migrating snow geese (Photo : Reuters/Mathieu Belanger)
In eastern Idaho about 2,000 snow geese migrating to Alaska died when they fell dead "out of the sky." This was likely from a disease that can kill flying birds quickly.
For many days Idaho's Department of Fish and Game have been collecting dead birds in regions near the towns of Roberts and Terreton. The geese likely died from the disease avian cholera. This disease can cause convulsions and irregular flight, according to 11 Alive.
Sometimes cholera spreads so rapidly in infected birds that they suddenly drop dead from the sky. They can die as quickly as six hours after acquiring the disease, according to The Washington Post. Often the birds show no signs of the cholera beforehand.
About 20 eagles were also in the area at the time of the geese's deaths. However, experts are uncertain if they were also infected by the disease.
The snow geese are famous for their white bodies with black wingtips. At the time of the mass deaths, the birds were migrating from the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, to the north coast of Alaska. They breed there yearly.
Experts are uncertain where the geese acquired the fatal bacteria. Steve Schmidt, a supervisor at the Fish and Game Department, explained that the outbreaks of avian cholera had "occurred sporadically" in the region, during the past couple of decades.
He explained that each March about 10,000 snow geese fly through eastern Idaho. They remain there for one or two weeks, feeding in the local wheat fields.
Schmidt stressed the importance of gathering the dead birds' bodies as quickly as possible. The reason is that other birds could also acquire the disease if they nibbled on the carrion.
