struggle to understand what's behind the mass beachings, the International Fund for Animal Welfare works to help the dolphins...

Dead Fish Blanket Norwegian Beach— Then Disappear

Herring appear on New Year's Eve then vanish

(Newser) - First more dead blackbirds in Arkansas, now dead herring in Norway. Tens of thousands of fish blanketed the beach in Kvaenes, a town located north of the Arctic Circle, on New Year's Eve, reports the AP . A marine researcher speculates that they were forced ashore in a bid to...

Ark. Blackbird Die-Off Was Deliberate

Officials say fireworks set off in roost in Beebe, Arkansas

(Newser) - The hundreds of dead blackbirds that rained down on a rural Arkansas town for the second New Year's Eve in a row weren't so much omens of the apocalypse as victims of crime, reports Fox News . The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is blaming human interference for the...

Ark. Town Again Hit by Dead Blackbirds

Cops ban fireworks after repeat of last New Year's Eve carnage begins

(Newser) - Thousands of dead blackbirds rained down on a town in central Arkansas last New Year's Eve after revelers set off fireworks that spooked them from their roost, and officials were reporting a similar occurrence yesterday as 2012 approached. Police in Beebe said dozens of blackbirds had fallen dead, prompting...

Gorilla Death Stymies Zoo Workers

Baby in Lincoln Park Zoo had no visible wounds

(Newser) - The death of a 9-day-old baby gorilla at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago has left authorities scratching their heads, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Yesterday, first-time mom Bana carried her baby's lifeless body to the zoo's gorilla enclosure, but zoo officials couldn't spot any serious wounds. "...

Baby Dolphin Die-Off in Gulf Grows

Officials say it's too soon to blame the oil spill

(Newser) - More and more young bottlenose dolphins are turning up dead in the Gulf, and scientists aren’t entirely sure why. The number of dead dolphins has swelled to 80, according to National Geographic , with about half of them being calves. Speculation is running rampant that the deaths are connected to...

Here's What Killed Those Dead Cows

Toxic sweet potatoes were included in their feed

(Newser) - The latest mass animal death mystery has been solved: The 200 cows that dropped dead in a Wisconsin pasture two weeks ago were killed by, of all things, moldy sweet potatoes. The farmer who owned them originally suspected disease, but investigators ruled that out and determined the cows were likely...

Arkansas: Here's What Officially Killed Those Birds

Findings on mass deaths released

(Newser) - Wildlife officials in Arkansas say that they still have no idea why more than 100,000 fish washed up dead along a stretch of river last year, but they have a theory on why thousands of blackbirds fell from the sky . The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission—echoing earlier findings...

USDA: We Poisoned Those 200 Dead Birds

Mass animal death in South Dakota has less-than-mysterious cause

(Newser) - The latest mass animal death—hundreds of dead birds found Monday in South Dakota—is no mystery, reports the Huffington Post : The US government killed them. When more than 200 starlings turned up dead, cold weather was initially suspected as the culprit. But now the USDA has admitted to poisoning...

More Animal Die-Offs: 200 Cows Dead in Wisconsin

Farmer thinks a virus is probably involved

(Newser) - First it was birds, then fish, then more fish. Now, it's 200 cows lying dead in a Wisconsin field, reports the Rapid-Tribune. But this mass die-off might be a little less murky: The farmer reportedly told local officials he suspected the animals died of one of two viruses common to...

Thousands of Fish Dead Along Chicago Lakefront

This type of herring is particularly sensitive, says biologist

(Newser) - Yet another mass animal death : Along the Chicago lakefront, gizzard shad—a type of herring—are dying off in large numbers. Thousands, maybe more, are dead and frozen or floating in Lake Michigan, the Sun-Times reports. Geese and ducks are feeding on the dead and dying fish. Gizzard shad are...

Italian Birds 'Ate Themselves to Death'

Flying gluttons suffered 'massive indigestion,' says expert

(Newser) - Here's the latest in dubious explanations for the recent massive bird die-offs: Italian turtle doves ate themselves to death, says one scientist. Some 1,000 of the birds fell dead or dying from the sky last week in the village of Faenza with blue stains on their beaks, and "...

9 More Creepy, Mysterious Animal Deaths

Giant squids, a beloved swan, and ... suicidal cows?

(Newser) - Massive animal die-offs are totally normal —but that doesn't mean they're all free of mystery. On the heels of the Arkansas bird deaths that started it all, the Daily Beast reminds us of 9 other recent (sometimes suspicious, sometimes creepy) animal deaths:
  • John Boy Walton, the much-loved
...

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