Sea Birds

Russia Seabirds Die in Mass
Associated Press, August 30, 1999

More than 2,500 dead seabirds have been found in Russia's Far East and scientists are not sure why, a news agency reported Monday. About 2,500 birds have been found on Kunashir Island in the southern Kurils, and another 100 on Sakhalin Island, the Interfax news agency said. People started reporting unusually large numbers of dead birds this month, and some experts say it could be caused by unusually hot weather. Zoya Revyakina, the chief of the state environmental protection authority on Sakhalin, said the same phenomenon had been reported in Japan, the Interfax said. The birds' bodies have been lying for many days in hot sand, making it hard to researchers to discover a trace of disease or poisoning, the report said.