Thousands of carcasses of sea birds discovered at the Alaskan lake have left biologists wondering about the reason behind the same. The common murres, which are not much seen at the lake, come flocking there in winters in search of food. Biologists opine that they could have died because of one or more reasons which could be lack of food, the weather, or some disease. However, that ultimate cause of mass death of the species in the region is yet unknown.

This could have been called a random causality if only a few dead sea-birds would have been found, but the discovery of 6,000 to 8,000 birds is quite big a figure to turn one bewildered. After December storms, about 8,000 of dead birds were found at Whittier’s Prince William Sound community. The number now has reached 36,000, but most are not found ashore and there could be more bird’s carcasses out there.

On scrutinizing the birds, it was concluded that birds had been starving. It is believed that birds do not find enough food in the Pacific Ocean, so they fly to the lake foraging. They seek salmon smolt to eat.

If the birds aren’t able find food to eat that indicates that salmon also might not have found food. Another factor that needs to be considered is altering climate at lake. The lake has not been freezing for the past two winters.

The birds rely on their high metabolism to consume fat stored in their body during non-availability of food, but they could sustain themselves without food for no longer than three days. After this, shortage of food can cause death. Multiple federal agencies are trying to find out ultimate cause of this mass death.

“We’ve talked about unprecedented things about this die off. That’s another one”, warns research wildlife biologist John Piatt.