Animals
S


Attention

Young humpback whale dies after beaching three times in Qidong, China

Mengjie
Xinhua
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 11:02 UTC
The humpback whale calf was first found stranded on the shore near Qidong city, Jiangsu Province on Monday.
© China News ServiceThe humpback whale calf was first found stranded on the shore near Qidong city, Jiangsu Province on Monday.
A young humpback whale that beached itself in Qidong, east China's Jiangsu Province, died on Wednesday, after became stranded for a third time in three days.

The 7-meter long whale, 3 to 5 years old, was found stranded in shallow water and died after struggling for hours in a rising tide.

Local police and fishermen twice tried to rescue the whale after it was first discovered stranded at noon on Monday, with a boat sent to direct it toward deeper sea.

On Tuesday afternoon, the 2.8-tonne whale ran ashore again only 3 km away, and was again rescued.
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Wolf

Woman mauled by dog in Mexico City that initially passes her before 'changing its mind' and going back to attack

Dave Burke
Mirror
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 19:54 UTC
The woman fell to the floor during the terrifying dog attack
© CEN/Denuncia EcatepecThe woman fell to the floor during the terrifying dog attack
Horrifying CCTV footage shows the moment a woman is viciously mauled by a dog as she walks down the road with a friend.

The animal initially walks past her but then appears to change it's mind, go back and suddenly charge at her with no provocation.

The animal locks its jaws around her leg as her friend desperately tries to drag the animal off her as she falls to the floor.

According to reports in Mexico City, where the brutal attack happened, the dog's owner desperately tried to stop people from hitting it.

Witnesses have said the animal was a boxer and pitbull cross.

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Attention

Millions of black snails invade beach in St. Petersburg, Florida

Mollie Cahillane
Daily Mail
Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:50 UTC
The entire length of the beach is covered in black shells of cerith snails in St. Petersburg, Florida
The entire length of the beach is covered in black shells of cerith snails in St. Petersburg, Florida
A bizarre video shows millions of snails taking over a popular beach in St. Petersburg Florida.

The entire length of the beach is covered in what looks like black rocks, but are in fact cerith snails.

The filmer wrote online: 'I grew up in Florida and have spent most of my life on the water. I have never seen or heard of this happening before.'

The video only shows about one-quarter of the total invasion of snails.

Cerith snails don't often come onto land. They are usually found on sandy bottoms, flat reefs, or coral rock in warm and temperate areas.


Comment: See also: Strange animal behaviour: Octopuses are crawling out of the sea and walking onto a beach at New Quay, Wales

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Attention

Mass stranding of 10 sperm whales in Sumatra, Indonesia; 4 die


Mongabay
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 14:22 UTC
A group of 10 sperm whales was stranded on Nov. 13 on a beach in Sumatra’s Aceh province.
© WWF-Indonesia.A group of 10 sperm whales was stranded on Nov. 13 on a beach in Sumatra’s Aceh province.
Four sperm whales were reported to have died Tuesday following a mass stranding on a beach on the northwestern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia.

A group of 10 sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) was spotted on Ujong Kareung beach in Aceh province on Monday morning, according to WWF-Indonesia, which has been monitoring attempts to rescue the animals.

Officials from the Navy, fisheries ministry and local government deployed teams and worked with residents and NGOs to try to push and tow the stranded whales back out into deeper water.

Two of the whales were reportedly injured, while the others risked suffocation and organ failure from being stuck in shallow waters for too long, according to Arman, a veterinarian from the Center for Wildlife Studies at the Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.

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Attention

Doctor reveals how he escaped a 'three-metre great white shark' off Avoca Beach, Australia

Hannah Moore
Daily Mail
Mon, 13 Nov 2017 14:15 UTC
Charlie Fry (pictured), 25, was bitten by a shark on Monday as he surfed at Avoca Beach
Charlie Fry (pictured), 25, was bitten by a shark on Monday as he surfed at Avoca Beach
A British doctor has revealed how he punched a shark in the face after it mauled him while he was out surfing in Australia.

Charlie Fry, 25, was bitten on his right shoulder by the shark on Monday while cooling off at Avoca Beach, on the New South Wales Central Coast.

Mr Fry told The Daily Telegraph he felt something hit his right shoulder, and turned to look just moments before the predator sunk its teeth into him.

The British man reacted immediately, throwing a punch that may have saved his life.

'I just punched it with my left hand and shouted out to my mates and paddled so hard back to shore,' he said.
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Grey Alien

Creatures from the deep: Jellyfish invasion swamped waters off Sevastopol (VIDEO)


RT
Sun, 12 Nov 2017 19:40 UTC
Jellyfish
An intense jellyfish bloom has swamped the waters of Balaclava Bay in Sevastopol, Crimea, turning the area into an bubbly and slimy mass.

The sea creatures amassed near the piers, turning the water into an alien-like landscape, overrun with an infestation of bobbing jellyfish. They are whitish in color and semi-transparent, but the water is so filled with the species that it's hard to see past the top layer of the domed beings.
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Fish

'Prehistoric' frilled shark found by scientists in Portugal's Algarve coast

Joseph Gamp
Independent
Sat, 11 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
prehistoric shark
Portuguese scientists have captured what they believe to be "a shark from the age of dinosaurs" off the Algarve coast.

The rare frilled shark was caught aboard a trawler, which was coincidentally working on a project for the European Union which concentrates on "minimising unwanted catches in commercial fishing".

According to a press release by the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies, scientists from the country's Institute For The Sea and Atmosphere have dubbed the shark a "living fossil", as remains of the shark date back around 80 million years.

frilled shark
© SIC NoticasA rare discovery of a frilled shark was discovered off the coast of Portugal. The shark species is thought to be 80 million years old and is rarely encountered by humans alive.
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Black Cat 2

Leopard kills woman in Himachal Pradesh, India; second such incident in same village since May


The Times of India
Sun, 12 Nov 2017 13:13 UTC
Leopard
Leopard
The wildlife department has stepped up efforts to track down a maneating leopard in Kinnaur that mauled a 74-year-old woman to death in the district's Ribba village, said a forest official on Saturday.

Kaman Devi was killed on Thursday morning, with the big cat decapitating the woman and taking her head with it. The claw marks on the woman's body confirmed it was an attack by a leopard, said the official. This is the second such incident in the village since May, when a leopard had attacked and killed one Lapsar Devi (74).

The department has ordered that the leopard be caught or killed. Sources in the department said the incident took place around 8.30am, when the woman was outside her home. Rampur chief conservator of forests (wildlife) said in a press release that the leopard pounced on the woman and dragged her to a distance from the courtyard.
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Attention

Two people attacked by striped hyena in Gujarat, India


The Times of India
Sun, 12 Nov 2017 13:03 UTC
Striped Hyena
Striped Hyena
A woman and a man were severely injured after a striped hyena attacked them in their farms in Chhota Udepur on Friday.

The duo were rushed to a private hospital in Chhota Udepur town for treatment.

The hyena first attacked Khusli Rathwa at her farm in Dhanpur village on Friday morning when she was working there.

According to sources, the hyena injured Khusli on her head and right hand. When she screamed for help, locals rushed there and tried to drive the animal away by pelting stones at it.
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Bug

Spiders weave huge cobwebs in forest near Jerusalem, Israel


Euronews
Thu, 09 Nov 2017 20:19 UTC
giant webs in forest near Jerusalem
Giant webs in forest near Jerusalem
Science and nature combine to create a spectacular sight as trees are covered in cobwebs.

On the banks of a creek near Jerusalem, part of a forest is enveloped in what looks like giant netting.

Long-jawed spiders spin huge cobwebs, shrouding trees that glisten in the sunshine.

The unusual sight in the Soreq creek is thanks to a combination of factors. Treated sewage full of nutrients promote the proliferation of mosquitoes that serve as a source of food for spiders, which then reproduce in multitudes.

However in time, colder temperatures are expected to bring a drop in the mosquito population that sustains the web-weavers.

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