When you hear stories about insects or animals raining from the sky it can sound apocalyptic, right? Something must be inherently wrong, or so it seems.

There are actual reasons that this might happen that don’t include the inevitable end of the world, though, and if you’re curious what they might be, keep reading!

That said, fair warning – none of them are particularly pleasant.

SciShow host Stefan Chin tackled the topic in a darkly funny episode, and says reasons include mass death of flying animals, a unified attempt to evade a predator, or weather-related issues.

Also, it could be a mass of animals searching for a new home.

“As strange as it seems, animals fall from the sky sometimes, even ones that don’t belong there in the first place. From fish to spiders, these phenomena have been known for centuries but in many cases we still don’t know where the heck all these animals came from.”

Starling murmurations are one example of birds trying to avoid a predator.

We know that iguanas might fall out of trees – not technically out of the sky – if the temperature dips lower than expected for an extended period of time.

Something to remember the next time you’re spiraling on how the apocalypse is nigh, animals raining from the sky probably isn’t going to be the first sign.

 

I guess if you ask the animals, though, they might have a different take on the subject.

Or at least a different perspective.