A viral video of a flock of dead sparrows lying at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali has caused a stir on social media. The public was even more shocked because hundreds of birds died.
The Bali Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) has officially explained the cause of the mass sparrow die-off.
@detikcom Guru Besar Fakultas Kedokteran Hewan (FKH) Universitas Udayana, I Gusti Ngurah Kade Mahardika juga kerap memantau habitat burung pipit di pohon-pohon besar di kampus Unud Denpasar. Mahardika sempat mempelajari kasus serupa terkait penyebab apakah dari virus atau bakteri. Namun, hasilnya bukan karena itu. Menurutnya, faktor iklim dan cuaca bisa juga menjadi penyebabnya. Namun, jika kejadiannya hanya di satu lokasi saja, pengaruh musim tidak menjadi faktor utama. “Bisa jadi juga, ini musim hujan yang panas sekali. Orang bilang ini fenomena el nino, hanya saja kejadian hanya satu lokasi, pengaruh musim dapat diabaikan,” ujar Mahardika pada Minggu (24/11/2024). Baca berita selengkapnya hanya di detik.com! Creator: Risa #burungpipit #bandarangurahraibali #bunuhdirihewan #fenomenaalam #viral ♬ original sound – detik.com
The birds were falling and scattered on the airport road in the video. In addition, fallen trees were seen around the bird carcasses.
Bali BKSDA has checked the location of the lightning-struck tree at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport. Ratna said her team also found the remains of three bird carcasses that were 90 per cent gone due to lightning.
“The tree where the birds were roosting had broken branches due to the lightning strike. This caused the flock of birds that were resting on the tree to also be struck and die,” said Head of the Bali KSDA Center Ratna Hendratmoko in Denpasar, Monday, November 25, 2024, as quoted by Antara.
Ratna also explained that airport cleaners immediately evacuated the bird carcasses from the location at the time of the incident to maintain the comfort of airport visitors.
Due to the poor condition of some of the birds, Ratna said it was not possible to necropsy or sample the animals.
She explained that the incident was caused by natural factors, and there were no indications of disease outbreaks or other causes that required public concern.
In 2011, the phenomenon of thousands of sparrows falling in Bali
Previously in 2011, there was also a phenomenon where thousands of sparrows died in Bali. That year, sparrows fell from a cemetery in Banjar Sema, Pering Village, Blahbatuh Subdistrict, Gianyar Regency, Bali.
At that time, the Bali BKSDA suspected that the phenomenon occurred because acid rain affected the weather.
After further investigation, BKSDA Bali came up with a new suspicion of the viral sparrow deaths in Bali. The birds were suspected to have died from pesticide poisoning.”Our suspicion is the behaviour of people who use non-natural pesticides around Pering Village. So my guess is that these pesticides poisoned the birds,” said the Head of the Bali BKSDA Administration Subdivision, Prawona Meruanto, as reported by Detiknews, Friday, September 10, 2011.
