Mass animal deaths tracker on Google Maps: Apocalypse now or natural phenomena?

In Lapu-Lapu City in the Philippines, the deaths thousands of fish are suspected to be due to water pollution, while starfish in Charleston, SC, expired en masse due to frigid temperatures and bats in Tucson, AZ, died because of warmer-than-usual winter weather.

Dead penguins had been washing up on beaches in New Zealand last November, the cause attributed to the La Nina effect -- cooler water temperatures than normal in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean caused the fish to go elsewhere due to their feed hightailing it. But, as Department of Conservation vet Kate McInnes stated, "Its not just penguins. All seabirds are struggling to feed their chicks or get into breeding condition as a result of the La Nina climate pattern."

Some scientists are saying that all of this is "pretty common" and that it's mostly nature's doing. And with the majority of cases occurring within months -- even weeks -- of each other and the extreme and uncommon weather patterns we've experienced recently, it shouldn't be surprising.

I guess we'll have to see the coroners' reports in the coming weeks for some of the yet-to-be explained deaths. Then scientists will try to come up with some theory to explain away the events and/or environmentalists will start making their cases for climate change. (I predict both.)

Either way, we can all rest assured because Kirk Cameron doesn't think these are signs of the ends of days. Whew!

See the Mass Animal Death Map here.

Information via Greenwala and Google Maps; image: Google Maps.