Thousands of seabirds died from the tsunami in the United States

Thousands of seabirds were killed when the tsunami was caused by an earthquake off Japan last week flooding Midway, a remote atoll in the northwest of the Hawaiian Islands, USA.

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A Laysan albatross was washed up on the shore by Midway on the island.

At least 1,000 near-mature and mature Laysan seagulls have died, and thousands of other small birds, Barry W. Stieglitz, project leader for the Pacific Islands and Hawaii Islands Wildlife Conservation , said.

Many have drowned or buried under rubbish piles when waves of up to 1.5 m hit low-lying atolls about four hours after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake last Friday.

Non-species white albatross Laysan is at risk of extinction. About 1 million Laysan albatross live at Midway Atoll Wildlife Center, about 2,000km northwest of Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, making the island the home of many Laysan albatrosses. most in the world.

But Mr. Stieglitz said, the number of dead birds may account for a significant portion of the total number of Laysan seabirds hatching this season.

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The birds were rescued after the tsunami struck.

The tsunami struck three islands inside Midway atoll.

The 0.6-hectare Spit Island was completely submerged. Tsunamis have infested more than 60% of Eastern Island, 150 hectares wide. Big waves also hit 20% of Sand Island, the largest of the three islands, 486 hectares wide.

In addition, biologists are not sure how many pelicans may have died, because these birds live in underground caves and may be buried in tsunami-affected areas. Mr. Stieglitz estimates the number of dead seagulls could reach thousands.

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Midway Atoll is in the North Pacific.

Since the seagulls eat at night, Stieglitz hopes many of them will fly away to feed on when the tsunami attacks before dawn.

Mr. Stieglitz said that many wildlife species have increased in numbers after such natural disasters. But tsunamis do not help species that face risks such as climate change and habitat loss.

Picture 4 of Thousands of seabirds died from the tsunami in the United States

Picture 5 of Thousands of seabirds died from the tsunami in the United States
Birds are trapped in rubbish piles.

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Picture 7 of Thousands of seabirds died from the tsunami in the United States

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Picture 9 of Thousands of seabirds died from the tsunami in the United States
The tsunami struck Midway Atoll after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan.

Update 16 December 2018