nuclear-news

Report: Wildlife “disappearing” around massive LA gas disaster — Residents: “It’s completely quiet”… birds, butterflies, rabbits, coyotes are missing… all fish in pond found dead — “All of this is gone… Makes me wonder how bad it really is” — Animal with “worst blood” ever seen by doctor (VIDEO)

City News Service, Jan 18, 2016 (emphasis added): Porter Ranch residents report unexplained ailments, behaviors in pets… [A family] lost all 20 of their brightly colored Koi fish after they started dying… [Others] have noticed fewer bird and wildlife sightings.

Al Jazeera, Jan 22, 2016: [The Katz’s], parents of five… are living a nightmare… Her pride and joy was her garden and a koi pond. She cries when she recounts how all 20 fish died…“The birds, the butterflies, all of this is gone. It’s quiet now.”

L.A. Daily News, Jan 22, 2016: “We used to see coyotes and animals” [Jennifer Marotta] said. “It makes me wonder how bad it really is.”

L.A. Daily News, Jan 16, 2016: [Residents] have noticed fewer bird and wildlife sightings… [Attorney Rex Parris wrote to officials] that pets are ill or disappearing and wildlife, such as birds and rabbits, seem to be disappearing as well from the community… [Sally Taylor’s dog] quickly became lethargic and threw up some 20 times within an hour… “[The vet hospital] said it was the worst blood work the vet has ever seen”… For the Balen family, it’s thesound of birds they’ve missed the most. In late December, they said the absence made their home… “completely quiet… for 10 years… every morning, we wake up to the birds chirping. Not anymore.”

KABC, Jan 19, 2016: [The gas leak is] affecting many pets… “We’re seeing probably several hundred total and it’s been going on for around three months now,” [Dr. David Smith at Northridge Animal Hospital] said. Smith said it started shortly after [they] first reported the leak… Smith said he has serious concerns about the health risks for the animals.

Government officials have come up with their own interesting explanations for the disappearance of wildlife:

L.A. Times, Jan 18, 2016: Wild animals may have left the area because of the noise coming from crews attempting to fix the well, [Department of Fish and Wildlife] spokeswoman Mary Fricke said.

Steve Gonzalez, public information officer for the Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, Jan 16, 2016: “There is a lot of noise and construction… Typically, animals like coyotes and bears will stay away from loud noises.”

Watch KABC’s broadcast here