Earth ChangesS


Binoculars

Over a quarter of the UK's birds are at risk of extinction or steep decline

Harry Pettit
Daily Mail
Tue, 11 Apr 2017 17:45 UTC
The curlew, Europe's largest and most distinctive wading bird, is among those added to the red list, with numbers falling 64 per cent from 1970 to 2014
The curlew, Europe's largest and most distinctive wading bird, is among those added to the red list, with numbers falling 64 per cent from 1970 to 2014
More than a quarter of the UK's birds are struggling to survive, with species including curlews and puffins now joining the at-risk list, according to a new report.

Entries to the UK's 'red list' of endangered birds - those in urgent need of conservation - have swelled to 67 species out of a possible 247.

Since the last review in 2009, 15 new species have been added to the list, which is reserved for species in danger of extinction or that have seen a sharp drop in population or habitat in recent years.

The report comes from the RSPB, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), together with UK government conservation agencies.

The curlew, Europe's largest and most distinctive wading bird, is among those added to the red list, with numbers falling 64 per cent from 1970 to 2014.
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Butterfly

UK butterfly population crashes; fourth worst year on record


Butterfly Conservation.
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 17:25 UTC
Heath Fritillary
Heath Fritillary
UK butterflies suffered their fourth worst year on record in 2016 with the majority of species experiencing a decline in numbers, a study has revealed.

A mild winter followed by a cold spring contributed to conditions that saw both rare and widespread species struggle despite many parts of the UK enjoying a warm and dry summer.

Some 40 of the 57 species studied recorded a decline compared with 2015, the annual UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) led by Butterfly Conservation, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) revealed.

The highly threatened Heath Fritillary had its worst year on record for the second year running, while the Grizzled Skipper, Wall, Grayling, White-letter Hairstreak and White Admiral all recorded their worst ever years.

The Heath Fritillary, restricted to just a handful of sites in southern England, saw numbers slump by 27% compared to 2015. This ongoing decline raises fears for the long-term future of the butterfly whose numbers have fallen by 82% in the last decade.

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Wolf

Toddler hospitalized after pit bull attack in Elmwood Place, Ohio


wcpo.com
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 12:30 UTC
Dog attack
A toddler was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Wednesday night after a dog attacked her in her own back yard, according to police.

Keith McAfee said he was helping his cousin with yardwork nearby when he heard the sound of the girl's screaming.

"The next thing I see is a black pit bull had a little girl on the ground. (It) was basically shaking her around like she was a rag doll," he said.

He said he approached the dog and attempted to scare it away, but it continued to attack the girl. She only escaped, according to McAfee, when her mother stepped in to grab her and run. Multiple witnesses had called police, and the girl was taken to Children's Hospital in an ambulance.

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Arrow Up

Horse rescued from 14-feet deep sinkhole in Kittitas County, Washington


Komo News
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 11:45 UTC
Kittitas County firefighters helped rescue a horse after it fell into a sinkhole Tuesday evening, April 11, 2017.
© Lt. Crystal Campbell, Kittitas Co. Fire District #7Kittitas County firefighters helped rescue a horse after it fell into a sinkhole Tuesday evening, April 11, 2017.
Firefighters from Kittitas County Fire District #7 helped rescue a horse after it fell into a 14-feet deep sinkhole Tuesday evening.

The owner found the animal stuck in the sinkhole on his property on Book Lane, about eight miles west of Cle Elum off I-90, and called for help.

Firefighters said the sinkhole was about five feet wide at the surface and about 10 to 12 feet wide underground.

They helped harness and lower a veterinarian into the sinkhole to check on the horse named Copper.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills two women, girl in India


The Hindu
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 09:28 UTC
LIGHTNING
Two women and a seven-year-old girl died after being struck by lightning at Jakribettu in Bantwal on Wednesday, the police said.

The police gave the names of the deceased as Jayamma (28), her daughter Shashikala (7) and Kanakamma (29). Another girl, Likita (2), is admitted in a government hospital.

According to the police, Jayamma and Kanakamma, native of Sira taluk of Tumakuru district, were labour engaged in the construction of a water tank on the banks of the Netravathi in Jakribettu. They were living in a tent near the worksite.
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Windsock

Cyclone Cook: New Zealand braces for 'worst storm in decades'

Eleanor Ainge Roy
The Guardian (UK)
Thu, 13 Apr 2017 04:48 UTC
Cyclone Cook
© EPA / NasaSatellite images taken on Tuesday show the swirling cyclone approaching New Zealand (in outline)
Auckland residents told to cancel Easter plans as the cyclone heads directly for the flood-stricken Bay of Plenty region

Cyclone Cook is bearing down on New Zealand and is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening, heading directly for the flood-stricken Bay of Plenty region devastated by last week's Cyclone Debbie.

Two states of emergency have been declared in the North Island east coast districts of Bay of Plenty and Thames-Coromandel, with more districts expected to make that call mid-afternoon when the ferocity of the storm becomes clear.

MetService - whose website crashed on Thursday because of heavy traffic - has warned the approaching storm system is expected to be the worst New Zealand has seen in decades, with forecasters comparing it to 1968's Cyclone Giselle, which sunk the Wahine ferry, killing 52 people.

MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said she was concerned New Zealanders weren't taking the storm threat seriously enough and the approaching cyclone was the worst weather event she had seen in her 12 years as a forecaster.
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Eye 2

Tourist posing for a photo with snake in India doesn't even realize when the snake bites his face... 'then dies an hour later'

Dinesh Dubey
Daily Mail
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 15:53 UTC
This is the moment a tourist in Jodhpur, northwestern India, was bitten on the face by a cobra while posing for pictures with a snake charmer
This is the moment a tourist in Jodhpur, northwestern India, was bitten on the face by a cobra while posing for pictures with a snake charmer
This is the moment a man was fatally bitten by a cobra while watching a snake charmer in India.

Video shows the charmer attempting to put the snake around the tourist's neck while other people watch and film.

But the agitated reptile strikes out, biting the man on the cheek and delivering a deadly dose of venom.

The man does not immediately notice he has been poisoned, as he carries on posing for the camera.

Moments later he seems to sense that something is amiss, asking the charmer to check whether he has been bitten.

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Eye 2

Snake flies through a crack in the door of an internet café and bites man in Thailand

Scott Campbell
Daily Mail
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 15:39 UTC
In video of the shocking encounter, the slithering creature appears to fly through the air through a crack in the door
In video of the shocking encounter, the slithering creature appears to fly through the air through a crack in the door
This is the terrifying moment a 'feisty' snake seemingly sprang out of nowhere and attacked a man by biting him on the bottom.

In video of the shocking encounter, the slithering creature appears to fly through the air when the unsuspecting internet cafe customer cracks open the door.

It immediately latches on to his bottom sending the man running for safety in the venue in the Wiset Chai Chan District of Ang Thong, Thailand.

But its sharp teeth are clamped on so hard that he is forced to kick the snake then roll on the floor in a bid to shake it off.

It creates pandemonium in the internet cafe with other customers hit by his volley of kicks and a chair knocked over.

As the others flee for cover some of them can't help but laugh at the panicking man's dramatic reaction to the rat snake.

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Eye 2

Father fighting for his life after rare snake attack near London

Martin Robinson
Daily Mail
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 15:28 UTC
The adder, which is the only venomous snake living wild in the UK, continued to thrash around near his boys Sebastian, two, and Lincoln, three, as Mr Rose collapsed.
The adder, which is the only venomous snake living wild in the UK, continued to thrash around near his boys Sebastian, two, and Lincoln, three, as Mr Rose collapsed.
A young father was left fighting for his life after being bitten by a 3ft snake hiding under his toddler son's buggy.

Josh Rose, 27, from south-west London, was taking his children for a picnic last Saturday when he was attacked by the adder.

Mr Rose was sent into anaphylactic shock and was temporarily paralysed while he helplessly watched the snake slither close to his two young sons.

The builder had seen the so-called 'crack' adder, which hides between rocks, under his two-year-old son Sebastian's pushchair on Hounslow Heath last Saturday.
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Blackbox

Hundreds of dead fish mysteriously washing up in Chesterfield Township, Michigan canal


Fox 2 Detroit
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 14:18 UTC
dead fish michigan
Several residents in Chesterfield Township are concerned about hundreds of dead fish that have been washing up near their property.

The fish have been turning up in a canal behind Lighthouse Pointe, a residential street off Jefferson Avenue.

The canal flows into Anchor Bay in Lake Saint Clair. One homeowner tells us some of the fish are still alive and appear to be struggling in the water. Neighbors say they've never seen anything in their backyards like this. "I've lived here five years, and there's been dead fish in the water before but not by the hundreds," Magdaleno Dias says.

He says he saw about two or three hundred dead fish in the water just on Tuesday morning. He'd like to see environmental officials come out and test the water.
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