More than 2,000 snow geese fell dead over Idaho while migrating from the Southwest to nesting grounds in northern Alaska, and avian cholera is likely to blame.
"Basically, they just fell out of the sky," said Gregg Losinski, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game,
Reuters reported via Yahoo News.
According to ABC affiliate KIDK, carcasses "were first reported at Camas National Wildlife Refuge near Dubois, and more were found Friday in the Mud Lake and Market Lake WMAs, near Terreton and Roberts, respectively."
Losinski said department workers and dozens of volunteers gathered the geese carcasses over the weekend in the eastern part of the state. They were sampled before being incinerated, and the agency is now waiting on lab testing to determine what may have killed the birds.
They suspect results will show that the birds were plagued by avian cholera, the onset of which can happen rapidly, causing birds healthy just hours beforehand to fall to their deaths midflight. Telltale signs of an infected fowl include convulsions, bloody droppings, and flying upside down.
There is some risk of transferability to humans, but it is slight. Wildlife is much more threatened by the bacteria, however, as it can live in soil and water for up to four months.
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