Animals
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Binoculars

Arctic snow geese set migration record of 200,000 at Middle Creek, Pennsylvania

Myles Snyder
ABC27 News
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 18:46 UTC
Snow geese at Middle Creek
© Stephen HungSnow geese at Middle Creek
A popular stop for migrating snow geese was more popular than ever this week.

The Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area hit its highest number of snow geese ever, topping out at an estimated 200,000 birds, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported on its website.

The previous record of 170,000 birds was recorded in 2007.

Unfortunately, warmer temperatures caused a large number of geese to move north. Thursday's count was 65,000 snow geese, 4,000 Canada geese, and 5,500 tundra swans.

The 6,000-acre wildlife area in Lancaster and Lebanon counties is an annual destination for the waterfowl as they migrate north to their breeding grounds.

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Fish

Thousands of dead fish found along 2 miles of North Carolina beach

Jeff Hampton
The Virginian-Pilot
Wed, 21 Feb 2018 18:30 UTC
Dead fish littered the beaches of the Outer Banks on Tuesday
Dead fish littered the beaches of the Outer Banks on Tuesday
Thousands of fish washed ashore Wednesday along an approximately two mile stretch of the four-wheel drive beach north of Corolla.

Most of the dead fish are menhaden, said Patricia Smith, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. In some places the fish are piled thick.

"It's a significant number of fish," she said.

State fisheries officers found no signs of marks or sores, she said. A crew flew over the site after morning fog cleared and did not see commercial fishing boats offshore. Menhaden have been known to rush ashore escaping from predators such as blue fish.
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Question

Mystery as over 100 cockatoos are found dead in Hunter Valley, Australia

Peter Devlin
Daily Mail
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 18:20 UTC
Over 100 cockatoos have been found dead in New South Wales' Hunter Valley (stock image)
Over 100 cockatoos have been found dead in New South Wales' Hunter Valley (stock image)
Over 100 cockatoos have been found dead in New South Wales' Hunter Valley.

The Environmental Protection Authority is investigating the mass death of the sulfur-crested cockatoos.

The authority was made aware of the deaths on Monday.

The birds were found in a paddock off Jerrys Plains Road, near the Lemington Road intersection.
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Attention

Dead whale washes ashore in Karnataka, India


Times of India
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 14:27 UTC
a dead whale washed ashore in a decomposed state on the Doddakopla beach in Surathkal
The dead whale that washed ashore in a decomposed state on the Doddakopla beach in Surathkal
In a rare phenomenon, a dead whale washed ashore in a decomposed state on the Doddakopla beach in Surathkal. "This is the first such incident in the last 15-20 years in the coastal belt of Karnataka," Yathish Baikampady, CEO, Panambur Beach Tourism Development Project, told TOI.

The approximately 40-feet whale washed ashore on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, because of high tide. Fishermen, who saw the carcass early on Wednesday, informed the authorities.

The body was so severely decomposed that experts haven't been able to determine its characteristics such as its breed, weight or age. Yathish predicted the whale may have died because of old age.
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Wolf

Wolf spotted in the Dutch province of Gelderland as sightings increase

Bahar Azizi
Sott.net
Wed, 21 Feb 2018 17:55 UTC
wolf nederland
© YouTube
While Belgian farmers spotted a wolf near the Belgian town of Meerhout in January this year, its first wolf sighting in 100 years, a wolf was spotted in the Dutch eastern province of Gelderland on Wednesday morning. The wolf was seen in several places, and was photographed and filmed.

Experts from the Dutch Wolven in Nederland and the German Lupus Institut - organisations specialized in wolves - confirmed the sighting. It's the third wolf sighting in the Netherlands so far this year.

The wolf was first spotted in the early hours of the morning. A driver used the headlamps of his car to shine light on the animal before he filmed it in the Betuwe, an area in Gelderland. Several hours later, a wolf was spotted 10 kilometers to the west, along the Nether Rhine. Later, a wolf was seen on the other side of the Nether Rhine. Wolven in Nederland suggests the sightings are all of the same wolf.

In addition, this wolf could have been the same animal that was spotted across the border in the German town of Rees a couple of days earlier, on February 19th.

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Cow

Woman suffers horrifying wounds after an attack by a rampaging buffalo in Cambodia

Debbie White
Daily Mail
Wed, 21 Feb 2018 20:12 UTC
Fiona Childs, 47, had been walking through a forest, heading for the beach on Cambodian island Koh Rong Samloem, yesterday morning when she stumbled upon the beast
Fiona Childs, 47, had been walking through a forest, heading for the beach on Cambodian island Koh Rong Samloem, yesterday morning when she stumbled upon the beast
This is the moment a British teacher was left with blood gushing from her legs after being viciously attacked by a rampaging buffalo.

Fiona Childs, 47, had been walking through a forest, heading for the beach while holidaying on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong Samloem yesterday morning, when she suddenly came face-to-face with the angry beast.

The enraged animal immediately started butting her with his head, and is believed to have gored her legs with his sharp horns as she lay screaming for help on the ground. The creature then fled back into the jungle.

As the buffalo's owner shouted at army officials to 'kill, kill, kill' the beast, local villagers rushed to Fiona's aid, trying to stem the blood before paramedics arrived and loaded her into an ambulance.

Fiona was rushed to hospital in Sihanoukville, a coastal city on the mainland.
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Attention

Four Finless porpoises found dead around Hong Kong


Around DB
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 13:55 UTC
Four finless porpoises were found across Hong Kong
Four finless porpoises were found across Hong Kong
The bodies of four finless porpoises were found across Hong Kong over the weekend, including one that had been washed up on Lantau.

The 1.42-metre-long female porpoise was showing moderate body decay when it was spotted at Tai Long Wan.

A further two bodies were found in Sai Kung. One was a juvenile, 0.97-metre-long porpoise, which was found at Ham Tin Wan. The porpoise had three visible wounds, possibly the result of being hit by a boat's propellers. Another female, adult porpoise was found in the sea off Silverstrand Beach.

The fourth creature, a 1.31-metre-long female, was found near the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology pier on Sunday in a moderately decomposed state.

All four bodies were sent to the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation (OPCF) for further investigation.
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Wolf

Four-year-old boy killed by stray dogs in Andhra Pradesh, India


The Hans India
Wed, 21 Feb 2018 10:04 UTC
Kurnool: Four-year-old boy killed in stray dog attack
Kurnool: Four-year-old boy killed in stray dog attack
A four-year-old boy was killed in Kurnool district on Tuesday after he was attacked by stray dogs.

The parents of the boy, Ibrahim had taken him along with them to a groundnut field. Since the boy was sleeping, they kept him on a swing nearby and went for their work.

However, the boy was attacked by two stray dogs and his screams fell short due to the sounds of the groundnut crusher machine.

The parents later tried to locate their son and found the body half a kilometre away as they heard two dogs growling at each other.
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Fish

Study reveals worrying levels of microplastics in Atlantic deep sea fish

Niall Sargent
Green News
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 18:32 UTC
plastic
A new Irish study has found that the rate of ingestion of microplastics by deepwater fish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean is among the highest in the world.

The NUI Galway (NUIG) study published today found that 73 per cent out of 233 deep water fish examined had ingested plastic particles.

According to the study, the ingestion of microplastics by these animals may cause internal physical damage, inflammation of intestines, reduced feeding and other effects.

Marine scientists took dead deep sea fish from midwater trawls in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean from a depth of up to 600 metres using large fishing nets.
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Magnify

Ancient elephants & Mayan shrine: World's largest underwater caves reveal staggering history (VIDEO)


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 13:31 UTC
Mayan cave
© Gran Acuifero Maya, INAH
Archaeologists in Mexico have been showing off discoveries unearthed during their aquatic expeditions into the world's largest underwater cave.

Researchers from the Gran Acuifero Maya (GAM) exploration and preservation group presented ancient relics recovered from the site on Monday, including fossils of a type of ancient elephant, giant sloths and a shrine to a Mayan god. It's believed that desperate animals ventured into the caves in search of water at times of severe drought, some of which then became trapped.

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