Large Die-Off Of Alaska Seabirds From Disease Never Found Before In State History

– Large die-off of Alaska seabirds from disease never found before in state history — Official: It’s super, super common… except it’s first time — Hundreds dead per km²; Continued to wash ashore — ‘Relatively’ natural; Witness: Head flopped backward, appeared to have seizure, then dropped dead (AUDIO) (ENENews, Dec 12, 2013):

Anchorage Daily News: Hundreds of dead sea birds found on the beaches of St. Lawrence Island were the victims of Alaska’s first detected avian cholera outbreak, officials said this week. One hunter in Gambell spotted a bird on the beach, its head flopping backward […] The bird acted like it was having a seizure. Then it dropped dead. […] Gay Sheffield, a Nome-based biologist with the University of Alaska’s Marine Advisory Program […] received three bird carcasses: a northern fulmar […] a thick-billed murre […] and a black crested auklet […] “For this disease, actually, these numbers are really small, which makes me think there’s a lot more birds that died somewhere else that we didn’t see” [said Kimberlee Beckmen, Fish & Game veterinarian.]

“It’s super, super common” (except it’s the first time)

• Kimberlee Beckmen, a Fish and Game wildlife veterinarian: “It’s super, super common. The only unusual part is us finding a die-off in Alaska.”
• Cathie Harms, a wildlife biologist with ADF&G: “Avian Cholera had not been detected in Alaska before”

“It’s not something that can hurt people” (but wear gloves, wash hands, and never eat  it)

• Cathie Harms, a wildlife biologist with ADF&G: “The good news is although birds died, it’s not something that can hurt people”
• AP: Officials warn anyone touching a sick bird or animal to wear gloves and wash hands with soap and water after handling animals or butchering meat. Never eat sick birds or animals that may have died from a disease.

Biologist will try an aerial count of carcasses in a few days (as residents dispose of bodies)

• AP: A local biologist will try to get an aerial count of infected birds or carcasses next week.
• Anchorage Daily News: Residents will don protective gloves to pick up what carcasses they find
• Alaska Department of Fish and Game: Outbreaks are usually handled by removing the carcasses as soon as possible

Dead seabirds continued to wash up, though not as many as before

• AP: Most of the birds turned up on a 10-mile beach […] Early reports put the number of dead birds at 200 to 300
  bird per square kilometer. The outbreak is apparently already declining, wildlife authorities said. […]
• Alaska Department of Fish and Game: Beckmen noted that the number of and dead birds reported is decreasing.
• Cathie Harms, a wildlife biologist with ADF&G: “We are hearing fewer reports of dead birds as the days go on.”

It is just an unprecedented outbreak (which are never related to environmental changes)

• AP: Residents in Gambell and Savoonga worried something in the environment had killed the birds, and notified officials.
• Cathie Harms, a wildlife biologist with ADF&G: She says even with a large die-off like the one recently seen off St. Lawrence Island, it’s a relatively natural event. “We had heard that people had concerns of why birds were dying and appearing on the beach […] it isn’t related to the environment or other issues – it is just an outbreak.”
• Gay Sheffield, a Nome-based biologist with the University of Alaska’s Marine Advisory Program: “People out there did a fabulous job of responding, reporting, getting the word out. It’s only because of their actions that we’re learning what this is all about.”

Listen to the KSKA broadcast here

See also:

– CNN: The Pacific Has Seen Its Fair Share Of Weird Recently – Bay In California ‘Now A Massive Soup Bowl’ – ‘Miles Of Anchovies, Mountains Deep’

– Study: Dead Sea Creatures Covered 98% Of Seafloor Last Year 150 Miles Off California Coast – Unprecedented!!!

– Weird Things’ Happening On California Coast: Unknown Toxic Algae Blooms Proliferating; Unprecedented Mass Of Oxygen-Poor Water – Mystery Strandings Of Large Squid Covered Miles And Experts Baffled … ‘Essentially Killing Themselves’

– San Francisco Chronicle: Fukushima Radiation Possible Culprit In Huge Starfish Die Off From Mexico To Alaska

– California: Threat Of ‘Dead Zone’ Developing Off Sonoma Coast

– Sea Star Die-Off Worse Than Thought; Now Over Entire West Coast; Going From One Species To Others

– Whale Expert Near Vancouver: In 30 Years I’ve Never Ever Seen This Kind Of Behavior, ‘They Must Sense This Is A Safe Place To Be’

– NBC Nightly News: “Another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific” — Millions of starfish ‘melt away’ from Alaska to California — Expert: Fukushima radiation ‘not ruled out’ as factor in epidemic — Very, very different than anything seen before

– CBS News: 100s Of Whales In Bay On California Coast – Experts: ‘A Once-In-A-Lifetime Chance … Unheard Of, It’s Unbelievable’

– Expansive ‘Death Zone’ Of Birds On Alaska Island, Perhaps Thousands Washed Ashore

– CBC News: Something Very Odd Is Happening In Pacific; Sea Creatures Acting Strangely

– Rarely Seen Sea Creature Normally Living At The Depths Of The Ocean Caught Off Miami Beach

– Unprecedented Concentration Of Sea Creatures Near Shore In California

– ‘Lots Of Sea Birds Washing Up Dead’ In Alaska (Photos)

– Alaska Island Shows Impacts From Fukushima – ‘Significant Cesium Isotope Signature’ Detected – Scientists Anticipate More Marine Life To Be Impacted As Ocean Plume Arrives

– Hundreds Of Sea Turtles Wash Up Dead On Pacific Coast – Dogs ‘Stopped Breathing And Died Almost Instantly’ When Eating Them

– Scientists ‘Especially Worried’: ‘We Don’t Know How The Pathogen Is Doing This’ – Sea Star Broke In Half, Walked Away, Then Turned To Goo

– Starfish Turn To ‘Slime’ Along Pacific Coast … ‘We’re Talking About A Loss Of Millions And Millions’

– Fishermen Boats Surrounded By Hundreds Of Dead (Nearly Extinct) Eastern Pacific Green Sea Turtles

– (UPDATED) ‘Extraordinary’ string of whale and dolphin encounters off Canada’s Pacific coast “could have a deeper meaning” — Indigenous Academic Adviser: “We see them as our relatives, as ancestors… It’s for the better of all of us to listen” (VIDEO)

– Sea Star ‘Ripping Itself Into Pieces’ – Like A Horror Movie – AP: Deaths From Alaska To S. California – Prof: ‘None Of Us Had Ever Seen Anything Like This Before’

– Sardine Population Plummets Along U.S. West Coast – ‘Canadian Pacific Fishermen Catch No Sardines In 2013? – AP: Collapse Of Species Feared

– West Coast Sea Stars Mysteriously Dying Off (KING 5 News Video): ‘Why Scientists Are So Concerned About The Rapidly Spreading Disease’

– Something Is Killing Life All Over The Pacific Ocean

– Head Researcher “Is Sounding The Alarm’ Over Dramatic Changes In Pacific Northwest Killer Whales

– 28 Signs That The West Coast Is Being Absolutely Fried With Nuclear Radiation From Fukushima