Animals
S


Galaxy

Are octopuses aliens?

Ephrat Livni
Quartz
Sat, 19 May 2018 12:00 UTC
maldive octopus
Maldive octopus
Octopuses are strange, smart creatures that certainly seem alien-what with the tentacles, camouflage, and shape-shifting skills. Still, the idea that they actually came from outer space would seem to fall strictly into the realm of sci-fi; an update of HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu, say.

But in these interesting times, real life reads like fiction. Recently, a group of 33 scientists worldwide - including molecular immunologist Edward Steele and astrobiologist Chandra Wickramasinghe - published a paper suggesting, in all seriousness, that octopuses may indeed be aliens.

The paper, published in the March issue of the the journal Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, is controversial, obviously, and the vast majority of scientists would disagree. But the paper is still worthy of discussion-for one, as a thought exercise, because outlandish ideas are often initially rejected. And in provoking us with seemingly bizarre theories, it forces us to acknowledge that there are aspects of life on Earth for which classic evolutionary theory as yet has no explanation.

Comment: See also:

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Wolf

Sitapur dog attacks in India: Eight-year-old succumbs to injuries - local death toll increases to 14


Hindustan Times
Sat, 19 May 2018 13:06 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
After battling for life for over 24 hours, Sonam, 8, succumbed to her injuries inflicted by a pack of feral dogs in Khairampur village of Sitapur's Manpur area on Friday morning. With her death, the toll since November has risen to 14. Of these, eight were killed and six severely injured only this month.

"The girl died around 8 am on Friday morning at Sitapur district hospital," said Om Prakash, station officer (SO), Manpur police station. "She had suffered multiple injuries on throat and hands and according to doctors, throat injuries proved fatal. She remained unconscious throughout," said the SO.

The girl was attacked when she had gone to attend nature's call along with some other children near her village at around 6.30 am. "Group of villagers who were irrigating the field nearby rescued the girl after hearing her screams. However, by then the pack of dogs had already badly injured her," said the SO.
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Attention

Dead juvenile whale found at Long Beach, New York

Joan Gralla
Newsday
Fri, 18 May 2018 12:43 UTC
The carcass of a juvenile whale that officials said is possibly a humpback, lays in the Long Beach surf on Friday, May 18, 2018. Marine experts will conduct tests on the whale on Saturday, May 19, 2018.
© City of Long Beach Public WorksThe carcass of a juvenile whale that officials said is possibly a humpback, lays in the Long Beach surf on Friday, May 18, 2018. Marine experts will conduct tests on the whale on Saturday, May 19, 2018.
A team of marine experts will analyze the carcass on Saturday. The animal's cause of death remains unclear and onlookers are urged to stay away.

The carcass of a juvenile whale that could be a humpback washed up in Long Beach, officials said on Friday, potentially a sign that the spike in whale deaths that began in 2016 continues.

People should stay at least 150 feet away from the whale, which washed ashore near Lafayette Boulevard, advised the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society in a statement.

The creature "still poses a safety threat in the surf and is a protected species," the Hampton Bays-based nonprofit said.
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Attention

Dead Bryde's whale found on beach in Kuakata, Bangladesh


The Independent (Bangladesh)
Sat, 19 May 2018 12:37 UTC
whale
A large-sized dead whale washed up on Kuakata beach in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali on Saturday morning.

Locals suspect that the 45-foot long marine mammal might have died some 15 days ago in the deep sea.

Farhana Akhter of Wildlife Conservation Society said it is a Bryde's whale or Baleen Whale, which has no teeth. The Bryde's whale lives their life eating small fishes and prawns, she added.

She said the Bryde's whale is usually black or grey in color and it could be around 40 to 50 foot long. These whales are mostly seen in Swatch of no Ground marine protected area of Bangladesh, Farhana said.

Md Kamrul Islam, Kalapara upazila fisheries officer said the beach management committee will take necessary steps regarding the dead whale.
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Attention

Two dead whales found in different parts of Bay Area, San Francisco - 5 for the region in 2018


sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com
Sat, 19 May 2018 12:21 UTC
Dead whale
Two dead whales were found washed up in two different parts of the Bay Area Friday, leading to some speculation as to what might be causing the marine mammals' deaths.

A large dead whale washed up Friday in the Oakland Estuary just a few miles downstream from the busy Port Of Oakland container ship hub, officials said.

The Marine Mammal Center said the whale was partially submerged near Jack London Square. NOAA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were able to tow the carcass out into San Francisco Bay with the plan of taking it to Angel Island State Park so that scientists can perform a necropsy, or animal autopsy, to determine the cause of death.

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Frog

The green blood in lizards likely evolved four times

Susan Milius
ScienceNews
Wed, 16 May 2018 02:10 UTC
GreenLizard
© C. AUSTINBLEEDS GREEN The few lizards with green blood, such as this green skink from Papua New Guinea, may have acquired the coloring via a spotty pattern of evolutionary history. Their muscles, bones, tongues and gums also look greenish.
Studying the bizarre color might someday offer insights into human jaundice

Green blood is weird enough. But now the first genealogical tree tracing green blood in New Guinea's Prasinohaema lizards is suggesting something even odder.

These skinks have been lumped into one genus just because of blood color, says biologist Christopher Austin of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Yet they don't all turn out to be close relatives. Green blood looks as if it arose four separate times in the island's lizards, he and colleagues propose May 16 in Science Advances.

These lizards do have crimson red blood cells, but that color is overwhelmed by extreme buildups of a green pigment called biliverdin at levels that could kill other animals. Biliverdin forms as the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin molecules break down in dead red blood cells. In humans, biliverdin is converted into the bile that, in excess, causes yellow jaundice. An excess of the biliverdin itself can cause green jaundice. In one case study, levels reaching nearly 50 micromoles of biliverdin per liter of blood were deadly in humans. Yet Austin has found lizards thriving with 714 to 1,020 micromoles per liter (SN: 8/20/16, p. 4).
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Attention

Wild elephant tramples a man to death in Jharkhand, India

Jessica Green
Daily Mail
Fri, 18 May 2018 13:56 UTC
the giant animal rapidly charges towards the group and in no time the elephant catches up with the limping man and brutally tramples him to death
The giant animal rapidly charges towards the group and in no time the elephant catches up with the limping man and brutally tramples him to death
This is the terrifying moment a wild elephant chases a man swimming in its watering hole before trampling him to death after he twists his ankle and falls over.

The horrific footage shows the man paddling in the water while the angered beast moves towards him in the Seraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand in east India.

As the man tries to get out of the lake and flee the scene, he twists his ankle and falls to the ground.

His friends endeavour to lift and carry him away from the encroaching male elephant.

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Wolf

Woman killed by 2 pit bull terriers in Gulfport, Mississippi

Alexa Knowles
weny.com
Thu, 17 May 2018 12:32 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
Gulfport Police said an elderly woman was mauled to death by two pit bulls Wednesday morning.

The attack happened just before 8 a.m. on Deidra Court. When officers arrived on the scene, they found the 75-year-old victim dead.

"We heard a cry, a scream...There was pieces of clothing and stuff all in the front yard... I hit the floor when I found out it was her," said next door neighbor Diana Jones. "She had a lot of love in her heart."

Investigators said the woman was on a walk when she opened a gate into a fenced yard of a neighbor. While in the yard, police said two pit bulls attacked her.

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Wolf

Pit bull attack on 4-year-old videoed in St. James City, Florida


fox4now.com
Wed, 16 May 2018 13:01 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
A dog owner says he will try to retrieve his pet from animal services after it attacked a small child in St. James City.

The incident happened Friday, in the parking lot of Winn Dixie on Stringfellow Road. The 4-year-old child involved in the attack was flown to Tampa General Hospital for injuries on his face. His family said he is expected to make a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, Sage, the 4-year-old Pit Bull, is quarantined at Lee County Animal Services until May 21st. Surveillance video showed the dog dart between cars, and take down the child. Despite the incident, her owner believes Sage is a sweet dog, and said the incident was an accident.

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Attention

Two dead whale sharks discovered in Myanmar (Burma) - 4 found locally in 2 months

Phyo Zin
Eleven
Wed, 16 May 2018 12:54 UTC
Whale shark
Whale shark
Fishermen found two dead bodies of whale sharks, one of the endangered species, in a fishing net along the coastal areas of Yayphyu Township, Dawei district, Taninthayi region on May 13 and tugged them to Daminsake beach.

"The dead bodies arrived around 5:30 pm. The fishes got caught in the net and they couldn't escape. The fishermen could not free them in the sea and tugged them to the beach. We have found four dead whale sharks from April to May. We informed the authorities and they told me to bury them. So we dug a deep hole with a backhoe. They couldn't swim back to the deep sea after they arrived in shallow water," said a local Moe Naing.

Comment: There seems to have been a high number of such incidents involving this species over the last 2 years, see also: Body of whale shark found washed ashore in Tamil Nadu, India; third in the region since May

Another whale shark found dead, the latest in Gujarat, India

Three dead beached whale sharks found in Indonesia

Whale shark found washed ashore in Tamil Nadu, India

Dead whale shark washes ashore on beach in Puri, India

Dead whale shark found in Tanza Bay, Philippines

Dead whale shark found in Tamil Nadu, India

Dead whale shark found on beach in Odisha, India

Whale shark discovered dead in coastal waters of Shandong, China

Whale shark found dead at Palghar, India

Dead whale shark discovered on coast of Bukas Grande Island, Philippines

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