All three daily newspapers have reported that on April 8, 2013, hundreds of dead and dying corbeaux simultaneously and suddenly fell from the sky onto the National Heliport in Chaguaramas.Since these birds are scavengers it was believed that they may have been feeding on the carcass of an animal, which had been poisoned.However, to date there has been absolutely no proof of that, and the investigators are loud in their silence.
More recently, on July 15, 2013, tens of thousands of dead fish, mainly sardines, were washed ashore in Chaguaramas Bay close to Crews Inn, which the tide washed away on the following day.Birds and fish suddenly dying in the same area! Just a disease coincidence? But what do the birds in the air and the fish in the seas have in common?
Apparently, however, it seems that too many people are not aware that since around 1998, millions of unexplained deaths of birds and fish have been reported in various places. Indeed, this mysterious spate of mass bird and fish deaths has long turned into a global phenomenon.
Something is certainly awry. According to the US Geological Survey data, "die-offs," as they are called, such as these are not normal. Yes, die-offs do occur due to disease quite frequently, but not in such large numbers, not all at the same time, and not due to undeterminable circumstances or "trauma."
My gut feeling is that this is certainly not a passing cloud as the phenomena are increasing yearly. For example, up to July 15, 2013, there have been 427 reports of mass bird and fish deaths from 65 countries, many from the same country, especially the United States.
Included among the many other countries experiencing these "bizarre and mysterious" phenomena are Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and elsewhere. In the Caribbean, there have also been reports from Jamaica, the Bahamas, Haiti and the Cayman Islands.
Let's face it, large quantities of birds falling from the sky and dead fish in the seas is a pretty compelling story and all sorts of wild ideas are being proffered to explain the aetiology of these "kills," some of which seem downright bizarre and senseless. For example, the claim of oxygen lack lacks proof. In one instance in the US a marine researcher speculated that the fish were forced ashore to escape predators!
In Arkansas, USA, thousands of blackbirds rained down out of the sky on New Year's Eve, 2010, followed by the discovery of around 100,000 dead fish in a river about 100 miles away. Some have also theorised that the birds may have died from stress, blaming fireworks on New Year's Eve for confusing the blackbirds when they crashed into homes, cars and into one another as people celebrated the New Year. How much more absurd can one get!
This reminds me of the many nonsensical theories of the causation of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (Aids) during the early days of the pandemic.But the phenomena also include animals. For example, 200 cows were found dead in Wisconsin in January, 2011 without any explanation. Ten thousand cattle were likewise found dead in Vietnam and thousands of sheep in Pakistan! No disease was found in any of these cases.
Not surprisingly, some biblical scholars have cited Bible verses to explain these strange phenomena. Some term them "the animal apocalypse."
Many have quoted from the Old Testament's prophet Hosea, who spoke about the decline of morals and the increase in murders in Israel, controversially applying them to today's world: "The Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. Therefore the land mourns and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of air, even the fish of the sea are perishing."
They also quote another Old Testament prophet Zephaniah and his prophecy of a coming disaster: "I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord. I will sweep away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and fish of the sea. I will make the wicked stumble...."I am not an expert on the Old Testament and whether these events also occurred in Old Testament days, I do not know.
Meanwhile, scientists are struggling to explain these events which have also led for a search for a unified theory that would explain what could be killing all these different animals. However, at this point we have a lot more questions than we do answers.I do strongly suspect, however, that as time goes by it will all become more alarming and, as Alice said: "curiouser and curiouser."
Prof Courtenay Bartholomew
Emeritus Professor of Medicine Director Medical Research Centre