Visakha

About 7,500 songbirds died when they flew through a giant flame. The deaths may have included some endangered species.

The flame is part of a standard safety procedure meant to burn off excess natural gas at the gas company, Canaport LNG.

“The birds were drawn to the flames like moths,” said Don McAlpine, the head of zoology at the New Brunswick Museum.

Imagine coming to work and finding several thousand adorable birds dead in front of your building. Employees of the gas plant were understandably upset. Many of them were even reduced to tears. In response, McAlpine was quick to point out: “Although this is certainly a tragic event and it’s shocking to see 7,500 dead birds, it’s a drop in the bucket in terms of the number of birds that are killed from human actions every year.”