Animals
S


Snowflake Cold

At least 12 snowy owls from the Arctic found dead in Kansas, likely starved to death

Beccy Tanner
The Wichita Eagle
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 15:24 UTC
This snowy owl was photographed while alive
© Bob GressThis snowy owl was photographed while alive but was later found dead at Lake Cheney. The birds normally inhabit the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia but have been pushed south this winter.
A snowy owl was found dead recently at Cheney Lake Reservoir.

It most likely starved to death.

It is among nearly a dozen snowy owls found dead this winter by wildlife officials, and there may be more.

More than five dozen of the majestic white owls have shown up in Kansas this winter, pushed far from their usual habitat of the Arctic.

"Several of us, based on information, believe three-fourths of the owls seen in Kansas will not survive," said Chuck Otte, secretary of the Kansas Ornithological Society. "That's not uncommon. These are first-year birds hatched this year. In the wild, 80 percent of birds do not survive the first 12 months. People get upset about this but it's a rough world out there."
Read More...
Attention

Over 1,000 turtles stunned by the unusually cold weather are rescued off Florida Panhandle


Daily Mail
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:28 UTC
Rescued turtles are transported to Gulf World Marine Park, with the hopes of rehabilitating them and releasing them back in the bay
Rescued turtles are transported to Gulf World Marine Park, with the hopes of rehabilitating them and releasing them back in the bay
More than 1,000 sea turtles stunned by unusually cold weather have been rescued from waters off the Florida Panhandle this month.

U.S. Geological Survey sea turtle expert Margaret Lamont said cold-stunned sea turtles began appearing in St. Joseph Bay in early January as freezing temperatures gripped the region and water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico plummeted.

'It's now over 1,000, maybe up to 1,100,' she told the Tampa Bay Times, referencing the number of turtles that had been collected so far from the bay.

That number is usually 30 or 40.
Read More...
Wolf

Baby girl killed by stray dogs in Raipur, India


India Today
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:02 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A 14-month-old girl was mauled to death by stray dogs here today, police said.

The horrific incident took place in Anupam Nagar area today morning when the girl was playing outside her house, a police official told PTI.

CCTV footage of the spot showed the child, Riya Sahu, crawling on the street when two stray dogs attacked her, he said.

The dogs bit her severely before other residents of the area rushed and drove them away, he said.

Riya was taken to a local government hospital where she was declared dead.
Read More...
Attention

Dead, decomposing whale found on beach in Auckland, New Zealand


Stuff
Sun, 21 Jan 2018 12:55 UTC
The whale's body appeared to have been bitten by sharks.
The whale's body appeared to have been bitten by sharks.
The body of a dead and partially decomposed whale has been disposed of at sea after washing up on an Auckland beach.

Beachgoers alerted surf lifesavers of the gruesome sight at Murrays Bay, on the North Shore, just after midday on Saturday.

Lifeguard Spencer McGarry inspected the body at 1.30pm.

He suspected it was a dead minke whale.
Read More...
Attention

Over 100 Olive Ridley turtles found dead along coast in Tamil Nadu, India

Manasa Rao
The Quint
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:17 UTC
Over the past week, more than a hundred Olive Ridley turtles have washed up dead on the beaches of Chennai, and many more are believed to be floating dead on Bay of Bengal.
© The News MinuteOver the past week, more than a hundred Olive Ridley turtles have washed up dead on the beaches of Chennai, and many more are believed to be floating dead on Bay of Bengal.
Over the past week, more than a 100 Olive Ridley turtles have washed up dead on the beaches of Chennai, and many more are believed to be floating dead on Bay of Bengal.

The endangered Oliver Ridley turtles, well-known for their coordinated nesting in large numbers, generally make their annual trip up the Bay of Bengal during the breeding months of December and January. However, the use of trawlers and gill nets have historically resulted in sweeping up these sea turtles and drowning them. They are also increasingly consuming plastic waste in the ocean.
Read More...
Info

Endangered right whale's calving season peaks, but no young seen

Russ Bynum
Daily News-Miner
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:01 UTC
In this 2009 file photo, a female right whale swims at the surface of the water with her calf a few miles off the Georgia coast in 2009.
© John CarringtonIn this 2009 file photo, a female right whale swims at the surface of the water with her calf a few miles off the Georgia coast in 2009. Scientists watching for baby right whales off the Southeast U.S. coast have yet to spot a single newborn seven weeks into the endangered species' calving season, a dry spell researchers haven't seen in nearly 30 years.
Scientists watching for baby right whales off the Southeast U.S. coast have yet to spot a single newborn seven weeks into the endangered species' calving season — the longest researchers have gone without any sightings in nearly 30 years.

Bad weather that has limited efforts to look for whales could be to blame, rather than a reproductive slump. But scientists also worry it could point to another low birth year for the imperiled whales after a grim 2017, when 17 confirmed right whale deaths far outpaced a scant five recorded births.

"We basically right now should be at the peak of the season and we haven't seen anything, so that's concerning," said Clay George, a wildlife biologist who oversees right whale surveys for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. "I'm going from being the optimist I normally am to being pretty pessimistic about it."
Read More...
Attention

Unusual weather triggered 2015 mass death of quarter million saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan, study says

Ada Carr
The Weather Channel
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:11 UTC
Saiga antelope deaths
© JOINT SAIGA HEALTH MONITORING TEAM, KAZAKHSTANSaigas died in large numbers across the Betpak-Dala region of Kazakhstan
Humidity and hot temperatures triggered the deaths of more than 200,000 endangered saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan over the course of three weeks, researchers say.

The May 2015 deaths were caused by hemorrhagic septicemia triggered by a bacteria known as Pasteurella multocida Type B, which dwells in the respiratory tract of the animals, according to a study on the event.

"The animals were in a sort of foggy soup, and it looks like the bacteria naturally occupying the tonsils were woken up by this environmental factor," Royal Veterinary College professor of wildlife health and emerging disease Richard Kock told The Washington Post.

Comment: Strangely enough, no one knows for sure why flu viruses appear in winter. Some say that viruses thrive in low humidity because they remain suspended in the air longer, but humidity can be very high in wintertime in many places. Maybe these bacteria and virii are in our bodies all the time and only activate during certain atmospheric conditions. Maybe some bugs need a 'key' to turn them on? Like some other virus or something in the atmosphere?

See also: Sixth Extinction continues: Mass deaths of Saiga antelope in Kazakhstan caused by bacteria

Read More...
Attention

Pair of pit bull terriers severely maul 4-year-old in Melbourne, Florida

Emilee Speck
Click Orlando
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 16:56 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
A 4-year-old child "severely mauled" by a pair of pit bulls Thursday afternoon in Brevard County was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando for treatment, police said.

The incident happened about 1:15 p.m. at The Meadows mobile home park off Rolling Rock Drive near John Rodes Boulevard, just north of Eau Gallie Boulevard. Paramedics responded to the scene within minutes.

"They're working on him now," Melbourne police Lt. Steve Sadoff told News 6 partner Florida Today.

Three pit bull mixes were taken from the scene by Brevard County animal control, but four dogs were at the residence at the time of the attack, officers said.


Police said the child suffered multiple lacerations but is believed to have non-life-threatening injuries.
Read More...
Wolf

Man has 'left testicle ripped off' by savage dog while trying to stop it attacking woman in Romania

Tariq Tahir
Daily Mail (UK)
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:52 UTC
Ouch
Ouch
A good Samaritan had his testicle ripped off by a dog after trying to stop it attacking a young woman who ran away from the scene with her clothes ripped.

The unfortunate man, 47, came to the rescue of the 22-year-old woman who was being attacked by a pair of aggressive dogs.

The animals then turned on two men in the city of Iasi, north-eastern Romania.

According to local media reports, the dogs escaped from the courtyard where they were kept.

Shocking video shows two men trying to fight off the American Staffordshire Terriers, with one of them using a broom to hit the dogs.

Read More...
Attention

Mass of dead and dying seabirds on Bay of Plenty shores in New Zealand


New Zealand Herald
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 10:19 UTC
A blue penguin washed up on Mount main beach on Wednesday.
© George NovakA blue penguin washed up on Mount main beach on Wednesday.
The Western Bay and ARRC Wildlife Trusts are urging the public to be aware of seabirds washing up on Bay of Plenty shores.

Julia Graham, Western Bay Wildlife Trust chairperson, said there was a mass seabird mortality with many dead or dying birds being washed up on the beach.

"Many of these are juveniles that cannot survive in this rough weather and episodes of mass die-off are a natural course of events," she said.
Read More...