| Earlier
this week, in the clear skies over Winnipeg, Canada, an ominous-seeming
scene unfolded as dozens of birds abruptly began to rain from the sky -
casualties of an undetermined cause. According to CBC News, more than
50 dead birds, identified as common grackles, were discovered scattered
throughout Winnipeg's North End on Wednesday. Although clues are scarce
as to why, shortly before dead birds began raining from the sky,
residents in the area reported witnessing unusual behavior from a large
flock lingering in trees and on rooftops around town. "There was
probably, I would say … almost up to the thousand birds in the trees,
and then I was looking up and then one fell right in front of me," said
Tanya Lee Viner. By around 10:30 am, what began as just a few birds
falling from the sky turned into a downpour that blanketed the streets.
Local merchant Susan Tiganagis described to CBC a sight that must have
been quite unsettling - and perhaps even a bit apocalyptic: "My husband
said, like, 'This is a Hitchcock movie.' It's crazy! They were just
dizzy. They didn't know where they were going. I've never seen them act
like that. They were literally falling out of the trees and they were
still dying," says Tiganagis. Conservation officers arrived to collect
the dead birds, along with about a dozen which were still alive but
unable to stand or fly. Samples from the deceased birds have been sent
for toxicology testing in hopes of pinning down a cause for the sudden
die-off, but authorities are speculating that exposure to toxins may be
to blame. The mysterious bird casualties, while apparently isolated to
this one area of Winnipeg, are reminiscent of other mass avian die-offs.
In 2011, thousands of birds reportedly fell dead from the sky in
several cities across the globe. While the exact causes of each were
varied, direct and indirect human activity was deemed to blame for a
significant number of those deaths. |
| Biohazard desc.: | Bacteria
and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for
which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile
virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus
(smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain
spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level. |
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