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600 sparrows mysteriously die in Hokkaido(Mainichi Daily News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido -- At least 600 sparrows have been found dead in residential areas here since late last year, prompting the prefectural government to launch an investigation into the cause of their deaths, officials said. The local livestock sanitation inspection office said it has not detected the bird flu virus in the dead sparrows. Experts are puzzled over the cause of their deaths. "None of the dead birds had external injuries and no bleeding was found in their internal organs. It's highly unlikely that parasites or toxic substances killed them. Nor did they starve," said Rakuno Gakuen University Associate Prof. Mitsuhiko Asakawa, an expert in parasitology and the protection of wild animals. "There is a possibility that they were frozen to death or that invisible microbes are responsible." "There are interrelated factors behind the deaths of a massive number of wild birds or their disappearance. It is difficult to specify the cause," said Masao Sano, 66, a member of the Ornithological Society of Japan, who is an expert on the ecology of sparrows. In January this year, the bodies of more than 100 dead sparrows were found in six birdhouses at a home in the Suehiro district of Asahikawa, the local office of the Hokkaido Prefectural Government said. It was subsequently learned that numerous sparrows had been found dead in various areas of Asahikawa since late last year. The Sapporo branch of the Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ) has received reports that sparrows have been rarely seen in the Hokkaido prefectural capital since the beginning of this year. "Recently, we've received as many as three inquires a day," a WBSJ official said. The Ishikari and Kamikawa branches of the prefectural government said they have received a lot more inquiries about the disappearance of sparrows this year than normal. There was a similar phenomenon in the past. Sparrows disappeared from Miyake Island, south of Tokyo, immediately after islanders were evacuated following a volcanic eruption in 2000. However, the birds came back to the island when residents returned. (Mainichi) [Mainichi Daily News / April 12] |