Jul. 22, 2012 - 06:07AM JST
TOKYO —
An alarming number of red stingrays have been spotted swimming upstream in the Isumi River in Chiba, several times since Tuesday.
Kazuyoshi Oogawa, 54, was driving across a bridge over the river in Kamogawa city on Tuesday morning when his wife noticed a school of several hundred stingrays making their way slowly upriver. The surface of the river was carpeted by brown and black shapes as the school passed by, only to disappear completely before noon.
Another school appeared at the same location again a day later on the 18.
While locals point out that it’s not uncommon for groups of stingrays to be found swimming upstream during this time of the year, a breeder at the local Kamogawa Sea World aquarium commented: “While schools sometime appear near the mouth of a river from spring to summer, it’s rare for this many adult stingrays to swim up the river at once. I have no idea why they’re doing it.”
This isn’t the first time something fishy has happened in Chiba: just last month, literally tons of dead sardines washed up on the shore of Isumi city, about 40 km away from Kamogawa.
So what could the fish be trying to warn us about? A change in water temperatures? A huge earthquake near Tokyo? If the latter proves true, a river full of stingrays and a port full of dead sardines will be the least of our problems.
RocketNews24
10 Comments
Login to comment
Farmboy at Jul. 22, 2012 - 08:45AM JST
Well, weird animal behavior does seem to occur just before big earthquakes, and the recent 4.8 Fukushima quake is a little worrisome, but I don't think the fish care much about the radiation. They should, of course, but they tend to have poor long-term planning skills.
Farmboy at Jul. 22, 2012 - 08:49AM JST
My mistake. It was a 4.9 quake. http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/20120721120610391-211201.html
sandiegoluv at Jul. 22, 2012 - 09:38AM JST
Yeah, maybe they are trying to escaping the radiation in the water. Who knows? Most likely the leader is just confused and doesn't have his mapping skills down. Domesday? Probably not. Earthquake? Hopefully not.
basroil at Jul. 22, 2012 - 12:37PM JST
The water there has statistically the same radiation as before, even in the areas most concentrated with fallout wastes (potassium in the water contributes a ton to radiation, and there's a lot of potassium naturally there)
Stingrays have been correlated with increased water temperatures, so perhaps it's coal caused global warming you should blame.
Aqualung at Jul. 22, 2012 - 12:47PM JST
Did last year's earthquake cause any shifts in currents? I always assumed unusual migrations are due to temperature and oxygen level changes, but I'm not a biologist ( nor do I play one on TV).
Mocheake at Jul. 22, 2012 - 01:58PM JST
Looking to attract some attention and get into one of the shows at Kamogawa Sea World?
Farmboy at Jul. 22, 2012 - 03:28PM JST
AND we just had a 5.1 in Hokkaido. If the catfish start leaping into the air, and then the dogs start howling, I'm headed for higher ground...
basroil at Jul. 22, 2012 - 04:57PM JST
FarmboyJul. 22, 2012 - 03:28PM JST
Inland earthquakes don't cause tsunami, but can be a greater risk for landslides. maybe it isn't such a good idea to head up the hill that may come down with you on it.
Farmboy at Jul. 22, 2012 - 06:20PM JST
Basroll,
Thanks, and I hope you're right that no tsunami will occur, some of the quakes are offshore. Things have really been active from Hokkaido to Fukushima in the last couple of days.
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/2/20120722172423391-221720.html
basroil at Jul. 23, 2012 - 02:03AM JST
FarmboyJul. 22, 2012 - 06:20PM JST
On shore ones can't cause tsunami, offshore ones can. If you feel an earthquake, turn on your radio, TV, cellphone, anything, and check where and how strong. If it's above M6 or S5, it can cause issues.