Common murres may be common seabirds in North America, but, earlier this month, they were at the center of a very uncommon scene in Whittier, Alaska: 8,000 emaciated (dead and alive) murres along a rocky Alaska beach.
It looks like the birds were struggling to find fish to eat for 2 main reasons:
1. Warmer water surface temperatures that forced the fish to move on or die.
2. Harsh winter storms that impeded the birds' ability to hunt.
Unfortunately, wildlife officials are NOT monitoring the forage fish in Alaska. David Irons, a retired Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska and California biologist, explains "So when they [forage fish] [are] gone, no one has any information on them to show that they're gone, except birds are showing us they're gone." I don't think that we should wait for thousands of emaciated birds to tell us how that forage fish are gone. Maybe another tragedy of this magnitude could be avoided or mitigated if wildlife officials monitored these forage fish.
We need to know what caused this massive die-off, so we can prevent another one in the future. Sign and share this petition urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska to get to the bottom of this tragedy and to start monitoring forage fish. We shouldn't wait for another massive die-off of emaciated birds or other wildlife to show that the fish are gone.
Photo Credit: Dan Hershman
Atualização #18 anos atrás
I'm sad to report that between another 6,000-8,000 common murres were discovered dead in Alaska's Lake Iliamna. This die-off is unique because the seabirds prefer to forage in the sea (not a freshwater lake). The latest death toll between the die-off events and independent cases is currently 36,000.
