Thread: Thinning of the Herd?

SolSkye's Post about the bees reminded me, that the bees disappearances are only the top of the barrel. Its only one issue of many.

Put together via information on another forum, its not secret that there have been massive mammal die offs lately.

While following the massive unexplained deaths of bats in the NE, one begins to wonder what could be found with respect to other unexplained mammal die-offs. Nearly all of the following examples were pulled from articles published within the last 90 days:

Hare-less: Yellowstone's Rabbits Have Vanished, Study Says

A new study by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society found that jack rabbits living in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have apparently hopped into oblivion. The study, which appears in the journal Oryx, also speculates that the disappearance of jack rabbits may be having region-wide impacts on a variety of other prey species and their predators.

According to the study, historical records from more than 130 years ago indicate that white-tailed jack rabbits were once locally abundant in Greater Yellowstone, a 60,000 square kilometer (23,166 square mile) ecosystem that contains both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. However, the WCS study found that no jack rabbit sightings could be confirmed in Yellowstone since 1991 and only three in Grand Teton since 1978.

No one knows what caused the rabbits to disappear, according to the study's lead author, Dr. Joel Berger, a Wildlife Conservation Society conservationist, and professor at the University of Montana. "It could be disease, extreme weather, predation or other factors," Dr. Berger said. "Since the rabbits blipped off without knowledge, there has simply been no way to get at the underlying cause."


More...

The case of the missing Minnesota moose

Scientists say that the moose are dying from "tipover disease," less a diagnosis than a description of how moose simply weaken and crumple to the ground, often to be finished off by wolves or other predators. Minnesota moose seem to be dying when and where they shouldn't -- in the prime of life, or in the fall, when they should be fat, and amid plenty of food. The causes are still largely unknown.


Minnesota's moose are dying

"These are animals in the prime of life that just look like they laid down and died," said Mike Schrage, a wildlife biologist with the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe.

...

"The vast majority of them are dying from some unknown malady. We just have not been able to identify what that is," said Lenarz. "Some are dying from what's called brain worm. Some are probably dying from winter ticks. Some are dying from who-knows-what disease or parasites out there, but it isn't any single smoking gun."

More...

Local marine mammal mortality rate alarms fisheries officials

With the total number of dead, decomposing dolphins washing up on Southeast Texas shores increasing to 64 this month, National Marine Fisheries officials Wednesday have declared an "unusual mortality event" for the entire Texas coast.

Biologists looked back at other cases along the coastline, and found 45 more similar to those found on Jefferson and Galveston coasts, bringing the total to 109, said Blair Mase, marine fisheries Southeast Regional Marine Mammal Stranding coordinator.

Last year, an unusual mortality event for the north Texas coast was called after 68 dolphins washed up in March, according to Enterprise archives. A cause for the die-off wasn't found because many of the dolphins were so decomposed, according to the archives.

More...

Sea Otter Deaths in California Alarm Officials

An unusually high number of sea otter deaths this month off the California coast has state and federal wildlife officials worried that the sea otter population, in decline since the mid-1990's, may be experiencing troubles more serious than previously thought.

Six dead sea otters have washed ashore in the last several days, bringing to 45 the number of dead or stranded otters in California in April. That is more than double the average number for the month in the last decade, the officials said.

''We have had other times when mortality was high, but we attributed it to various things, and it tapered off,'' said Greg Sanders, the southern sea otter recovery coordinator for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. ''But at this point we are breaking all previous records and we have not found a pattern.''

More...

See also, Why are California sea otters dying?

Crystal River Colorado bighorns in trouble

Young bighorn sheep along the Crystal River near Redstone aren’t surviving to adulthood.

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The population of about 100 adult sheep ranging from just south of Carbondale to Marble are reproducing, but 85 to 95 percent of the young aren’t surviving to adulthood, according to Colorado Division of Wildlife Officer John Groves.

“We’re not exactly sure what’s causing it,” Groves said, but bighorn lambs are dying off at about four to six weeks old.

More...

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See also, Disease claims Nev. bighorn sheep herd

There are also these other, mostly non-mammal, die-offs also found in recent articles published over the last couple of years.

Chinook salmon vanish without a trace

Mystery Disease Killing Bats: Could Force Extinction

Mystery killer silencing honeybees

Rapid loss of aspen forests prompting research

Mystery over mass deaths of starfish

Mysterious American Eel Decline

The starvation of the grey whale

Dying salt marshes puzzle scientists

Bird toll mounts on Richardson Bay

Mystery virus taking toll on city crows

Makes you wonder...

They're disapearing because they are dying off.

christ

Wow.

Too bad I won't be around long enough to see what sorts of creatures will replace these if they all die off like the dinosaurs. If any, that is.

Do you think this mysterious "malady" is something that could affect humans as well?

Easily.

Most animals rely on a balance. Deer and Wolves for example. If there becomes an overpopulation of wolves and all the deer die out, the wolves will die out. We also rely on this balance. Even if the mysterious cause of animal deaths itself doesn't effect us directly, it could easily effect us if it disrupts the balance that keeps us all in check.

Originally Posted by Seismosaur

They're disapearing because they are dying off.

Uhhh...

Originally Posted by ExoByte

Put together via information on another forum, its not secret that there have been massive mammal die offs lately.

Originally Posted by ExoByte

While following the massive unexplained deaths of bats in the NE, one begins to wonder what could be found with respect to other unexplained mammal die-offs. Nearly all of the following examples were pulled from articles published within the last 90 days:

Originally Posted by ExoByte

There are also these other, mostly non-mammal, die-offs also found in recent articles published over the last couple of years.

There is an upset balance because of human overpopulation, of course.

Once humans reach the apogee or population, a wave of something will, at first slowly, then quickly, then back to slowly, kill off many humans and animals directly affected by us.

Do you mean in terms of food running out for us? It doesn't seem like farm animals are in danger yet... in any case, we can survive on fruits and vegetables just fine.

Actually becoming vegetarian can cause loss of brain development and sterility.