Animals
S


Attention

Mysterious freshwater turtle die-off in at least 3 counties of Florida

Teresa Stepzinski
The Florida Times-Union
Thu, 31 May 2018 18:59 UTC
A baby cooter on the bank of Dunns Creek, off the St. Johns River.
© Will Dickey / The Florida Times-UnionA baby cooter on the bank of Dunns Creek, off the St. Johns River.
Freshwater turtles are dying throughout the St. Johns River watershed and baffling state wildlife scientists concerned about the die-off in at least three counties.

Our Florida Times-Union news partner reports the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is investigating the death of multiple species of freshwater turtles discovered in various bodies of water in Putnam, Orange and Seminole counties.

"These types of turtles are pretty resilient," said St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman said Wednesday. "So it was quite alarming to us."

The advocacy group was among the first to notify the commission about the turtle die-off.

Rinaman said the issue could be one of water quality.
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Attention

Whale carcass found on beach in Victoria, Australia

Madeleine McNeil
The Standard
Fri, 01 Jun 2018 18:41 UTC
Resting place: The public is asked to stay away from a whale carcass near Fitzroy River due to health risks and increased shark activity in the area.
© Bob McPhersonResting place: The public is asked to stay away from a whale carcass near Fitzroy River due to health risks and increased shark activity in the area.
A whale that washed up on a beach near Tyrendarra last weekend will be left to decompose.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) officers identified it as a blue whale but are awaiting expert species identification confirmation.

The whale washed up in the Fitzroy River area on the shore line.

DELWP Barwon South West regional agency commander Aimee Haywood said given the beach's remote location a decision was made to allow the carcass to decompose naturally. "DNA samples were taken to provide to the Melbourne Museum for identification purposes," she said.

"The whale carcass is on a secluded beach that is not easily accessible to the public. We are asking the public to stay away from the carcass, due to the health risks associated with whale decomposition, and the presence of whale faeces on the beach.
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Wolf

Pit bull terrier shot as it attacks girl in Pittsburgh


wpxi.com
Fri, 01 Jun 2018 16:01 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
A pit bull attacked a teenage girl Thursday in Lincoln-Lemington, forcing a neighbor to shoot and kill it.

Police told Channel 11 it was a brutal attack at a home in the 6000 block of Dean Street.

"I was in the shower, I hear screaming, this little girl was screaming for dear life," said Marcenia Massey. "That dog was like on top of her body like really mauling her, she was screaming for minutes."

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Bizarro Earth

Beast from the East wild weather patterns bring a bumper crop of flying ants and 'drunken' seagulls to the UK


RT
Fri, 01 Jun 2018 15:21 UTC
Seagull flying ant season
© Justus de Cuveland / Global Look Press"Let's get off chops!" - Seagull, to its mate during Flying Ant season.

Flying Ant Day is on its way - which means that seagulls across the UK could soon be tripping balls, obviously. The gulls, who get high from the acid produced by the bugs, "gobble them up like M&Ms", according to one expert.

Of course, the increase in the flying ant population is apparently because of... Russia. Thanks to the Beast from the East wild weather patterns in recent months, many of the bugs remained dormant during the cold snap. As a result, the bugs are now out in droves... much to the delight of Britain's seagulls.

Experts say the nation's ant population is normally 150 billion, but this has risen to 200 billion - and pest control bosses are reporting a record numbers of call outs as the bugs descend on Britain - a 148% increase in the last two months.

Rentokil Pest Control training academy head David Cross said: "Last month we saw reported ant infestations rise to levels we wouldn't usually expect until June or July. It's rare to see ant infestations in cold or overcast weather, and while the 'Beast from the East' may have caused them to remain dormant in March, the sudden change in temperature has since brought them out in their droves.
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Attention

Mako shark bites down on deck of boat off New Zealand

Ben Hooper
UPI
Thu, 31 May 2018 14:32 UTC
Mako shark
A man preparing to swim with sharks off New Zealand captured the moment one of the "unpredictable" predators clamped its jaws down on his boat.

The video, recorded off the coast of Tairua, Coromandel, shows the mako shark with its head out of the water, biting down on the deck of the filmer's boat.

"I was about to jump in the water to swim with this mako shark, and this is the welcome we get," the filmer wrote.

The man said his intention was to change perceptions of sharks as inherently dangerous.

"Mako sharks are the fastest and most unpredictable shark in the sea, but they are also threatened with extinction due to commercial and recreational overfishing," he wrote. "The aim of the game here is to get in the water, cageless, to show people what sharks really are and change people's perspectives through stimulating visual imagery like this, laced with scientific information."

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Attention

Dead humpback whale found on Admiralty Island, Alaska

Kevin Gullufsen
Juneau Empire
Thu, 31 May 2018 11:10 UTC
Dan Kirkwood of Pack Creek Bear Tours takes photos the humpback whale carcass that washed ashore Admiralty Island on the backside of Douglas Island on Thursday, May 31, 2018.
© Riley WoodfordDan Kirkwood of Pack Creek Bear Tours takes photos the humpback whale carcass that washed ashore Admiralty Island on the backside of Douglas Island on Thursday, May 31, 2018.
A humpback whale has washed up dead on Admiralty Island across from Douglas Island, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. It's not clear yet how the whale died or if it was struck by a vessel.

NOAA spokesperson Julie Speegle said the carcass has most recently been spotted on the beach at Point Young, which juts out from Admiralty Island into Stephens Passage on the backside of Douglas. NOAA believes the whale carcass has come to rest there after being beached in other places.

"It's on the beach pretty high up and we don't anticipate it will refloat, so at this point it's not a hazard to navigation," Speegle said.
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Attention

Blue whale seen in the Red Sea for the first time

Viola Fahmy
aa.com.tr
Thu, 31 May 2018 19:40 UTC
The blue whale spotted off Eilat, May 29, 2018.
© Omri OmessiThe blue whale spotted off Eilat, May 29, 2018.
A blue whale has been seen in the Red Sea for the first time ever, Egypt's Environment Ministry announced Thursday.

In a statement, the ministry said it was "following with great interest the very first appearance of a blue whale in the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea".

The largest animal on earth, blue whales can reach up to 30 meters (98 feet) in length and can weigh up to 180 tons.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has designated the blue whale as an "endangered species".


Comment: Other reports over the last 4 years of certain whale species turning up where they are not usually encountered, include:

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Binoculars

Wrong place, wrong time: Snowy owl turns up on Skomer Island, Wales

Dave Astins
pembsbirds.blogspot.com
Wed, 30 May 2018 14:58 UTC
Snowy owl
© Dave Astins
Sorry for the late post...been a crazy day. In short I found a Snowy Owl whilst guiding today on Skomer. Alerted to its presence by 2 dive-bombing Great Black-backed Gulls, but I was not expecting to see this staring back at me! On what was a 5-boat day for Skomer, needless to say many people connected with it, many were bemused, there were lots of smiles, 'wows' & references to Harry Potter....

Thankfully, despite being scattered to the 4 corners of the island, floating off it on a boat, and in Haverfordwest collecting supplies, all the island staff managed to connect with it as the day wore on. I was even hugged by a certain Mr Stubbings!
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Wolf

8-month-old girl killed by family pit bull in Miramar, Florida


cbslocal.com
Thu, 31 May 2018 12:02 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
There's been a deadly dog attack in Miramar and the victim is a young child.

According to Miramar Fire officials, they received a call regarding an animal bite for a pediatric patient at a home located at 2420 Kingston Drive.

When fire officials arrived, it was determined their services were not needed. The child was not transported.

Miramar Police has confirmed that the child killed was an 8-month-old female.

The girl was in the care of her grandmother, police say.

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Fish

Is a shark's electrical "sixth sense" tuned only for attack?


Phys.org
Thu, 31 May 2018 09:43 UTC
Shark
© CC0 Public Domain
Imagine having superhuman hearing. You're at a noisy, cocktail party and yet your ears can detect normally inaudible sounds made by your friends' muscles as they lean in to dish the latest gossip. But, unlike normal hearing, each of these sounds causes your ears to react in the same way. There is no difference between the quietest and loudest movements. To your superhuman ears, they all sound loud, like honking horns. According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, that may be how a shark's electrosensing organ reacts when it detects teensy, tiny electrical fields emanating from nearby prey.

"Sharks have this incredible ability to pick up nanoscopic currents while swimming through a blizzard of electric noise. Our results suggest that a shark's electrosensing organ is tuned to react to any of these changes in a sudden, all-or-none manner, as if to say, 'attack now,'" said David Julius, Ph.D., professor and chair of physiology at the University of California, San Francisco and senior author of the study published in Nature. His team studies the cells and molecules behind pain and other sensations. For instance, their results have helped scientists understand why chili peppers feel hot and menthol cool.

Comment: While this study could reveal some truths, obviously more research would be needed before any definitive conclusions can be reached. After all, sharks do mate and bear young, and they would need to be able to differentiate between those and food. But maybe, as the study implies, their main triggers are seeking out prey?

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