There Is No "Aflockalypse"

A few days ago about 3,000 birds were found dead near Beebe, Arkansas.   A few days later the same thing happened in Sweden and in Louisiana.   Since then the internet (and the mainstream media) have been buzzing with stories about the occurrences and what they could possibly mean.   Some creative writers even coined the term "aflockalypse" -- giving the incidents a rather dire tone.

Of course, a lot of people have gone off half-cocked and come up with some ridiculous theories on what is happening.   People have claimed it was the result of secret government experiments, or it was caused by global warming, or even that it is a sure sign we are nearing the "end times" of Earth's existence.   While these are very entertaining scenarios, there is absolutely no evidence any of them are true.

The truth is that we live in a strange world, and sometimes odd things happen -- things that we have no immediate answer for.   But that does not mean there is no scientific answer or that not having an immediate answer protends some dire consequence or is the result of some kind of conspiracy.

Martin Fowlie of Birdlife International said these "die-offs" are natural and usually go unreported.   He believes this one caught the attention of the public because it was a little larger, took place right after the new year came in, and was followed almost immediately by another.

Kristen Schuler, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center, agreed saying the incidents were "not that unusual".   She went on to say,   "There is nothing apocalyptic or anything that is necessarily out of the ordinary for what we would see in any given week."   Nick Nuttall, spokesman for the U.N. Environment Program, said,   "These are examples of the surprises that nature can still bring" (although he did call for more research).

Do these incidents seem odd to us laymen?   Absolutely.   Science has still not answered all of nature's questions.   But it is not a portent of the apocalypse.   It is just the natural world showing its mystery and wonderment.   It is interesting though.