Rapid rise in global wildlife deaths

I have read so many stories about wildlife deaths in recent time... Birds falling out of the sky or washing up on the shore. Bee populations declining exponentially etc.

Some are a mystery although the common factor seems to be human activity.

This is a forum thread to keep track of what is going on.
If you hear of anything feel free to add.

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Thanks You guys - i love sharing insightful stories that really happen for a divine reason . With birds as well i feel a strong connection - i speak to them often as to soften the dammages done by humans behaviors . I re-assure them they will always find shelter and full expression . it feels so natural to be that way .
And yes Open , it really opens up to a new sense of communication with the Universe / universal language .
Ducks care extremely well for each other within a couple . It's beautiful to watch . Could it be a mirror for the twin flame to be felt within ? I surely have been seing a lot of 222 / 444 / 111 / 1111 / lately .
xx J-M

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Jean-michel, I love how you're caring for nature and the ducks. So inspiring. I spend lots of time with ducks these days in our local park. "Hello, duckies!" I say as they waddle over. They make me smile. The ducks know what a beautiful dude you are!

xxx Catherine

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It's a lovely story of the ducks Jean - it warmed my heart :-)

Yes, absolutely, we must protect as much as possible the wildlife we still have left. Just because it's right to do so; and because it offers a priceless bridge into divine beingness.

The thing about animals is they have no covert agenda - they are simply being themselves. And so we can see all manner of reflections in them. They're a path to the divine.

Open *OK*

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Thanks Open for this because i can feel it anywhere i go . On the one side , the consumptive hidden agenda most people buy in - and it's immediate horrible consequences : Waste & polllution & no recycling . Anytime i go to the water spring , i feel so deceived by how people treat that " Gift from Gaia " by littering around in the forest and the spring area . Yesterday , there was a broken glass bottle hanging there 2 meters away !!! How come again people don't take full responsabilities for their actions / espacially if that may hurt a child or an animal around . So , what i always feel to do is gather the litter and carry them with me to be recycled . Alongside the roads , the number of aluminium / plastic cans are all over the place . Just thrown by the window by some unconscious drivers ( they probably beleive this Earth can take that much for more 200 years or so !!!) . And so , now , after only 2 generations , half of the has gone without most people knowing it !!! Now , more than ever , i am commited to give out as much Love & care that i can to Gaia and it's wonderful nature habitants & use just what's needed to feel healthy , motivated and compassionate about living Beings .
A beautiful example is happening for the moment in my garden :
2 weeks ago , a couple of common ducks appeared hanging around the garden & the tiny pond . I thought at first that they just made a stop for some refreshments on the way to another spot in the region . It appears that they were not just passing by but felt this garden would be the perfect natural spot for a nest . So , i found out the little area where the female layed her eggs ( at least 3 ) , just outside one of the house walls . I read that the female will guard her eggs for 28 days until they new born come alive .
It's such a beautiful reminder than we are so connected to the whole of Mother nature & Life - that life is always showing us back kindness for the kindness we express every day in different ways .
I also came to intuitively understand that those ducks have less space to create their nest than 5,10,20 years ago - due to the ever increasing " consumption " of natural space & ressources by humans (who don't care at all for the consequences ) . What's amazing in the same time is the fact those ducks " Knew " where to go to feel safe enough & cared for . What a blessing ! I also been guided to talk to them gently ; reassuring them that they can be here as long as they want to & i enjoy their presence . During the last 3 weeks , i came across of few duck couples in the region trying to get their nest build in unexpected area . It indicates a will to adapt to the overall situation mankind has build up within a very short time .
It's often saddening to observe so many people around absolutely unconcerned about what's taking place . To a certain extend , it came to me that even people living in the countryside around here seem to not be even connected to nature around them - they never speak about it's uplifting / empowering beauty or even how Mother nature could make them feel so alive / and loving life more . It also landed that the Matrix is so strong to pull people out of their true sensitivity - and in the " doing " mode so that they can't see the beauty around or what they would be invited to change . That's a powerful realization and gives me even more motivation to care for nature and it's beautiful inhabitants .

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I recently came across the staggering figure, that in the last two human generations alone, we have lost over half the world's wildlife. This is based on the Living Planet Report 2014, the world's leading, science-based analysis on the health of our planet and the impact of human activity...

    "This latest edition of the Living Planet Report is not for the faint-hearted. One key point that jumps out is that the Living Planet Index (LPI), which measures more than 10,000 representative populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, has declined by 52 per cent since 1970.

    Put another way, in less than two human generations, population sizes of vertebrate species have dropped by half. These are the living forms that constitute the fabric of the ecosystems which sustain life on Earth – and the barometer of what we are doing to our own planet, our only home. We ignore their decline at our peril.

    We are using nature’s gifts as if we had more than just one Earth at our disposal. By taking more from our ecosystems and natural processes than can be replenished, we are jeopardizing our very future. Nature conservation and sustainable development go hand-in-hand. They are not only about preserving biodiversity and wild places, but just as much about safeguarding the future of humanity – our well-being, economy, food security and social stability – indeed, our very survival.

    In a world where so many people live in poverty, it may appear as though protecting nature is a luxury. But it is quite the opposite. For many of the world’s poorest people, it is a lifeline. Importantly though, we are all in this together. We all need nutritious food, fresh water and clean air – wherever in the world we live.

    Things look so worrying that it may seem difficult to feel positive about the future. Difficult, certainly, but not impossible – because it is in ourselves, who have caused the problem, that we can find the solution. Now we must work to ensure that the upcoming generation can seize the opportunity that we have so far failed to grasp, to close this destructive chapter in our history, and build a future where people can live and prosper in harmony with nature."

What was that last sentence?..."Now we must work to ensure that the upcoming generation can seize the opportunity that we have so far failed to grasp, to close this destructive chapter in our history, and build a future where people can live and prosper in harmony with nature." Haleluyah - it's called the Fifth Density!

Open

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This is just so sad, I didn't know things were this bad. I felt like Open that its Gaia cleansing and healing and these animals are evolving into other dimensions I guess it will be our turn sometime soon.

Love M x

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Update for Nov/early Dec 2013 - keep you informed about what's going on in our world. Here are just a small proportion of the English articles I could find lately.

5th Dec 2013: Mass dolphin strandings/deaths up East coast USA - 936 strandings reported since July:
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/more-dead-dolphins-wash-up-on-central-…

4th Dec 2013: 10 pilot whales dead and many more in danger, Florida:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/05/pilot-whales-strande…

26th Nov 2013: Hundreds (maybe thousands) of dead seabirds wash ashore on Alaska island in Bering Sea:
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20131126/hundreds-dead-seabirds-w…

28th Nov 2013: Masses of dead birds washing up on Australian coast:
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/mutton-bird-death-fears/20984…

16th November 2013: 165 Turtles have washed ashore dead during past month in north east coast of Italy:
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&…

8th November 2013: Massive Oyster die off washes ashore on Khairan beach is 'unprecedented', Kuwait:
http://news.kuwaittimes.net/piles-dead-oysters-khairan-beach/

1st November 2013: 20 MILLION+ bees have died off this year (37 million last year) in Ontario and Quebec, Canada - watch video here:
http://london.ctvnews.ca/beekeepers-says-government-agencies-aren-t-act…

1st November 2013: Massive die off of sea stars now occuring along east and west coasts in America & Canada:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/338389-sea-star-die-off-has-population-…

This is just the tip of the iceberg. This is happening the world over.

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Scientists are attempting to find out why one species of starfish is literally melting in the waters off of Washington state and Canada. Biologists in Seattle took to the Puget Sound waters last weekend to collect sick and healthy sunflower starfish for testing. Several labs including one at Cornell University will examine and compare samples with Canadian specimens already being analyzed.Whether the cause is environmental or disease related is currently unknown, but the number of melting starfish increases drastically with each passing day. “At this time, we don’t have a good idea of what’s causing it, so we’re going to look for everything,” Christiansen said. “There are a lot of melting sea stars out there, more than even a couple days ago.” According to Veterinarian Lesanna Lahner, the starfish specie’s condition is rapidly deteriorating, with more than half displaying the same disturbing symptoms. “It’s concerning to hear in a short time period we’re seeing 60% of this species diseased in this area,” Lahner said.

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  • "Across North America — in places as far-flung as Montana and British Columbia, New Hampshire and Minnesota — moose populations are in steep decline. And no one is sure why... Twenty years ago, Minnesota had two geographically separate moose populations. One of them has virtually disappeared since the 1990s, declining to fewer than 100 from 4,000. The other population, in northeastern Minnesota, is dropping 25 percent a year and is now fewer than 3,000, down from 8,000. (The moose mortality rate used to be 8 percent to 12 percent a year.) As a result, wildlife officials have suspended all moose hunting."

Read full NY Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/science/earth/something-is-killing-of…

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The issue for me, is which stories to report on. Unusual wildlife deaths seems like the new 'normal'.

  • Mysterious elk deaths plague New Mexico "Officials with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish are puzzling over the mysterious deaths of more than 100 elk, apparently all within a 24-hour period, in rural New Mexico. The elk were found Aug. 27 on a 75,000-acre ranch north of the city of Las Vegas. Livestock deaths, by themselves, are not unusual — there are many things that can fell large animals, including predators, poachers, a natural or man-made toxin, disease, drought, heat, starvation, and even lightning." http://www.livescience.com/39522-mysterious-elk-deaths-plague-new-mexic… Massive starfish die off Canada "The waters off British Columbia, Canada, are littered with dead starfish, and researchers have no idea what’s causing the deaths..." http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/09/massive-starfish-die…

I'm noticing an insane amount of fish die offs all over the world. I'll gather together all of the stories and post again. It's rather overwhelming. There are so many of them that it feels apocalyptic. :(

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Softening into the sense of sadness and despair at human behaviour and how it is affecting our precious wildlife.

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That's heart breaking to read - some thing is definitely disorientating them. Here in Australia just this week there has been a first ever sighting of pods of killer whales in Hervey Bay, and they should be able to navigate shallow waters but locals are saying they are confused and some of the pod have become stranded. Fortunately I think the locals are on to it and are helping to guide them back, but some things up !? Military sonar does seem to make sense. I'm going to watch to see how this is followed up. Thank you for post Trinity x

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I;ve just read a very disturbing report of a sudden mass die out of millions of bees in Canada, shortly after corn was planted. Not something we should ignore, really. This is happening all over the world in similar ways. It's not someone else's problem - it's ours...

"Local beekeepers are finding millions of their bees dead just after corn was planted here in the last few weeks. Dave Schuit, who has a honey operation in Elmwood, lost 600 hives, a total of 37 million bees.

“Once the corn started to get planted our bees died by the millions,” Schuit said. He and many others, including the European Union, are pointing the finger at a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, manufactured by Bayer CropScience Inc. used in planting corn and some other crops. The European Union just recently voted to ban these insecticides for two years, beginning December 1, 2013, to be able to study how it relates to the large bee kill they are experiencing there also.

Local grower Nathan Carey from the Neustadt, and National Farmers Union Local 344 member, says he noticed this spring the lack of bees and bumblebees on his farm. He believes that there is a strong connection between the insecticide use and the death of pollinators.

“I feel like we all have something at stake with this issue,” he said. He is organizing a public workshop and panel discussion about this problem at his farm June 22 at 10 a.m. He hopes that all interested parties can get together and talk about the reason bees, the prime pollinators of so any different plant species, are dying.

At the farm of Gary Kenny, south west of Hanover, eight of the 10 hives he kept for a beekeeper out of Kincardine, died this spring just after corn was planted in neighbouring fields.

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We have a favourite metaphor here at Openhand Michal: "if you knew the world would end tomorrow, would you still plant that apple tree today?"

The answer has to be a resounding yes!

It's not that we're trying to fix things. The earth will decide her own healing process. But yes, we are a part of the earth and if we feel inspired from the soul to do something, then we should do it. Above all its about learning to respect her and living that here and now.

What finer way to express our emotions and feelings?

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Hi Michal, welcome to Openhandweb.

Yes it's always amazing that new life finds a way, even in challenging circumstances as we have on our earth right now.

I think we have to be careful though that this doesn't blind from what's really taking place. Under normal conditions, the background species extinction rate is between 10-100 species a year. According to the World Wild Life fund, the current rate is in excess of 100 per day! (yes, that's per day).

Off the mass media radar screen, there are a number of varied sources saying we've already entered the sixth mass extinction on our planet. If these numbers are anywhere near correct (and I've heard several sources in that sort of magnitude), then the extinction rate is far in excess of anything that has ever previously happened here.

Yes it is undoubtedly sad. Yet it is also a cleansing process that will bring new life, balance and harmony. Which personally I will happily embrace.

    "Everything you see has its roots in the unseen world.
    The forms may change, yet the essence remains the same.
    Every wonderful sight will vanish, every sweet word will fade,
    But do not be disheartened,
    The source they come from is eternal, growing,
    Branching out, giving new life and new joy.
    Why do you weep?
    The source is within you
    And this whole world is springing up from it."
    Rumi

In reply to by Open

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Thank you for welcoming me.

You are right, it is a challenging, cleansing process that is happening now and it includes many changes, including the extinctions.
One could ask: what can I do about it? (See- I like to "fix" things- this can be sometimes a weakness, it hinders acceptance)
As I see it, it is OK to feel sad or angry about it, but not to be lost in that emotion. Also, natural reaction would be frustration, because these emotions can't be converted into meaningful action. One could become an activist, for example, and protest and resist these changes, but this would not heal these emotions, it would only make them stronger and part of "me" ("I am an activist" character).
Of course, there are many wonderful movements that create a positive change in the world (like permaculture on the level of healing our natural environment, or Openhand on the level of human awakening and ascension).

As for me, I grow some of my vegetables, I "make" a good soil for them and I talk to them and they grow well. I teach yoga and I love it. And I try to wake up to myself, every day. Sometimes I shine, sometimes not, but the intention is there. This is my contribution to the Life on this planet. Ha ha, I would even say this is the only way to survive- to wake up!

Rumi's poem is beautiful. Just when my heart opened and my eyes got wet, he is saying: Why do you weep? Hmm, how did he know? ;-)

Also, he says that the source is growing, branching out, giving new life. This makes me feel sooo good. I KNOW this is truth.

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I just re-read through mu own post and one thing does not sound right.

New species do not arise merely due to some pressure (=environmental factors). Otherwise many of the species that are dying out would simply evolve as a result of that pressure that they now experience.

New species are a mystery. It is an Impulse of a Breath of Life. I have chills of awe even thinking about it.

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Yes, there are weird things happening in the nature lately and a whole wave of extinctions is afoot. It is sad, it leaves you feel hopeless. But what if these extinctions are just one part of a two-fold process? What if all these vanishing species are "making space" for new species that are to arrive soon?

I was taught at school that species do not change or that it takes long time (perhaps thousands of years) for species to change. This view has changed today. It is proven from fossil records that in some periods of history of life on this Earth (they come in cycles/waves spaced apart by several millions of years) there were all of sudden brand new species, families and orders of life created! Just appeared, in a huge spontaneous evolutionary leap!

Now, obviously, this is probably not a "comfortable" process for the living organisms. Let us explain it this way: people change firstly because they WANT TO, driven as if from inside, through love, sincerity and awareness (although even this is not an easy process), and secondly people change because they HAVE TO, through suffering and deciding that there was enough suffering in their lives. This second option is MUCH more common. Similarly, I believe that new species arise because they have to, due to some pressure and not because they decide- let us evolve! Only humans could do that, in my opinion.

What can you feel as you read those lines? Does this sound as a possibility to you?

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There's a still chill that rushes over me as I read this. Anger no more. But more than a surrendered acceptance too, that was just the second level. Now there's an icy chill that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Can you feel it too?

It's that icy calm before the storm. The cold sweat, the realisation of something big, even if the mainstream continue to ignore it at their peril.

The voices are calling out to us in their eerie silence.

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I was just reading a recent article in the Guardian newspaper - an interview with Bernie Krausse. He's spent spent 40 years recording nature's sounds. But such is the rate of species and habitat loss that notices a striking difference and silence emerging, where there once were the most incredible sounds. Here's a snippet from the article:

  • "A great silence is spreading over the natural world even as the sound of man is becoming deafening," he writes in a new book, The Great Animal Orchestra. "Little by little the vast orchestra of life, the chorus of the natural world, is in the process of being quietened. There has been a massive decrease in the density and diversity of key vocal creatures, both large and small. The sense of desolation extends beyond mere silence. "If you listen to a damaged soundscape … the community [of life] has been altered, and organisms have been destroyed, lost their habitat or been left to re-establish their places in the spectrum. As a result, some voices are gone entirely, while others aggressively compete to establish a new place in the increasingly disjointed chorus." Hawaii, he says, is the extinction capital of the world. "In a couple of centuries since the islands were populated by Europeans, half the 140 bird species have disappeared. In Madagascar, 15 species of lemur, an elephant bird, a pygmy hippo and an estimated half of all the animals have gone extinct." Read in full here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/03/bernie-krause-natural…

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I seem to hear a lot about the rapid increase of fungal disease both in plants and animals. Here is an example of how it is taking its total on global wildlife...

  • "Asian frogs becoming extinct before they can be identified, biologists warn" Scientists fear amphibian destruction will be disastrous, with many species disappearing uncatalogued... Frogs and other amphibians are being wiped out at such a rapid rate across Asia that many are going extinct before scientists even have a chance to identify them as new species, biologists warned at an international conservation meeting in South Korea this week. The scale of the destruction – caused by habitat loss, disease, pollution and other factors – is hard to quantify, but scientists fear the result will be disastrous. Amphibians have been suffering a wave of devastation all around the world, in part because of the spread of the fungal disease Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, known as BD or chytrid fungus, which has wiped out whole populations within the space of a few years. Full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/12/frog-species-extinct-… (Wednesday 12 September 2012)

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I've just read this reposrt from Blue Voice about the death of 900 dolphins earlier this year in Peru. 900 dolphins don't just 'die' of natural causes. I was particularly interested to hear their views...

The Peruvian government has released a report on the mass mortality of at least 900 dolphins along the coast of Peru that states that “natural causes” and “evolutionary forces” were the cause of death.

BlueVoice, which has funded extended and extensive research conducted by Peruvian veterinarian and marine mammal expert Dr. Carlos Yaipen Llanos, believes that conclusion is nonsense. We present here a narrative history of the mortality event and Dr. Yaipen Llanos’ hypothesis that acoustical trauma followed by rapid ascent leading to catastrophic decompression is the most likely cause of death. Dr. Yaipen Llanos makes no assertion that seismic testing for oil is associated with the dolphin mortality. However BlueVoice suggests that this form of extremely loud testing makes the seismic tests a primary “element of interest”. Seismic testing was taking place in approximately the same time frame and geographical location as the dolphin mass mortality."

Read full and extensive article here:
http://www.bluevoice.org/news_perudolphins.php

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It seems that the drought is exasperating disease conditions in some wildlife populations in the USA...

    A virus has killed more than 900 white-tailed deer across eight Michigan counties this summer, 600 more than last summer.

    State biologists struggle to explain the increase, but believe it could be related to warmer, drier weather.

    Epizootic hemorrhagic disease, more commonly known as EHD, is a viral disease that causes severe, and often deadly symptoms in deer and related animals, said Brent Rudolph, deer and elk program leader at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

    A midge, or type of small biting fly, infects deer through its bite, Rudolph said. People can’t contract the disease, and it cannot be transmitted from deer to deer, said Tom Cooley, wildlife biologist and pathologist at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

    The virus generally begins to spread in late August when midges are most prevalent and stops when the first frost wipes most of them out, Cooley said.

    “The virus has to survive the winter in some capacity, but it’s difficult to figure out how,” he said.

    The summer’s extreme heat and drought, prime conditions for midges, are likely why sightings of infected deer came four to five weeks early this year, Cooley said.

    The counties in Michigan with infected deer include: Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Clinton, Eaton, Ionia and Montcalm counties. That’s a significant geographic spread, as only Cass and St. Joseph counties were affected in 2010.

    The location of EHD outbreaks tends to change every year, Cooley said.

    “We see this as something that doesn’t cause a dramatic long-term impact on the deer population, but in these localized areas it will be quite noticeable for folks,” Rudolph said.

    Other Great Lakes states have lower instances of EHD, although it can vary year to year. Only two EHD related deaths have been confirmed so far this year in Ohio – both in Geauga County, said Mike Tonkovich, wildlife research biologist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. There have been a handful of unconfirmed reports in four other Ohio counties as well, he said.

    Indiana has also experienced a few outbreaks this summer.

Source:
http://greatlakesecho.org/2012/08/21/midge-fly-infecting-michigan-deer-…

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Last year Scotland saw quite a rare event; 70 pilot wales stranded in the Kyle of Durness in Sutherland died in what is believed to be Scotland's largest ever beaching of pilot whales. 25 died. In November 2010, 35 whales were found dead on a beach in County Donegal in Ireland.

Early September 2012 16 Pilot wales died of the coast of Fife Scotland.

September 2012, 22 pilot whales came ashore at Avalon Beach State Park in Florida, many of whom died.

There are many more stories like this including huge strandings in New Zealand in recent times.

Mass strandings are not unusual.. but it feels like it happening more frequently than usual. Different factors can affect whether whales beach themselves or not. They may follow a confused leader. They may have there internal radar disrupted by disruption in the magnetic field, sonar, shipping noise, pollution. There is also a theory that whales and ocean life are affected by seismic activity. So an underwater earthquake may steer them off course.

Whatever the cause, it seems to be happening more and more in places that haven't seen it at that scale before!

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The rapid spread of animal feed plantations across South America is wiping out rainforests and destroying the communities who've lived on the land for centuries. The Killing Fields lifts the lid on the battle to feed our factory farms.

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    August 13, 2012
    JAPAN
    In Komatsu city Ishikawa, more than 10,000 earthworms were found dead in a parking lot. Ishikawa prefecture is facing Japan / Korea Sea. Mr. Kobayashi is living near the parking lot. He comments he found earthworms dead in the evening of 8/5/2012. It kept increasing and now it’s scattered around in the 250 m2 of the area. There are about 500 dead worms in the space for one car. Because 16 cars can park there, more than 10,000 worms are dead in the whole area including the passageway. A former director of an insect’s museum visited the place to comment it is rare to see this many worms dead at once. It’s an ordinary type of earthworm. He assumes they came from the near greenery to the parking lot for water because of the intense heat and died there. Citizens nearby the area talks, “I haven’t seen such a thing. Is this because of the intense heat?” or “It may increase more.”
    Fukushima Diary
    http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/08/more-than-10000-earthworms-found-dea…

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The Northern Hemisphere Heat wave is affecting large parts of the globe. Not just America, India, Pakistan, Russia and parts of Europe, but South Korea too...

    "South Korea’s extended heat-wave has taken its toll on both humans and animals, with more than 830,000 chickens or other poultry reported dead as of Wednesday. The agriculture ministry said 786,512 chickens, 40,780 ducks, 3,000 quail, 336 pigs and five cows have died since July 20, when the peak temperature began hovering above 33 Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit) in most areas. The stifling heat also killed seven people in June and July, the health ministry said, mostly elderly people working in fields or greenhouses. Temperatures have stayed above 35 C for 12 days in much of the country, causing massive blooms of algae in rivers. Sales of electric fans and air conditioners have soared. On Monday the state power company warned that reserves were dangerously low and urged people to switch off appliances, as usage reached a record. The meteorological administration says relief is in sight starting Friday, with midday temperatures dropping to the customary August figure of 30C from the weekend." ...Original article

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  • "Brazilian biologists are investigating the deaths of more than 500 penguins found washed up on the beaches of Rio Grande do Sul state. Autopsies are being conducted on some of the birds to determine the cause of death. Researchers said the penguins appeared to have been well-fed, with no apparent injuries and no oil on their bodies. Similar incidents in the past have been blamed on shifting ocean currents and colder temperatures...

Source BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18838918

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  • BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - Missouri conservationists are trying to solve a mystery in an area lake. What started as a couple dozen dead carp turned into more than 10,000 in Blue Springs Lake. Conservationists took water samples and couldn't figure out exactly what caused the deaths. Their samples have now gone onto a national lab for further analysis. Between 500 and 1,000 carp have been killed everyday. Jake Allman, a biologist with the Missouri Conservation, started noticing carp with lesions under their scales the last few weeks. "There's a little bacteria on the fish, but not enough to really have caused this," Allman said. "This feeding activity where they are brushing up against each other can actually spread whatever is making them sick." If Allman had his way, this kill would only continue. "Their spawning activity disrupts spawning of other fish. They root around in the shallows and uproot aquatic vegetation which is beneficial to native fish," Allman explained. But it seems the carp are now starting to recover. Lake officials are now keeping an eye on the E. coli levels in the water. They had to close a swimming area during Memorial Day Weekend because of a threat of E. Coli from of all the dead fish.

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Thanks so much for this vitally important forum thread Trinity. It's something that's been on my radar screen for many years.

I wonder if people reading this are truly aware of what's going on around the world?

As usual, it's been swept under the carpet by the matrix, keen to paint the continued picture of 'business as normal'.

So what is it all about?

I believe things will become increasingly clear in the few years ahead. Obviously we can point to accelerated climate change, human over population and environmental pollution. But my heart tells me it is something much deeper than that and far more significant. It tells me that Gaia is beginning her cleansing and healing process. For me, a big part of that, is the cleansing of the earth's surface and the movement of life into a higher vibrational paradigm - life that is at one with the natural evolutionary flow.

    The usual background level of extinction, known from our fossil records is between 10 and 100 species per year (counting all organisms such as insects, bacteria, and fungi). Scientific estimates suggest that the current rate of extinction may be upto as much as 27,000 species per year! Yes, astounding isn't it? Quietly, in the background, scientists around the wold are already speaking of a mass extinction being underway - in the sense of the six mass extinctions seen on this planet through the course of its history.

Here are some important links corroborating my view of mass extinction being underway:

Whilst of course I am deeply saddened by this turn of events, I can also see that a realignment in the natural order of life is going to happen. What would in my eyes be far worse, is a limping along of the status quo, which continues to destroy the earth and dehumanise people.

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Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun reported on May 23rd 2012...

  • Something's rotten on the Baltimore area waterfront. Fish are washing ashore by the thousands in a mass die-off that officials say appears to be caused by a weather-driven worsening of the pollution that chronically plagues the Chesapeake Bay. State investigators expanded their probe Wednesday into what they believe are algae-related fish kills in Marley, Furnace and Curtis creeks in Glen Burnie, raising the estimated death toll there tenfold, while finding a new batch of finny carcasses in a Dundalk creek. Jay Apperson, spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment, said the agency's fish-kill investigators estimated anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000 fish of several species dead in the three creeks in northern Anne Arundel County. Only a day before, Apperson had said investigators figured there were about 6,000 dead. "You could smell it through the neighborhood," said Rob Rogers, 45, who took a break from work at the Point Pleasant Beach Tavern to describe what he called "unbelievable" conditions on the creeks. Rogers said boaters reported dead fish floating in the water so thick they couldn't avoid hitting them. The state investigators also found about 300 dead fish in Bullneck Creek in eastern Baltimore County, Apperson said, where residents on Tuesday had reported seeing fish and crabs thrashing on the water's surface in apparent distress. The investigators measured little oxygen in the creek's deepest water for fish to breathe. The die-offs are a drastic byproduct of algae blooms that have discolored water in much of the upper bay for over a month now, officials said. "We've been having lots of algae blooms in Middle River, in Baltimore harbor, even down on the Severn River," said Thomas Parham, tidewater ecosystem assessment chief for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "This is earlier than normal," he added, and while algae blooms are a common phenomenon on the bay in spring and summer, they normally are "not at this level." The algae turning area waters reddish brown, in what's often called a "mahogany tide," is known as prorocentrum minimum, a type that has been known to produce a toxin that can kill shellfish, Parham said. While that that toxic trait has not been seen in the bay, the algae do kill fish indirectly, by consuming the life-sustaining oxygen in the water when the tiny aquatic plants die and begin to decay. Algae feed on nitrogen and phosphorus in the water, and the bay is a super-rich soup of those plant nutrients — from sewage discharges and leaks, from fertilizer washing off farm fields and lawns and from air pollution that trickles down out of the sky. Scientists suspect this year's algae blooms came earlier and grew thicker because of the extra dose of nutrients and sediment that flooded into the bay last summer from Tropical Storm Lee, turning the water the color of malted milk for weeks afterward. The situation may have been aggravated more recently by a sewer line break in Baltimore County, which spilled an estimated 50 million gallons of untreated sewage into the lower Patapsco River. Though the spill was halted promptly, it took until this week for bacteria levels to decline enough for health officials to say it was OK to touch the water downriver. "Whether it's the impacts of last year's storm, it's hard to say," Parham said of the algae blooms. "There's lots of nutrients around. The sewage spill added to that." Whatever the source of the nutrients feeding the algae, the DNR official said the warm snap in March helped trigger the blooms earlier than normal. "When you have a condition where it's nice and toasty and warm," Parham said, "it's a perfect recipe for those algal blooms." And in warm, relatively wind-less weather, oxygen levels can drop precipitously when algae blooms take over small tidal creeks and coves and then begin to die back after consuming all the nutrients in the water. That's the phenomenon officials and scientists believe caused these and most previous fish kills. Oxygen levels in the bay's deeper waters and in some shallow enclosed areas also have dropped below what's considered normal this time of year. Some volunteers raising oysters in creeks along the bay's western shore have reported finding the shellfish they planted in previous years have died. Michael Naylor, the DNR's head of shellfish programs, said many of those oysters were placed in places where water quality was marginal to begin with, so some die-offs are not unexpected. Overall, he said, the bay's oyster populations have fared surprisingly well. Temperatures in the bay are getting closer to normal, Parham said, but the weather usually gets warmer in late spring and early summer, which is when algae blooms normally thrive in the bay "A lot depends on the weather now," said Naylor. While state officials portrayed the fish kills as normal, if somewhat earlier and more intense than usual, Rob Rogers said it was the worst he'd ever seen in a lifetime of living along Marley Creek. "We had that red tide about 10 years ago," he said. "That was nothing compared to this. …The crabs were crawling out of the water to get air. When you're watching fish try to gulp air out of the water, something's wrong there."

May 23rd 2012 By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/bs-gr-algae-fish-kill-201205…

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Published May 25th 2012

  • Astana: A massive wave of deaths has been reported among the endangered saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan. Around 540 carcasses of the animal has been found in the country, RIA Novosti reported Thursday. According to the Kazakh agriculture ministry, the carcasses were found in the Kostanai region. "Aviation monitoring today (Thursday) discovered a new concentration of saiga deaths with the approximate number of dead animals reaching beyond 400," the ministry said. Last year, at least 12,000 saiga antelopes died in Kazakhstan, presumably from pasteurellosis infection and from overeating. In November 2010, Kazakhstan introduced a ban on saiga hunting. The latest statistics put the number of saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan at 85,500. The country spends $800,000 annually to prevent the deaths. Saiga were virtually exterminated in the 1920s but then their numbers increased in the 1950s. The animals mostly became endangered because of hunting and the high demand for their horns in traditional Chinese medicine. Saiga are also found in Russia's Kalmykia region and in Mongolia.

First Published: Friday, May 25, 2012 http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/hundreds-of-endangered-antelopes…

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Report from David Perlman San Francisco Chronicle May 29th 2012

  • For the first time, scientists have detected radioactivity in fish that have migrated into California waters from the ocean off Japan, where radiation contaminated the sea after explosions tore through the Fukushima nuclear reactors last year. Radioactive cesium was detected in samples of highly prized Pacific bluefin tuna, but it is well below levels considered unsafe for humans, the scientists say. The evidence is "unequivocal" that the tuna - caught off San Diego a year ago - were contaminated with radiation from Japan's nuclear disaster, the researchers said. Virtually all bluefin tuna on the market in the United States is either farmed or caught far from the Fukushima area, so American consumers should not be affected by radiation contamination in their fish, seafood distributors say. The migratory bluefin studied by the researchers were all caught by sport fishermen and were not headed for the market. Daniel J. Madigan, a marine ecologist at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove (Monterey County), Nicholas Fisher, a marine scientist internationally known as a specialist in radiation hazards at Stony Brook University on Long Island, and Zophia Baumann, a staff scientist in Fisher's laboratory, reported their discovery Monday in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Unexpected discovery The finding was wholly unexpected, Madigan said. It came about when he was researching the migratory patterns of bluefin tuna as part of a broader study of Pacific fish migration. Madigan had collected samples of muscle tissue from 15 2-year-old tuna given to him by San Diego fishermen in August, and when tests detected radioactivity in one sample he sent all 15 samples to Fisher in Long Island, he said. The young tuna, averaging about 13 pounds apiece, were found to be contaminated with two radioactive forms of the element cesium. Isotopes called cesium-134 and cesium-137 do not exist in nature but are produced only in nuclear explosions such as the weapons tests of the Cold War era. Before the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, low levels of the radioactive cesium-137 , which decays to harmlessness only over thousands of years, had been measured in Japanese waters, while the shorter-lived cesium-134 was undetectable, the scientists said. That difference, they said, was crucial in concluding that the radioactive contamination was linked to the Fukushima disaster. Increased concentrations of radioactivity contaminated nearly 60,000 square miles of the ocean off Japan after workers at Fukushima pumped thousands of tons of seawater over reactors last year to prevent a complete meltdown of the reactor cores. Fisher said there is one unanticipated benefit from Madigan's discovery of radioactivity in the bluefin tuna. If the cesium isotopes are also detected in other migratory ocean species like turtles, sharks, seals and seabirds, that information should prove valuable as "tracers" that would add fresh details of migratory patterns to what is now gathered by widespread tagging programs, he said. A new study planned Meanwhile, Madigan said, he is preparing to collect samples from a new group of bluefin tuna that have recently migrated to the waters off San Diego in order to determine their levels of radioactive cesium. They will have lived in Fukushima's contaminated ocean for a full year longer than the first fish he collected, and the scientists will seek to know whether radiation levels in the tunas' bodies have increased or decreased, he said. "We don't think there will be any public health concern from the results of the new tests," Fisher said, "but if we do see any higher concentrations of cesium, we will certainly alert public health agencies again." In Japan the fatty muscle in the tuna is particularly prized as a delicacy, sliced and eaten raw as sushi. It is very pricey, and early this year a nearly 600-pound Pacific bluefin sold in a Japanese wholesale market for the equivalent of $736,000 - $1,238 a pound.

By David Perlman (The San Francisco Chronicle's science editor) Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/28/BAB11ON3J4…

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May 24, 2012 By Claire Bigg, Mariyat Shapsug Hardly a day goes by in Sochi, Russia's picturesque Black Sea resort, without a dead dolphin washing up on the beach. With the tourist season just kicking off, the unexplained deaths have yet to draw much scrutiny. But environmentalists are increasingly alarmed. The dolphin carcasses are also turning into a real holiday spoiler for vacationers drawn to the region's scenic beaches and pristine vistas. Russian tourist Aida Kobzh was shocked to discover a group of dead dolphins last week at her local beach in Sochi. "Everyone stood there and stared at the dead little dolphins lying belly up. Poor creatures!" Kobzh says. "There were some on the beach but also in the water, they were floating there, dead." Little Official Interest The dolphins started washing up along Russia's Black Sea coast several weeks ago. They have also been spotted on Ukrainian shores. Environmentalists are now talking about the biggest dolphin die-off to date in the region, with an estimated 300 animals dead so far. Local authorities have made no serious attempt to investigate the deaths, saying the animals are too decayed by the time they reach the shore for laboratory tests to be conducted. Officials have blamed poachers and fishing nets. They say the unusually cold winter has driven dolphins from the Sea of Azov to the warmer Black Sea. Some experts, like local zoologist Konstantin Andramonov, point to a possible killer virus. "The death toll is constantly growing, unfortunately," Andramonov says. "We are now witnessing the same in Ukraine. There is a hypothesis that we are dealing with an infectious disease that occurs roughly every 20 years." Ecosystem In Danger Most experts, however, believe the real culprit is ever-increasing pollution in the Black Sea region. Valery Brinikh, who works for the prominent environmental group Ecological Watch, says the scale of the dolphin deaths belies official accounts faulting poachers and fishing nets. "This happens every year in Sochi -- sometimes there are more deaths, sometimes fewer," Brinikh says. "But the scale this time suggests unnatural causes, probably sea pollution or a loss of orientation of the dolphins, which can also be linked to pollution." Environmentalists say pollution levels have risen dramatically around Sochi since the city was selected to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. They have long warned that unbridled construction is inflicting irreparable ecological damage to Sochi's unique ecosystem. Olga Noskovets, a local ecologist, suspects that the authorities are perfectly aware it is pollution that is killing the dolphins. She says pollution levels are highest in areas close to the Olympic construction sites that dot Sochi and its outskirts. Black-And-Blue Sea According to Noskovets, the most affected area is Sochi's Lazarevsky district, where tourist Aida Kobzh recently spotted the dead dolphins. "The biggest hazard is posed by a river that runs through the Lazarevsky district, an area with a high concentration of sanatoriums, including for children," says Noskovets. "The infamous Olympic dump lies nearby, and it has no waste-treatment system. This small mountain stream, which used to have fish, is now cloudy, brown and foamy. It collects waste and carries it to beaches that once counted among the most beautiful in the area." Noskovets says the dolphin die-off should act as a wake-up call. She says the authorities must urgently sound the alarm and warn visitors about the health hazards of bathing on certain Black Sea beaches before the tourist season reaches its peak. "If sea creatures that are adapted to life in the sea react this way, what will the consequences be for humans?" Noskovets says. "Every year, numerous people suffer poisoning incidents after bathing in the sea, and these are always blamed on food poisoning. It is a nasty lie from our authorities, who are afraid of telling the truth -- that the Black Sea is simply being poisoned." Original Source: Radio Free Europe http://www.rferl.org/content/black-sea-ecologists-alarmed-by-dolphin-de…