MASS ANIMAL DEATHS: MARCH 2013

Updated on March 26

(March 26) The death of a small number of fish in a Nelson waterway in New Zealand could have been caused by pollution. This is the first known fish kill in Saltwater Creek. (Source)

(March 25) Around 1,000 dead ducks have been pulled from a river in southwest China’s Sichuan province. Residents found the rotten carcasses floating downstream in woven bags. Although the origin of the ducks remains unknown, farmers who discard their dead ducks in public places face heavy punishment. (Source)

(March 25) A fish kill occurred recently in the coastal town of Alburquerque in Bohol, Philippines. (Source)

(March 25) People have been reporting dead or dying fish along the shoreline in Fort Erie and as far south as Pennsylvania for weeks. Thousands were seen listlessly floating or struggling to swim on their side downstream in the Niagara River Monday. (Source)

(March 24) Six of 19 pilot whales that were stranded Sunday on a beach in the South African city of Cape Town have died and authorities said they planned to euthanize some of the surviving whales. (Source)

(March 24) A DEAD whale has been seen floating in the Thames Estuary off the Isle of Sheppey in the U.K., sparking navigation warnings to any ships in the area. (Source)

(March 22) An accidental slurry spill reported to Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) by a farmer in County Kerry has led to a number of fish deaths. (Source)

(March 22) Thousands of dead fish have washed up on Adelaide’s southern beaches in South Australia. Experts believe the recent hot spell has caused a massive kill-off in Gulf St Vincent.(Source)

(March 21) A 3,000-pound sperm whale, showing injuries on its tail consistent with a harpoon wound, was found dead along the coastline of Luban, a village in Mati City, Davao Oriental, in Southern Philippines. (Source)

(March 21) Authorities in Chile are investigating why thousands of prawns were washed up on a beach in the coastal city of Coronel, covering it with a layer of pink. Hundreds of dead crabs were also washed up on the coastline. Fishermen have suggested pollution may be to blame. (Source)

(March 20) Residents are urged to avoid touching hundreds of dead fish that washed up on the shores of the lake near Wellya Crescent in South Yunderup, Western Australia. (Source)

(March 19) At this point it is not yet clear what caused the fish mortality – 5 tons of dead Fish washed up at Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa. However, it is suspected that it is linked to the high temperatures (high 20 and 30 degrees) that were experienced this past week across the Cape Peninsula. (Source)

(March 19) An outbreak of anthrax, the first in New South Wales, Australia in four years, has killed dozens of cattle on two properties near Moree in the state’s north. (Source)

(March 18) Since January, hundreds of emaciated, weak sea lion pups have washed up on the shores of Southern California.  So far, a handful of rescue centers between San Diego and Santa Barbara have admitted 517 pups. Most of the pups are around nine months old. They weigh just half of what healthy pups should, and they show signs of hypothermia and dehydration in addition to malnourishment. Scientists say the number of stranded pups are alarming and abnormal, but they have no idea what is behind the worrisome trend. (Source)

(March 18) The number of dead pigs found in a river which runs through Shanghai has reached nearly 15,000. A newspaper claimed the government was concealing the true tally. (Source) The dead pigs are believed to be come from farms upstream. A surge in pig dumping has followed police campaigns against the sale of pork products made from diseased pigs. (Source)

(March 18) A female Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) was found dead near Davao City in the Philippines. Since December last year, three whales, including the “super rare” ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) and a pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), had been stranded in Davao shores. (Source)

(March 17) More than 16,500 tons of oysters died en mass during the past two weeks probably due to water pollution, causing an estimated loss of VND300 billion (US$14.3 million) to farmers in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang in Vietnam. (Source)

(March 15) A dead dolphin and a dead whale washed up on the beach in the 4800 block of Atlantic Avenue in New Smyrna,Florida. The dolphin is about 2.5 feet long, she said, while the whale is about 25 feet long. (Source)

(March 14) More than 80 tons of fish suffocated in the Rio de Janeiro lagoon that will be used for Olympic rowing events in 2016. In some areas of the lagoon, the dead fish were so concentrated that it was impossible to see the water beneath them. (Source)

(March 14) The so-called Red Tide algae bloom has killed a total of 181 manatees so far this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That figure already surpasses the highest number of Red Tide manatee deaths on record – 151 in 1996 – and experts expect the number to keep rising through the spring. (Source)

(March 14) A group of residents who live around Baffin Bay in Corpus Cristi, Texas are worried about pollution in the bay ruining sport fishing. Fish kills in parts of Baffin Bay are nothing new. In fact, back in 2007, a massive fish kill had scientists scrambling. That kill was ultimately blamed on ammonia levels that starved the fish of oxygen. It is happening again, but ammonia levels are not to blame this time. A group of citizens has been keeping track of fish kills over the past couple of years, and although they are small, it is happening more often. (Source)

(March 13) Hundreds of dead fish have been found in the Stansbury Park Lake in Tooele County, Utah. High levels of ammonia, which is harder on the larger fish, have been found in portions of the lake where the water had recently thawed. (Source)

(March 13) Tens of thousands of fish and marine life have been killed after dead or ‘‘blackwater’’ flooded the lower reaches of the Hunter, Williams and Paterson rivers in New South Wales, Australia. (Source)

(March 12) Loads of dead fish and even ducks make a disturbing sight along the Union Ship Canal in Buffalo, New York. (Source)

(March 12) Thousands of dead fish were found floating in Lake Titicaca, in the region of Puno. (Source)

(March 11) An abundance of dead fish floating ashore at Walborn Reservoir in Ohio is unrelated to the illegal dumping of a 55-gallon oil drum on Sunday. (Source)

(March 9) A TERRITORY quarry in Darwin, Australia is being investigated after concerns that heavy petroleum products may have leached into a lake and killed thousands of fish. (Source)

(March 6) An environmental disaster hit picturesque Congo Creek in New South Wales, Australia, in which thousands of fish were killed. (Source)

(March 6)  Biologists found more than 100 dead fish up and down the banks of the Payette River in Ohio. Six different fish species were discovered dead. (Source)

(March 5) Huizhou, China

(March 5) Last year’s unusually dry summer and this winter’s unprecedented snowfall, the worst in nearly 50 years, in Ladakh’s Changtang area (India) has claimed over 18,000 “pashmina” goats, the source of one of the finest varieties of wool that has put the region on the world map. (Source)

(March 5) New South Wales Fisheries in Australia believes low oxygen levels are to blame for the deaths of thousands of fish that were found along the eastern shore of Lake Keepit at the Manilla Ski Gardens. (Source)

(March 4) Authorities hope to establish within a day or two why thousands of fish were found dead on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. (Source)

(March 3) A number of fish at the aquaculture facility in Owl’s Head, Nova Scotia, Canada died because of a recent cold snap, says Snow Island Salmon Inc. (Source)

(March 3) Chang’an, China

(March 2) A significant fish kill on the river Dodder in Dublin, Ireland is being investigated. A spokeswoman confirmed about 500 various types of fresh water fish were killed over a 600m stretch of the river. (Source)

(March 2) A dead female whale, possibly a new species for American Samoa, with a fetus was found in Afono, a village on the northeast coast of Tutuila Island. (Source)

(March 1) A “very heavy fish die-off” that officials haven’t seen locally in 10 to 15 years is on-going in Presque Isle Bay, located off the coast of Erie, Pennsylvania. (Source)

Bird Flu Alert

(March 18) More than 80,000 chickens have been destroyed on a farm in the Netherlands following an outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza virus. (Source)

(March 14) The scary Bird Flu contagion has taken Madhepura district in India within its sweep where more than 800 chickens have perished during the last four days. (Source)

(March 9) Hundreds of chicken were culled and large quantity of eggs destroyed in Bihar, India following an outbreak of avian flu. (Source)

(March 8) Thousands of chickens are dying of an unknown virus in many farms of Dumuria sub district in [Khulna Division] Bangladesh.  Due to sudden death of the chickens, the farm owners are facing serious economic loss. (Source)