Earth ChangesS


Attention

Dead sperm whale found for the first time near Singapore

Audrey Tan, Chew Hui Min
The Straits Times
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 17:40 UTC
Image
© Lim YaohutThe sperm whale carcass being pulled onto land at Tuas Marine Transfer Station.
A sperm whale's 10m-long carcass was found floating off Jurong Island on Friday morning.

The species had never previously been found in the waters around Singapore or peninsular Malaysia.

Oil industry worker Mr Jailani Salleh told The Straits Times that he spotted the dead mammal under a jetty at around 7.45am and posted a video of it on Facebook.

Mr Marcus Chua, curator of mammals and birds at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, was informed and told The Straits Times it was an "exciting find". It is to be studied by scientists.

The museum will now work to preserve the specimen, believed to be a young adult. A museum volunteer then informed Mr Chua about the incident at about 9.30am.

Read More...
Black Cat

12 deaths in animal attacks this year in Uttarakhand, India, situation alarming

Jotirmay Thapliyal
The Tribune (India)
Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:33 UTC
Image
Twelve persons have lost their lives in wild animal attacks this year indicating that the man-animal conflict in Uttarakhand has reached an alarming proportion.

The death of two sisters in Chamoli in a leopard attack is the latest incident in the series of man-animal conflicts in the state. Leopards have killed five persons in June.

Experts say the death toll might break the all-time record by the year-end. Rapid changes in the forest eco-system, mainly owing to excessive human intervention and climate change, have been forcing wild animals to stray into human habitations frequently.

Since the formation of the state, 400 persons have fallen prey to leopards. The wildlife authorities, despite their best efforts, have failed to curb the increase in the fatal animal attacks on humans.

The coming months will be more challenging for the wildlife authorities as rains increase vegetation growth and thickens bushes and foliage, thereby, providing adequate cover to prowling leopards.
Read More...
Umbrella

Waterspouts seen near Alabama coast


uk.news.yahoo.com
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 15:58 UTC
Image
Waterspout
Waterspouts were spotted off the coast of Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico on July 9. The National Weather Service in Mobile said conditions were favorable for waterspouts. It issued a special marine warning because of waterspout reports.

This video shows one waterspout in the gulf taken by a fishing-charter captain.

Read More...
Windsock

Water spout sighted on Lake Tahoe

Kale Williams
SF Gate
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 13:19 UTC
Water spout
© Courtesy, Brett Kendall
Lake Tahoe was treated to a rare weather occurrence Wednesday night as a water spout formed along the west shore of the lake.

The water spout, essentially a very weak tornado over water, formed near the mouth of Emerald Bay just after 9 p.m., according to Brett Kendall, brewmaster at nearbyFOLK Brewing Co., who snapped a picture of the aqueous twister from the lake's east shore.

"Water spouts can happen anytime there is a thunderstorm with a strong enough rotation to form a funnel," said Chris Smallcomb, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno. "They are generally weak, with winds around 60 or 70 mph, and they are pretty slow moving, but they can be unpredictable so people should try to steer clear."

Comment: For more strange weather, check out: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - June 2015: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, and High Strangeness

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.7 - 155km SSW of Dadali, Solomon Islands


US Geological Survey
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 05:54 UTC
Solomon Quake_1000715
© USGS
Time
  1. 2015-07-10 04:12:41 (UTC)
  2. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 155km (96mi) SSW of Dadali, Solomon Islands
  2. 168km (104mi) W of Honiara, Solomon Islands
  3. 467km (290mi) SE of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
  4. 874km (543mi) SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
  5. 885km (550mi) E of Alotau, Papua New Guinea
Scientific Data
Read More...
Water

If no rain is forthcoming, Bangkok's tap water will run dry in 30 days

Alisa Tang
Reuters
Mon, 06 Jul 2015 21:29 UTC
Bangkok
© Reuters/Athit PerawongmethaThe skyline of central Bangkok and the Chao Phraya river are seen during sunrise in Bangkok April 22, 2015.
Bangkok's tap water supply may run out in a month, as the country waits for long overdue rains to replenish sources depleted by drought and threatened by seawater creep, the chief of the capital's water authority said.

Thailand is suffering its worst drought in more than a decade. In an effort to maintain water levels in the dams that supply water for agriculture in the provinces as well as taps in the capital Bangkok, the government has asked farmers to refrain from planting rice since last October.

Despite these measures, water levels are critically low in the three key reservoirs that flow into the Chao Phraya River, one of the two main sources of Bangkok's tap water.

The quantity of water collected in the three dams totaled 5 billion cubic meters last November, compared to the normal 8 billion cubic meters, said Thanasak Watanathana, governor of the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority. As of Monday, there was about 660 million cubic meters left, according to the Royal Irrigation Department.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Almost a month's worth of rain in several hours soaks Danbury, Connecticut

Nelson Oliveira
The News-Times
Thu, 09 Jul 2015 20:35 UTC
Image
© H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut MediaA tractor trailer tries to make its way around a stalled car on Main Street in Danbury on Tuesday after heavy rains flooded parts of the city.
City crews were out Wednesday repairing drainage problems and clearing debris.

The damage was relatively minimal considering the intensity of the storm that unleashed nearly a full month's worth of rain Tuesday, causing flash floods and knocking out power to more than 1,000 customers.

Emergency crews pulled a driver out of a car at the Beaver Brook Road underpass and another at the West Street underpass, Assistant Fire Chief Mark Omasta said. No one was injured.

The city sustained several lightning strikes, Eversource spokesman Mitch Gross said.

The heavy rain and lightning pushed tree branches onto wires, disrupting electrical service.

Danbury received 3.15 inches of rain between 3:30 and 8 p.m., according to the Connecticut Weather Center. The heaviest rain fell within about two hours, according to meteorologist Bill Jacquemin.

The city's average rainfall for July is 4.4 inches.
Read More...
Eye 2

Portents and signs: Two-headed lizard hatched in Birkenhead, UK


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Sat, 27 Jun 2015 19:47 UTC
Image
Rare two-headed lizard
It looks more like something from the TV series Game of Thrones, only this two headed dragon is just a couple of inches long.

The rare two-headed lizard hatched from a clutch of eggs being incubated by a reptile breeder in Birkenhead in the Wirral, Merseyside in the UK.

The tiny leatherback bearded dragon has two separate heads but shares the same body, legs and tail.

Although rare, the condition, a form of polycephaly, most commonly occurs in reptiles - particularly in snakes - and is thought to be the source for mythological monsters.

The bearded dragon, which has been named Olaf after the snowman character in Disney's Frozen, is thought to be one of only four bearded dragons known to have hatched with two heads in the world.

Stephan Evans, 34, who has been breeding bearded dragon lizards for 17 years, discovered the two headed creature on Thursday while checking a clutch of eggs.
Read More...
Eye 2

Portents and signs: Rare two-headed Russell's viper born in Hyderabad, India

Alekya Ettaboina
indread.com
Tue, 23 Jun 2015 19:35 UTC
Image
A rare and dangerous snake Russell’s viper gave birth to two-headed one at the shelter of the Friends of Snakes Society in city.
Recently for a group of animal activists from Hyderabad, Russell's viper was saved by the organisation. As per details saved Russell's viper gave birth to 18 live young ones all are healthy but one was born with two heads in a case of rare genetic condition at Friends of Snakes Society's shelter.

As per the members of the NGO, this is the first time in two decades of the organizations where a dangerous snake birth to two-headed young one. The members of organization observing that one with genetic condition called polycephaly.

Avinash Visvanathan, general secretary of the society said that "Dangerous snake Russell's viper gave birth to 18 young one, among those 17 are healthy and one was born with two heads due to the genetic condition. This may occur normally in wild, however those will not alive for long period. Both heads of snake were functional, still processing two heads is a disadvantage in terms of flexibility and management. They may hunt for food till adulthood or might be face death due to inefficient hunting abilities".

This two headed Russell's viper will be kept in captivity at the shelter and care will provide to it.
Read More...
Attention

2 dolphins die on beach at San Simeon Cove, California

Kathe Tanner
The Cambrian
Wed, 08 Jul 2015 19:22 UTC
Image
© Carolyn SkinderThis baby dolphin died after being found on the beach at San Simeon Cove.

Two dolphins were found early Monday, July 6, on the beach at San Simeon Cove.

The adult marine mammal was dead when it was spotted under the San Simeon Pier. The baby dolphin, found somewhat north of that, died as trained rescuers frantically tried to keep it alive, even though they knew the odds were heavily stacked against that effort being successful.

It's not known yet whether the two short-beak common dolphins were together, perhaps as mother and her about 3-foot-long baby.

"It was heartbreaking, so sad" to hear the dying baby calling out, said Carolyn Skinder, program coordinator for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary's southern region. She was one of those called for the rescue effort.

Officials say they don't yet know what killed the animals.

Skinder said the carcasses have been shipped to Sausalito, where scientists will do necropsies (the animal equivalent of an autopsy). They hope to determine whether the two dolphins were related, and what may have killed them.
Read More...