Abby Jones

To understand the effects of a big die-off, researchers set up experiments with wild boar carcasses.

Rotting feral pig carcasses teach scientists what happens when tons of animals die all at once, as in Australia’s bushfires

Unfortunately, animal die-offs of massive proportions are becoming more frequent. Global change — which includes human-caused changes in climate, land use, fire regimes and other things — may largely be to blame for the increased frequency and intensity of mass mortality events across all kinds of animals.