Mystery as dead birds fall from the sky over Western Australia
At least 200 seagulls have been found dead in Perth's popular beachside suburbs of Woodman Point and Henderson this week, baffling local authorities.
Post-mortem examinations have failed to determine the cause of the birds' deaths. Last December 5,000 birds died in the coastal town of Esperance, 500 km south of Perth, after being poisoned by lead carbonate blowing through the town as it was being exported through Esperance Port.
The latest incident of dropping birds has led to a major investigation of local industries but government officials admit they are at a loss to know what is killing the gulls. A Department of Health spokesman admitted they could not rule out a risk to public health until the cause of the birds' deaths had been established.
When the Esperance birds began dying, tests showed that local children and adults had potentially dangerous levels of lead in their blood. A local company, Magellan Metals, escaped prosecution over the way it handled the transportation of lead through the town, but fears remain over the potential threat to humans.
The Department of Environment and Conservation (DoEC) believes the latest deaths may have been caused by a chemical or pollutant. The birds were found on Monday and Tuesday near water outfall pipes at Woodman Point, south of Fremantle and at nearby Henderson which has a large boat-building industry. Water and sediment samples have been taken from the area for testing.
Kevin Morrison, from the DoEC, said the birds appeared to die a quick and painless death.
"The birds, when they are showing signs of having been poisoned become a bit wobbly on their feet, they sit down and within 10 to 15 minutes they're dead," he told the Australian Broadcasting Coproration. He said it was particularly puzzling that the deaths were confined to seagulls. In Esperance, wattle birds, yellow throated miners and honey-eaters died.
Although many of the birds were found near the outflow pipes, Mr Morrison said the birds may already have ingested something toxic at a rubbish or landfall site before going there for water as they died.
The beach at Woodman Point, a popular sailing and fishing area, has been closed as a precaution until further notice. Officials do not expect the test results on the birds for a week.
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- groups:
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- goldenways
- added this
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That is bizarre.........And scary..Seagulls can eat just about anything can't they? Hope they find the cause soon.
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Very Scary.
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- ladylazerus
- 1 year ago
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This is like the beginning of a disaster movie. Who knew how accurate those beginnings actually were...well hopefully we won't really find that out.
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I wonder if it has anything to do with all the radio frequencies all over the place now? (cell phones/satellites etc) Kinda like how whales are all screwed up from Navy sonar?
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There are many things that are hapening that are disturbing.
There are many things happening over night that are promising and hopeful.
I hope we can turn this all around very soon before we loose too many species to make a difference.-
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- CarolynGillis
- 1 year ago
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The con trails or chem trails very fishy .Strange days indeed.
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They need to get CSI on it.
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i was simply gonna respond with "scary", but seeing that a few have beat me to that punch...
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Damn...it sucks that these birds are dying...we need to find out what's happeing in Australia so we can make sure and prevent a similar thing from happening anywhere else...all creatures are important...but animals have that sixth sense...like when a storm is coming, all the animals have already made their move and are posted in safe places...we need to ensure their survival and safety...after all, their lives are in our hands as we control and own most of the planet that is land based...
BFAM_RVS
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Soon it will be proven that fast food is really poisonious......
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It's Walt from LOST.
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So first the bees started dying out from a mysterious disease that they still can't identify.
Now these birds in Australia....
And now these birds in Minneosota....
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Now add to that the mysterious "red tides" of dead fish washing up everywhere and suddenly this turns into a really scary moment in history.
But don't worry. George W. Bush is on the case! Exxon is too. And Blackwater. Surely these brilliant CEO's are keeping a close eye on things....right?
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The same thing is happening in Minnesota. Coincidence?
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woah.. how long before humans drop dead?
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this IS just like the beginning of something disastrous.
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- SketchArwen
- 1 year ago
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Relax Dut!
Sure there is a mysterious and as of yet unexplained spike in autism rates and cancer rates and birth defects around the globe -- but you can't die from that.
Of course if whatever is killing these animals mutates and becomes an Ebola-like super virus that can be transferred from animals to humans....then, yeah, large chucks of humanity will die off.
But there's only a 50 percent chance that such an event will ever happen in our lifetimes.
Or, as Bush likes to think of things, there is a 50 percent chance it'll never happen so why worry about it (or allocate more government resources to research or prepare for it)?
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Anyone read Stephen King's "The Stand"? Ha ha.
I don't know what would be a more disturbing throught:
If this is the result of a some bad genetically modified food that had a "unanticipated reaction" in the animal world or perhaps some experimental DDT-like weed-killer that, oops, accidentally created a massive chain reaction amongst the bird population...
Or if it's just the early stages of a naturally occuring pandemic unfolding in real time?
Either way it's....uh....not encouraging.
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Lets hope its not an outbreak of bird flu.
H2N5 ... you sank my battleship!
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- EclecticBadger
- 1 year ago
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sounds like something out of a stephen King Movie.. scares me.
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SOMETHING SIMILAR HAPPENING HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA
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Birds freak me out in general, but a dead bird falling from the sky.... yikes~!
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They got knocked the F*CK out!
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- Eri_Soulja
- 1 year ago
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wow i think i got dumber watching that CBS post...The dead birds are what some people call a sign of greater things to happen. It's time everyone starts rethinking their lives.
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- thewarnerla
- 1 year ago
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Our world with 4 Billion Humans is coming! Hope you all make it.....I hope then we can get along ....In the mean time, life is a theoretical contemplation for those not calling the shots and extremely difficult for those who are...
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- WisconsinNorm
- 1 year ago
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Shit! It's "The Happening"
