Archive | April 2, 2018
1,000 waterbirds found dead ‘due to disease’ in Canterbury, New Zealand
Photo By MICHAEL BATE/SUPPLIED
Nearly 1000 birds have died at wastewater treatment plants in Canterbury after an outbreak of botulism.
Hundreds of waterfowl including ducks, teal and geese have been found dead at a treatment plant in Kaiapoi, with more discovered at other sites in Waimakariri and Christchurch.
The Kaiapoi plant’s shallow ponds and wetlands are home to between 5000 and 6000 birds, including mallards, paradise shelducks, black swans, teal and the New Zealand shoveler.
Officials estimate around 960 birds have been killed by the disease over the past month, accounting for almost 20 per cent of the population.
Many, too graphic to publish, show decaying birds being eaten by maggots as they float on the surface.
Authorities insist they are doing all they can to manage the situation and maintain the plant is safe, but say there is nothing they can do to halt the disease’s impact.
Gerard Cleary, utilities and roading manager at Waimakariri District Council, said the council was looking at whether there was more it could do to reduce future risk.
“It is a natural process and is certainly not something for people to be alarmed about. It is just an ongoing issue in New Zealand and we are not the only region that has it.”
Courtesy of stuff.co.nz
Thousands of dead fish wash appear in Bluff harbour, Iowa, USA
The Spring thaw arrived at Bluff’s Harbor Marina this week and brought with it thousands of dead shad.
During two months of ice and freezing temperatures, the fish in the marina slowly ran out of oxygen. Harbormaster Jon Billups said even using bubblers, which churn air and oxygen into the marina during the winter months to keep ice down, did not help this year.
“We’ve had winters where there weren’t any fish killed because there wasn’t enough ice to matter,” said Billups. “But this time it was so long. We had over two months of solid ice down here. It’s a shame, but it’s nature.”
As the ice thaws and becomes translucent, the silvery fish, not much bigger than minnows, are exposed, frozen right where they were swimming. In some places, ice fishers reported the ice about a foot thick.
The fish kill means good news for fishermen, though, who use shad as bait. Billups said fishermen are welcome to bring buckets and dip nets to Bluff’s Harbor Marina and take as many as they want.
Pelicans, gulls and eagles have already begun to help themselves.
Courtesy of thehawkeye.com
3 dead dolphins found washed up on Long Beach, Mississippi, USA
Marine officials were out in Long Beach Saturday morning after discovering two dead baby dolphins on the beach there. A third baby dolphin was found dead on Ship Island on Friday.
Dr. Moby Solangi, the director of Institute of Marine Mammal Studies, said the two in Long Beach were found within a mile of the other on the beach.
Solangi and his team are now looking into how the infant dolphins died. According to Solangi, it’s not uncommon to see dolphins come ashore during birthing season. However, Solangi said it’s still really early in the birthing season.
“This is kind of odd that this many babies are dead in such a short time,” said Solangi. “Something may be going but it’s still early in the season. We will continue to watch this very carefully.”
Susan LaRosa found the two dolphins in Long Beach while she out walking the beach.
“Usually I’ll see like dead fish, jellyfish, and things like that,” said LaRosa. “Then I ran a little further and I found another dolphin.”
Solangi said the two dolphins discovered in Long Beach have most likely been dead for some time, at least four days.
“When an animal dies it starts decomposing,” he said. “Its mouth swells, its tongue swells. It is pretty gross after it’s been decomposing for many days.”
IMMS marine scientist Lauren Cooley gathered samples from the dolphins Saturday before bagging them up to study them further. She said the samples will be sent to Mississippi State University for toxicology and pathology tests.
Solangi and his team are now looking into how the dolphins died and whether or not their deaths tell a bigger story.
“If they are doing well that means the environment is doing well. If something is wrong, they would be the ones to reflect that change,” said Solangi. “By monitoring them, we are able to tell what’s going on in the environment and how it would affect us.”
Courtesy of wlox.com
Tens of thousands of dead fish found in the Nechi River, Colombia
We have a sad history of the animal world. There are tens of thousands of fish killed by the lack of oxygen in the Nechí River, as a result of illegal mining waste in the area.
These new images would be further proof of the damage caused by the chemicals used in illegal gold mining in the area . The fact was denounced last year and as a result two mining operations closed . But these activities continued to be done affecting native species such as bocachico , catfish toads , blanquillos and gilded .
The inhabitants of the area who captured the fish mortality expect that the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Center of Antioquia , investigate this environmental emergency that has its fishing activity in check.
Courtesy of canal1.com.co
Over 400 sheep dead from worm infection, owners ‘shocked’ in Mulabagilu taluk, India
Over 400 sheep affected with the round worm disease died in Mulabagilu taluk in one week.
Veterinarians say that the infection is being caused by the sheep drinking impure water from ponds and lakes which filled up during ample rains in November 2017. The larvae that have entered the sheep’s stomachs in this manner have hatched inside their intestines, finally choking them to death.
The sheep rearers are shocked by the magnitude of their losses.
There are 22 veterinary centres in the urban and rural areas of the taluk. The animals are being disinfected there. But the authorities are having a tough time checking the spread of the infection.
When the shepherds take the sheep out for grazing in the meadows, the animals again consume the polluted lake waters and get infected all over again.
The parasitic round worms feed on all the blood and nutrients in the sheep’s body ultimately killing it.
The rearers had approached the vets for a vaccine earlier. But the latter had refused to give it to their livestock. Now that sheep are dying by the hundreds and rearers are in hurry to sell off their livestock. The result is that mutton prices have fallen to all time low.
Animal Husbandry department officers said that sheep must not be allowed to drink lake water. “They have to be given the pumpset water used for fields. Round worm tablets are being given freely at vet centres,” they informed.
Courtesy of deccanherald.com
Thousands of dead fish wash up on beaches in North Carolina, USA
Thousands of fish washed ashore Tuesday along a two mile stretch of beach near the Outer Banks community of Corolla.
Photos of the beach littered with fish were posted on Facebook, noting the NC Division of Marine Fisheries had been called to investigate.
“In some places, the fish are piled thick,” said a post on the Corolla Beach Music Facebook page.
The fish have been identified as Menhaden and Spanish Mackerel and they appeared along mile posts 13 and 17 in an area used for four-wheel drive vehicles, reported TV station WTKR. Samples were taken by Marine Fisheries, which noted there were no marks or sores on the fish, reported the WTKR.
Courtesy of charlotteobserver.com
Thousands of dead fish found in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Tennessee Valley Authority says that the sudden temperature changes are the reason thousands of dead fish have been found in several areas of Chattanooga Thursday.
The TVA says there is no threat to the public, as the fish are shad.
Courtesy of newschannel9.com
Thousands of dead fish wash up on beach at North Auckland, New Zealand
Thousands of dead fish have startled residents at a north Auckland beach.
The washed up fish – identified by Auckland War Memorial Museum head of natural sciences Tom Trnski as anchovy Engraulis australis – lined the shores of the Stanmore Bay estuary on February 21, sparking fears of water contamination.
Courtesy of stuff.co.nz
Tens of tons of fish suddenly die in a lake in West Lampung, Indonesia
Tens of tons of fish in Lake Ranau District Seminung Lumbok Sub die unexpectedly.
Courtesy of kupastuntas.co
Hundreds of ducks dead due to disease in Kapiti Coast, New Zealand
Hundreds of dead birds have been collected from a Kāpiti Coast lake.
Avian botulism is thought to be behind the deaths of up to 400 mainly mallard ducks at Waikanae beach’s Pharazyn Reserve, Kāpiti Coast District Council parks and recreation manager Alison Law said.
The council was working with animal welfare groups to collect sick and dead birds from the reserve and had posted signs warning pet owners to take care.
The disease was spread through the carcasses and could make other animals sick if they ate an infected bird.
A bird carcass had been sent to Massey University’s Wildbase Pathology unit for testing for the disease, Law said. “Although it is widely believed by all participating agencies that avian botulism is the cause of death.
“Avian botulism is tested for and detected in the body of an infected bird, not in a water source.”
A Kāpiti resident, who walked her dog at the on-leash reserve last week said she was used to seeing hundreds of birds at the lagoon and was struck by how empty and quiet the area was.
In January, two swans at Waimanu Lagoon, just south of Pharazyn Reserve, died due to suspected avian botulism.
Since then, animal welfare groups have cared for a number of birds struck down with the disease.
Courtesy of stuff.co.nz
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