The Creepiest Animal Casualties Ever (PHOTOS)

Mass Animal Deaths: The Creepiest Casualties Ever (PHOTOS)

The Huffington Post   |  Joanna Zelman First Posted: 01- 6-11 02:10 PM   |   Updated: 01- 7-11 05:56 PM

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Read More: Animal Suicide, Birds And Fish Dying, Birds Dying, Birds Fall From Sky, Birds Falling From The Sky,Bizarre Animal Deaths, Mass Animal Deaths, Mass Animals Dying, Massive Animal Deaths, Slidepollajax, Strange Animal Deaths, Why Are Birds Dying, Green News

While it seems pretty creepy that thousands of dead birds are falling out of the sky, millions of dead fish are turning up, and tens of thousands of dead crabs are littering beaches, it turns out these aren't the only bizarremass animal deaths that have occurred over the years.

In fact, compared to a doggie death bridge, exploding frogs, and the extinction of 50% of life on Earth, these past few weeks pale in comparison. We've listed a few of the creepiest mass animal deaths that have occurred throughout history. And the next time you hear of birds falling from the sky, just be grateful it's not raining frogs again.

Dogs Over The Bridge

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In the past fifty years, 50 to 600 dogs have jumped over Scotland’s Overtoun Bridge and plummeted to their deaths. A few years ago, five dogs jumped in under six months. The Daily Mail wrote an article featuring reports of horrified pet owners who walked their dog over the bridge, when suddenly the dog would, without warning, leap over the bridge, falling 50 ft to the rocky bottom below. Perhaps even more disturbing, there are reports of “second timers” – of the few dogs who have survived the fall, some jumped over the same bridge again. 

Many theories have circulated about why dogs react this way to the bridge. Some suggest that the dogs are deliberately committing suicide, perhaps due to depression in their owners or even a supernatural force. More recent research suggests that it may be the scent of minks, an animal known to live under the bridge. 

Whatever the explanation may be, perhaps dog owners should simply stop walking their dogs over the Overtoun Bridge. 

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Feds Poisoned Birds In South Dakota

Mass bird die-off: Feds poisoned them

Updated 3:00 AM EST, Tue, Jan 25, 2011

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YANKTON, S.D. - When birds started falling dead in Yankton on Monday, there was understandable alarm.

There have been several recent mass die-offs of birds in various parts of the United States and even Sweden, and explanations have ranged from some sort of climate change-related cause to the birds running into each other aloft.

But there's an absolute explanation for the Yankton event: The U.S. government poisoned them.

The mystery started Monday, NBC station KNBN in Rapid City, S.D., reported.

Scattered across the snow along a stretch of Second Street were the frozen bodies of dead starlings. Their bodies were everywhere, according to witnesses like Alison Brown.

"The street where we park and the sidewalks were just covered with them," Brown told the station.

Animal control officers picked up hundreds of birds on Monday, and more then turned up, bringing the total to more than 300.

Brown said she had been wondering if these deaths were connected to other mass animal deaths, like the 5,000 blackbirds killed on New Year's Eve in Arkansas.

"You know, the first thing that comes to mind is all the reports we've seen about the birds and fish," Brown said.

'Like an Alfred Hitchcock'At first, Yankton Animal Control Officer Lisa Brasel said that the authorities "thought the birds didn't migrate, and got cold and froze to death."

Brasel said she didn't suspect illness because all the starlings were at a good weight and appeared to be, for the most part, healthy.

She planned to send some of the bodies to South Dakota State University for testing, until she got a phone call from officials with the United States Department of Agriculture that solved the mystery.

"They said they had poisoned the birds about 10 miles south of Yankton, and they were surprised they came to Yankton like they did," Brasel told NBC station KTIV of Sioux City, S.D.

USDA wildlife biologist Ricky Woods explained that a large group of starlings was causing problems in a north Nebraska cattle feedlot, eating the feed and leaving waste on both the feed and equipment. So the USDA put out DRC 1339 poison for the birds, Woods said.

"Lethal means are always a last resort," said Woods. "In this situation it's what we had to do."

Brasel said having the answers doesn't make the sight any less creepy. "Kind of like an Alfred Hitchcock," she said

Authorities said that so far starlings were the only birds found dead in Yankton. They said the poisoned birds didn't pose a threat to other animals or humans. Officials estimated nearly 2,000 birds ate the poison.

Hundreds of Dead Seals

Hundreds of dead seals in Labrador

Last Updated: Monday, January 17, 2011 | 11:01 AM ET Comments103Recommend64

CBC News

A young seal on a beach near the southern Labrador community of L'Anse au Clair in early January. (Courtesy: Derrick Letto)

People on the north coast of Labrador say scores of dead seals have been washing ashore since early December.

A conservation officer with the area's Inuit government estimated late last week that hundreds of adult and young seals have died in the area between Hopedale and Makkovik this winter.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is testing the carcasses, but Nunatsiavut conservation officer Ian Winters said many people in the area believe DFO hasn't acted quickly enough.

"I think they should have been up here earlier, if you're asking me. A lot of people said the same thing. So, maybe it's not on top of their agenda," he said.

Usually at this time of year seals are on sea ice south of Hopedale, said Winters, but he said there is very little ice there now.

Last month, people in northern Labrador found the bodies of dead seal pups on the coast.

At the time, a federal seal researcher said the early birth of seal pups in Labrador may be an indication the area's seal population has grown too large.

DFO researcher Garry Stenson said that seal population growth could lead to reproductive problems.

"What you expect in a population that is starting to regulate itself are things like lower reproductive rates and variable reproductive rates, but also higher pup mortality and also higher juvenile mortality," he said Monday in St. John's.

Stenson said the harp seal population of Atlantic Canada is now at between eight and nine million. A 2004 assessment of seal stocks estimated the harp seal population in the area at between 4.6 and 7.2 million.

Stenson said the DFO received five reports of seals giving birth on the coast of Labrador in December, although the nomadic sea mammals normally give birth in late February or early March.

He said the early births are happening on land rather than ice floes and it's unlikely the newborn pups will survive.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/01/17/nl-dead-seals-117.html#ixzz1BuMaXM8h

10,000 Cattle Dead In Vietnam

10,000 Cattle Dead In Vietnam: Cows, Buffalo Part Of Mass Die-Off

First Posted: 01/21/11 12:39 PM Updated: 01/23/11 11:42 AM

In the latest of a string of mass animal deaths, 10,000 cows and buffalo have died in Vietnam.

Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed the news this week that more than 10,000 cows and buffalos died nationwide due to harsh weather conditions.

Cattle have been dying throughout Vietnam, which has had a particularly intense winter. The northern mountainous province of Cao Bang was hardest hit with 2,260 dead cattle, per Thanh Nien News. Some have said the number of total dead cattlemay be as high as 13,000.

Mass animal deaths have been in the news quite a bit lately. Hundreds of birds were found dead in South Dakota early this week, and before that birds were found dead in Italy and birds fell from the sky in Arkansas, among other incidents.

Some of the mass die-offs have been explained - for instance, indigestion is thought to be the cause in Italy and the U.S. government has admitted involvement in the South Dakota case. But othersremain up for debate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/21/10000-cattle-dead-vietnam_n_812224.html