The apocalypse-implying event on New Year’s Eve where thousands of birds fell from the sky after having spontaneously died mid-flight in Arkansas was slightly more alarming when considered alongside the fact that thousands more fish seemingly died en masse not too far from the bird holocaust.
However, neither of these two events were isolated- another group similar birds also dropped dead from the sky around the same time, hundreds of miles away in Louisiana . Discussing the second “occurrence” (does that put anyone else in mind of an M. Night Shyamalan-type film?) in Pointe Coupee Parish, State Wildlife Veterinarian Jim LaCour said the happenstance of birds dropping from skies en masse hundreds miles away from one another was (although creepy as a motherbitch) documented:
“Underlying disease, starvation and cold fronts where birds can’t get their body heat up” have caused similar occurrences “in various species over the years,” he said.
A “loud noise,” possibly from holiday fireworks, was initially blamed for the mass deaths, but it is unclear if such an event would affect the second set of birds as well as the estimated 80-100,000 dead fish. Necropsies performed on the first set of dead birds indicated at least some died of “deadly blood clots.”