Two thirds of the population of the Saiga, a Central Asian Antelope, died almost simultaneously.
The event was somewhere in seriousness between the Indian vulture crisis and the death of the passenger pigeon. Turns out it was a seemingly benign combination of humidity and a previously harmless microbe. A harbinger of things to come? Thanks to ZooPaul.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/60-000-antelope-died-four-days-no-one-knows-why-n421056?cid=sm_fb
ReplyDeletehttp://terriermandotcom.blogspot.ca/search?q=saiga
The Russian Mafia slaughtered 1,000,000 in the 90's.
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DeleteSierra: first, I need yr snail mail & such again; I have several things I want to send you, and I have been disorganized by both work and parkinsons (overwork and exhaustion as I try to get some money and work are enemies to rest and feeling competent to work, a vicious circle with no end in sight,and make me ME LOSE things...)
ReplyDeleteThere are indeed active falconers in Alaska and i have at least one good photo.
I would like to think and talk more on the idea of the ancient vs the PostModern in Central Asia. When I was there the first time it was easy to escape the modern: you just got out of town. Not so today, but in Mongolia amnd Siberia (NOT the Stans) still possible I think.