
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 12, 1993                   TAG: 9308120154
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BEIJING                                LENGTH: Short

MICE COMMIT SUICIDE BY DROWNING IN CHINA

Hundreds of thousands of mice have drowned themselves in northwest China in a mass suicide possibly triggered by overpopulation, the Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday.

Herdsmen began finding dead mice in May in the Altay Grassland and nearby parts of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the official news agency said.

More than 300,000 dead mice were scooped up at one location, Xinhua said.

Scientists have not found any signs of disease in the rodents, and there are no reports of disease among other animals or people in the region, the report said.

by CNB