Animals
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Eye 2

How alligators adapt to frozen swamp water in North Carolina

Mary Kekatos
Daily Mail
Tue, 09 Jan 2018 15:30 UTC
Alligators essentially allow themselves to be frozen in place with their noses just above the surface, according to a video posted on Facebook by Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach
Alligators essentially allow themselves to be frozen in place with their noses just above the surface, according to a video posted on Facebook by Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach
A North Carolina swamp park has posted a video how alligators survive in a frozen pond.

The cold-blooded reptiles cannot generate their own body heat, but they can regulate it by changing their environment in a system called brumation. The creatures lower their body temperature and metabolism so they can survive.

Alligators essentially allow themselves to be frozen in place with their noses just above the surface, according to a video posted on Facebook by Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach

While it's hard to believe they are able to survive the icy conditions, animal experts say they are very much alive and doing okay.

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Attention

Thousands of flying foxes killed by record-breaking heatwave near Sydney, Australia

Brooke Rolfe
Daily Mail
Mon, 08 Jan 2018 14:36 UTC
The head count of dead bats could reach their thousands as Sunday's heatwave took a deathly toll on a critical portion of Campbelltown's flying fox colony
The head count of dead bats could reach their thousands as Sunday's heatwave took a deathly toll on a critical portion of Campbelltown's flying fox colony
As record breaking heat swept across Western Sydney on Sunday, it took with it 'thousands' of bats who melted in the sweltering conditions.

A critical portion of Campbelltown's flying fox colony died from the heat, as surging temperatures left many dead on the ground and still suspended among the trees.

Heartbreaking photos of the death toll were shared online by volunteer groups Wires and Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands, who tried desperately to save as many lives as they could.

As parts of the state became the hottest place on earth Sunday, rescuers from North Western Sydney Wires worked tirelessly alongside Sydney Wildlife volunteers.

But unfortunately for hundreds - potentially thousands - of bats, their help came a little too late.
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Wolf

Teenage girl killed by dog pack in Jharkhand, India


The Indian Express
Mon, 08 Jan 2018 10:49 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A 12-year-old girl, who had gone to answer nature's call outside her house, was killed when a bunch of dogs attacked her in a village under Markachcho police station area of Jharkhand's Koderma district on Sunday morning. Koderma is one of the five open defecation free (ODF) districts in Jharkhand.

According to the police, they got information about the girl, identified as Madhu Kumari, daughter of Umesh Singh, a resident of Bhagwatidih village in Markachcho (South) panchayat, was killed by the dogs on Sunday morning.

"The information we got was that the girl had gone to answer nature's call and was surrounded and attacked by a bunch of dogs. There were attempts by some children to shoo the dogs away, but it was too late. They raised an alarm and alerted their family members. They also shooed away the dogs. But, by then, it was too late. No official complaint has been registered. We are treating this case as an accident," said Officer-in-charge (Markachcho), Arun Kumar.
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Hardhat

Insects are the canaries in our coal mine - magical thinking won't help us this time

Matthew J. Edlund M.D.
Psychology Today
Wed, 03 Jan 2018 17:31 UTC
insects
© Pixabay
People hate insects. They bite, snap, sting, and kill. Perhaps the most hated animal on the planet is the mosquito, despised for bringing malaria, dengue fever, sleeping sickness and a host of other fatal and disfiguring diseases. The most frightening sci-fi film monsters, from Alien to Starship Troopers are giant, intelligent insectoids. Whether it's the ticks bringing Lyme Disease or the vicious black flies of the north woods, lots of us would be happy to see insects disappear.

The problem is, we might, too.

Comment: Vanishing act: Why insects are disappearing and why it matters

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Question

90 crows found dead at two parks in Saitama Prefecture, Japan


Japan Today
Sun, 07 Jan 2018 15:40 UTC
Dead crow
Representative image
Ninety crows have been found dead on Thursday and Friday in two parks in Saitama Prefecture, health authorities said Saturday.

Authorities said 35 crows were found dead in Tokorozawa and another 55 were found in Iruma, Fuji TV reported.

At first, health officials suspected bird flu but tests proved negative. Also, there were no traces of poison or agrichemicals in the crows that were tested.

Prefectural health officials said there was very little food in any of the crows, indicating that they may have starved to death.

However, as a precaution, police and health authorities have urged people not to touch any dead birds.
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Attention

Dead fin whale washes up at Alexandria, Egypt


Ahram Online
Sun, 07 Jan 2018 14:06 UTC
Civil Protection Forces and the Marine Rescue Unit in Alexandria found a dead fin whale on the beach of the Azur Hotel in Rushdi area, eastern Alexandria
Civil Protection Forces and the Marine Rescue Unit in Alexandria found a dead fin whale on the beach of the Azur Hotel in Rushdi area, eastern Alexandria
The 7-8-year-old rare fin whale was found at Roshdy beach in Alexandria

A dead fin whale was found Sunday on Egypt's Alexandria Mediterranean shore, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

The 12-metre-long black and white female whale is believed to have been washed into the Mediterranean shores from its natural habitat at the Atlantic ocean through strait Gibraltar because of a sea storm.

The 7-8-year-old rare fin whale was then pulled to the shore and found at Roshdy beach in Alexandria, Al-Ahram said.
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Black Cat

Cat attacks woman inside her car in West Cocoa, Florida

Howard Cohen
Miami Herald
Sun, 07 Jan 2018 13:38 UTC
A cat, but not this cat, jumped into a woman’s car in Brevard County
© Matt RourkeA cat, but not this cat, jumped into a woman’s car in Brevard County
A Brevard County woman found herself in the middle of what sounds like a Stephen King horror story.

The woman told Florida Highway Patrol officers that a cat jumped into her car and attacked her Friday night in a residential West Cocoa neighborhood as she attempted to drive away from a home on the block. As the unidentified woman tried to fend off the foul feline inside her vehicle somehow she bailed out of her car but forgot that it was still in reverse.

She was run over by her own car as it backed up over her, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Today reported.
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Attention

Surfer bitten on foot by shark off Gracetown, Western Australia

Regina Titelius and Josh Zimmerman
Perth Now
Sat, 06 Jan 2018 13:30 UTC
shark attack
A man surfing off South Point in Gracetown suffered bite wounds to his foot when he was injured by a suspected wobbegong shark on Friday.

The surfer, known only as Justin, was pulled from the water and initially treated on shore by an off-duty nurse before he was transported to Margaret River Hospital about 6pm.

Andy Gradisen was surfing alongside the man when the unknown species of shark struck and said the attack took "a small chunk" out of his mate's foot.

"We were out the back of South Point and I heard Justin flapping about in the water," Mr Gradisen said.

"He put his foot up and he was bleeding quite badly.
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Eye 2

Crocodiles attack inflatable boat in Zimbabwe, kill 90-year-old man and critically injure woman

Bethany Minelle
Sky News
Sat, 06 Jan 2018 12:43 UTC
croc
© EPA
Crocodiles in Zimbabwe have killed a 90-year-old man and critically injured a 65-year-old woman.

John Bowman, 90, and Rosemary Mitchell, 65, were attacked as they paddled in an inflatable boat in Matopos National Park.

They were relaxing with a group at Mpopoma Dam, an area of natural beauty and known crocodile hotspot.

"The crocodiles attacked the air-pumped boat they were using until it punctured," Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said.
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Snowflake Cold

Ice-cold iguanas plunge from Florida trees during winter storm cold snap - UPDATE (VIDEO)


RT
Fri, 05 Jan 2018 02:02 UTC
iguana
© Jorge Silva / Reuters
Frozen iguanas are tumbling off their perches in Miami's suburbs, as South Florida and much of the US Southeast are in the grips of a frigid winter storm, as the freezing weather grows in intensity as it moves up the East Coast.

The iguanas were seen dropping from the trees Thursday because they are cold-blooded creatures, and if the temperature drops below 50 degrees, the reptiles become sluggish. If the temperature drops lower than 50, as it has in some parts of South Florida, the creature becomes completely immobilized, according to the Daily News.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported Thursday morning that some parts of South Florida experienced temperatures below 40 degrees.
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