Wal-Mart is Scene of Massive Bird Fatalities

Mega-flocks of duck-like birds called grebes mistook a Wal-Mart parking lot and other ground locations in St. George, Utah, for water in stormy weather Tuesday, the Associated Press said. Thousands of grebes crashed to their deaths, but rescuers saved some 2,000, bringing them to local lakes and ponds where wildlife officials said they'd find their best survival odds.

The combination of stormy conditions and city lights may be responsible for the birds' confusion, Teresa Griffin, Utah Division of Wildlife Resource manager, told the AP.

These are some other recent stories of wildlife navigation errors:

Hair Indistinguishable from Nest

A fledgling blue tit became confused on its maiden flight in June, according to the Daily Mail. Instead of landing in its nest or grass, the little bird came in for its landing amid Devon, England, gardener Bob Spencer's hair, according to the Daily Mail.

Glass Enclosures Confuses Animals

The glass wall of her zoo enclosure apparently confused a lioness who sharpened her claws and opened her jaws wide, then pounced to no avail, according to the Daily Mail. Luckily the toddler on the other side of the glass at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado took the lioness' interest in him with good humor.

A plate glass window similarly befuddled a deer at Taco Mac in Alpharetta, Ga., in November. The Discovery blog reported that the deer careened through the window and ran frantically through the restaurant until a server lured him out the back door. The young buck lost an antler.

In October, a Randallstown, Md., auto repair shop was the scene of a similar deer navigation error, the Baltimore Sun said. The deer had been struck by a vehicle on a nearby highway before running through the plate glass window.

Interloper in Sky Confuses Bird

As nature's exclusive flyers, birds have been known to become confused on encountering man in the sky. In November, an eagle flew into a paraglider and became tangled in his suspension cord, the Sun reported. The bird caused the paraglider's canopy to collapse, but a back-up chute saved him from death.

Biker on Game Reserve Confuses Antelope

Most Watched Today features a video of a Red Hartebees antelope running through a game reserve and knocking down a mountain biker from Team Jeep South Africa who unexpectedly crossed his path. The video got 2.5 million hits in a single day.