Dozens of dead birds found, ‘a mystery’ in Abilene, Texas, USA

Dozens of birds were mysteriously found dead around the Mall of Abilene.

The mall’s general manager, Steven Niles, told KTXS that his staff discovered at least 50 purple martins dead on the mall’s property.

Niles said that he believes that lightning is to blame and that this was an isolated incident.

Annaliese Scoggin, a district biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department based in Taylor County, drove around the Mall of Abilene on Friday to see where the dead birds were found.

Scoggin said that she first learned of the dead birds found at the mall on Thursday.

“Some had been taken to the [Abilene] Zoo for the bird rehab [program] because they were still alive,” Scoggin said. “There were several dozen that were found dead.”

However, there is a lot of uncertainty about how the birds died.

Scoggin said that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has not determined yet what caused the death of the birds found outside of the mall.

“We don’t have a reason for them dying off, but it sounds like the [Abilene] Zoo may be sending some to the wildlife health center for further testing,” Scoggin said.

Courtesy of foxsanantonio.com

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