Over the Edge + February 2, 2011 news 5 Birds are Dying Mysteriously all Over the World Numerous birds have been falling out of the skies HANNA PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Birds such as this have been dropping from the skies across the planet as of late. 20 kilometers outside of Quebec City a farmer noticed a few dead birds on his field in late December. Sylvan Tummel first found only two birds on his field which isn’t out of the ordinary, but by the time he had returned to the field an hour later he had found an additional 25 birds dead on the ground. As Tummel began to collect the birds and contact authorities, students so happy? Because they can rent from us* *SOME CONDITIONS APPLY. CONTACT LOCATION FOR DETAILS. Me STUDENT PRICE CARD HOLDERS CALL FOR SPECIAL RATE. LOCATIONSSACROSS CANADA “SEBRITISH'COLUMBIA Campbell Rivers 250528728353 "Ai Castlegar, Cranbrook Creston Delta Fernie Kelowna 2507369571 00 250-426-3004 250542859343 me Calgary 604294323713 Calgary,SW 250-423-6030" Canmore 250-763-6632 Edmonton) Kitimat 250-632-4106006@Grand Prairie Nanaimo 250-753-6461 Hanna Nelson 250-352-5122 Oyen Port Coquitlam” 604-942-6655 Red Deer« Powell River 604-485-7929 = Prince George) 250-563-7336 Terrace 250-615-2046 Trail 250-364-0211 Victoria 250-380-7760 4032679"2253 7809433°0999 780%538-1880 SINCE 1976, PRACTICAR® AND RENT-A-WRECK® HAVE RENTED, LEASED AND SOLD CLEAN, DEPENDABLE USED CARS, TRUCK AND VANS FOR LESS. Did you know that Over the Edge offers free ad space for UNBC clubs and non-profit groups? Send us a PDF of your ad, and we'll put in our paper! Just email over-the-edge@ unbc.ca more birds fell to their deaths. The birds were sent to Quebec’s Ministry of Natural Resources for analysis. The incident near Quebec City has not been an isolated occurrence. Similar reports of large numbers of bird deaths have also been recently reported in countries as various as Sweden, the U.S., and Italy. In a small town in Arkansas more than 4,000 blackbirds dropped out of the sky on New Year’s Eve, ominously bringing in the New Year. In Sweden, 500 birds were found dead in a street in Falkoping. In Faenza, Italy, thousands of dead turtledoves rained down on the town. However, these birds best associated with the 12 days of Christmas, were found with a strange blue stain on their beaks. Biologists and Wildlife experts claim that this odd phenomenon is not as rare as one would first believe. In Quebec the farmer Sylvan Tummel was assured that West Nile, Avian Flu or any sort of poison did not affect the birds. Instead, the deaths are presumably caused by hailstorms, fog, starvation, or other various particle reasons for birds to suddenly die. Regarding the case of the turtledove deaths in Italy, overeating and indigestion are being cited as the reason behind the mass deaths. Near the main location of the dead birds, an industrial site was found with quantities of discarded sunflower seeds. The blue stain on their beaks may be caused primarily by hypoxia or lack of oxygen, which would cause the animals to become disorientated. Prior weather also leads to the assumption that the birds were swept up into a high altitude windstorm before falling to their deaths. These strange situations will undoubtedly give rise to speculation regarding climate change or pollution rates accompanied by the unavoidable conspiracy theorists. It doesn’t help that schools of fish in Maryland and other places are also washing up on shores by the masses. Following the train of thought from the plague-like deaths of animals to the prediction of the apocalypse is only too easy. Events such as these are not a cause to abandon reason, however. Environmental and biological research into the coincidence of the multitudes of this rare phenomenon at this time is probably the best course of action to gather a better understanding of this strange ‘plague’. NUGSS Meet N’ Greet Students got a chance to meet thier student council SHELBY PETERSEN NUGSS VP Student Affairs Heather Carson talks up the benefits of getting involved in and around the UNBC campus dur- ing the meet and greet. Students were also treated to some free pizza which ran out rather quickly!