Category Archives: Mass Animal Die Offs

Return of the Attack of the Zombees

by funklord

zombee

As I reported a year and a half ago, the bee brain eating parasite is now spreading across the U.S.  This is the same fly that injects its eggs into the honey bee, then the eggs hatch, and the bee, being eaten from within, starts to act like a zombie.  At least that is what these reports are saying.  I mean, are they acting like a Haitian Vodou zombie?  Are they acting like George Romero zombies (which are really ghouls)?  Are they eating honey bee brains (which judging by the name should be sweet) instead of just honey?
I think they should be called Al-bee-ins since it is more akin to the facehugger of the famous extraterrestial franchise.

On a serious note, how much crap is nature going to through at the VERY necessary Honeybee?  I mean they have been in decline since 2004, and they are required for our basic survival.  Without pollinators, the food system will collapse, and that is not hyperbole.  If that happens, it is us that will have to then turn to eating brains to survive.

South Carolina Unintended Fish Fest

by funklord

A South Carolina news agency is reporting a massive fish die-off on their coast.  The news report basically just stated the species (Menhaden) and that their oil is used for lipstick.  No mention of any possible causes, nor the biological impact of thousands of fish suddenly disappearing from the living biomass.  Just the yusue. NBD.

Then I did little digging.  Turns out, this isn’t the only die-off THIS WEEK!  About 7 days ago, a very similar die-off happened, same spot, same fish.  The cause was supposedly “Cold Water Stress”.  Hmmmmm.  Oh, and similar things are happening in Massachusetts, Arkansas, Brazil, and New Zealand.  The excuses are all the same, and are really just speculation.  No one seems to know.  Cold Water, Algae, Oxygen Deprivation.  If you remember your High School Chemistry, Cold Water absorbs MORE oxygen then how water.  An explosion of algae, or some other organism that requires large amounts of O2 wo survive could account for that, but the fact is no one knows.

And there’s more!  Not only are there massive fish dying off, but a large number of birds are simply dropping dead out of the sky in Sweden.  This is where it gets REALLY weird.  Forensics were done on the birds, and you know what the medical staff say?  The birds died from “sudden, hard external blows“.  From what?!  Speculation abound, but no real answers.  This sounds really familiar.  Oh that’s right.  Before the days of the FFP, I was printing out articles on weird crap just for fun (now I do it for the avid readers).  This story stuck out, because it was literally a scene from the show Flashforward.

Oh and just one more thing.  A similar incident happened in Louisiana, near Labarre that New Years Eve.  Why is all this stuff happening in the same general geographical location, around the same time of year?

Road Kill Cafe: Chinese Food Edition

by funklord

I don’t even know where to begin with this one.  This is what kitschy t-shirts are made of.  In Kentucky (where else) a Chinese restaurant was shut down because some of the workers were caught wheeling a dead deer through the back door, into the kitchen.  When the police asked, they did admit to the wrong doing and claimed they did not know they weren’t supposed to do that.  I don’t know if that is because of their recent arrival in America, or the “acceptable food’ etiquette in that part of the country.  I do know that the most disturbing part of that is this wasn’t a deer they just hit.  I could ALMOST understand why they would think that is okay.  I’ve had venison jerky, and I know a bunch of hunters who have hit deer and brought it home.  Not saying I would do it, but I get it.  No this was just a random dead deer.  How long?  Who knows.  Guesstimate?  Yeah no idea.  Probably not too long?

Oh and all they have to do to reopen is sanitize the kitchen.

Mid-West Nile Outbreak: Day 6

by funklord

In an attempt to alleviate the mosquito problem, and thus the West Nile situation, the government is various communities has decided to aerially spray pesticides on the towns.  As the article explains, these pesticides are responsible cor Colony Collapse disorder (the ongoing Bee die off), liver toxicity, AND have little to no effect on containing the mosquito epidemic.

 

I remember a few times, sitting in my bedroom with the window open, reading peacefully.  Breaking the silence was the rumbling of the M.A.D. (Mosquito Abatement District) trucks, clumsily coming down the road.  They had these hoses on the back, and they would, honest to God, be spraying a pesticide mist right at the houses.  I remember watching it creep up the driveway, and even as a goofy kid, I knew this was a really bad idea.  I would shut my window just as the mist splashed against window.  Common sense.  This is not the way to handle this problem.

The Birds are Falling…

by funklord

For those keeping track at home (or on here), entire colonies, flocks, and schools of animals are simply dying all at once.  It has struck again, this time in New Jersey.  They give the reason as a slow acting pesticide, which may be true, but it also may not be.  Everything, of course, is preliminary.  Nonetheless, it is another step in a disturbing trend.