Activists are concerned the die-off may number into the thousands.
Jan 2, 2024
Screengrab of footage of dead swans as filmed by activist Azamat Sarsenbayev.
Environmental officials in Kazakhstan say at least 227 wild swans have died in the western Mangystau region as a result of the spread of the avian influenza.
The Mangystau regional government’s ecology department said on January 2 that the bodies of the birds were found around the Karakol Lake, which lies some 30 kilometers south of the city of Aktau.
Azamat Sarsenbayev, a local activist who has been monitoring the unfolding situation, has said he believes the die-off is much greater than what the authorities are stating.
“I don’t understand why they are underestimating the scale of the tragedy that is currently unfolding on Lake Karakol,” Sarsenbayev wrote on January 1.
The looming specter of widespread bird flu in Kazakhstan mirrors trends that have been recorded further west.
A number of scientific groups in Europe have reported on outbreaks of avian influenza across 23 countries on the continent in the period running from September 2 to December 1. Researchers have said the broad spread of the virus may have occurred later than anticipated because the delayed arrival of the fall pushed back the migratory season.
Environmental officials in Kazakhstan say at least 227 wild swans have died in the western Mangystau region as a result of the spread of the avian influenza.
The Mangystau regional government’s ecology department said on January 2 that the bodies of the birds were found around the Karakol Lake, which lies some 30 kilometers south of the city of Aktau.
Azamat Sarsenbayev, a local activist who has been monitoring the unfolding situation, has said he believes the die-off is much greater than what the authorities are stating.
“I don’t understand why they are underestimating the scale of the tragedy that is currently unfolding on Lake Karakol,” Sarsenbayev wrote on January 1.
The looming specter of widespread bird flu in Kazakhstan mirrors trends that have been recorded further west.
A number of scientific groups in Europe have reported on outbreaks of avian influenza across 23 countries on the continent in the period running from September 2 to December 1. Researchers have said the broad spread of the virus may have occurred later than anticipated because the delayed arrival of the fall pushed back the migratory season.
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