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Attention

Surfer lucky to be alive after great white shark bit her board near Gracetown, Western Australia

Nkayla Afshariyan
Daily Mail
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 13:30 UTC
The woman was knocked off her board by a four metre Great White shark just before 6pm on Monday
The woman was knocked off her board by a four metre Great White shark just before 6pm on Monday
A woman in her 20s has been left shaken after a close call with a huge great white shark in Western Australia.

The woman, a Belgian national, was surfing off North Beach, near Gracetown, just before 6pm on Monday, when she was knocked off her board by a four-metre beast.

Her surfboard was damaged in the attack, with chunks missing from where the shark knocked her off.

North Beach was promptly closed following the near miss.

'To reduce the threat to people, North Point to Lefthanders surfing spot has now been closed,' the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said in a statement.
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Attention

Dead minke whale found on beach in Nakhodka, Russia


Pravda.Ru
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 09:01 UTC
WHALE
Surfers and fishermen found a dead whale in the sea near the beach of Nakhodka in the Far East of Russia. The fetid carcass stirred quite a commotion among sea gulls, crows and local selfie amateurs.

The dead whale is said to be about six meters long. Specialists identified the species as the little pike whale. Local residents asked the authorities to remove the dead whale from the beach. According to Primamedia, the carcass of the mammal has started decomposing and has poisoned air along the coastline. The stench may ruin the vacation for many of those who enjoy themselves at local recreation centers.

For the time being, the authorities have taken no action to remove the body of the whale from the beach line.

Doctor of Biological Sciences Vladimir Rakov noted in a comment for the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper that there was nothing surprising in the appearance of the little pike whale, aka Minke's whale, in the area. These whales may often be killed by propellers of vessels, the professor said.

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Binoculars

Rare sighting of frigatebird in Wausau, Wisconsin, a likely hurricane refugee

Meg Jones
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 18:38 UTC
frigatebird
© Kory Renaud
It's easy to notice magnificent frigatebirds — their large black "M-shaped" wings, long beak and long straight tails cut quite a silhouette in the sky, and the males are known for puffing out a large red pouch at their throat to attract females.

When a birding enthusiast saw a frigatebird last Friday, she snapped several photos of the majestic bird and posted them on Facebook.

Had the birder been in Florida or Texas, it wouldn't have been noteworthy. But this ocean-going frigatebird was seen flying over

How the female frigatebird ended up hundreds of miles away from her native ocean habitat in the middle of Wisconsin is unknown, but it's a good bet she was blown up here by one of the hurricanes that slammed Texas and Florida.

Friday's sighting was only the fourth recorded in Wisconsin dating back to 1880 and the first in a decade.

Melanie Coulthurst photographed a magnificent frigatebird over Bluegill Bay Park in Wausau on Sept. 22, 2017.
Melanie Coulthurst photographed a magnificent frigatebird over Bluegill Bay Park in Wausau on Sept. 22, 2017.

Comment: A similar event took place in June as Tropical Storm Cindy hit the coast, see: Wrong place, wrong time: Tropical seabird turns up at Point Pelee, Ontario

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Attention

Forty seven dead dolphins found on Gulf Coast so far in 2017

Gina Tomlinson
wxxv25.com
Thu, 21 Sep 2017 17:57 UTC
dead dolphin
Nearly 50 dolphins have washed up dead on the Gulf Coast this year. That number is concerning scientists at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.

The 47th dead dolphin was found this morning east of Fort Maurepas Pier in Ocean Springs. According to the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, the female dolphin that died weighs about 340 pounds, measuring over seven feet long.

The institute has also counted 52 dead sea turtles this year. Marine experts say the cause may be due to environmental changes. Dr. Moby Solangi said, "We've had a lot of rainfall in June and elsewhere, a lot of freshwater coming in. We've had some of these hurricanes that have disrupted the habitat and then we have this huge dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River which is the largest in the history."

Marine experts say they're working to better understand the cause of the dolphin's death. To report a stranded dolphin call the Institute's rescue team at 1-888-SOS-DOLPHIN.

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Black Cat 2

Kitten born with two faces in Chongqing, China

Dami Olonisakin
IFL Science
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 16:38 UTC
Janus cat
© NewsFlare
Cats are usually said to have nine lives, but this kitten had two faces. It was dubbed the "Janus" cat after the two-faced Roman God of the same name.

Below is a video of the cat gently meowing from both of its mouths. The footage was originally found in Chongqing, China. Unfortunately after two days, it was reported that Janus had died due to its rare condition, known as diprosopus.

Now, this isn't the first time anything like this has been seen before - a two-faced gray feline called "FrankenLouie" died in 2014 from cancer, at the age of 15. He made his mark in the Guinness World Records for being the longest ever surviving Janus cat, despite predictions that he would only live for a few days.

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Attention

Grizzly bear attacks hunter in Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming

Erika Dahlby
Jackson Hole News and Guide
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 11:37 UTC
Bear attack
A 41-year-old man was attacked by a grizzly bear in Pacific Creek, resulting in severe injuries, but was able to ride out on his own, police say.

The Rock Springs man has severe lacerations on his head, lip, nose and left arm, Sgt. Todd Stanyon from the Teton County Sheriff's Office said, along with bite marks on his back and rear hip area.

Stanyon said the man and his brother were hunting in the forest when he was attacked around 10 a.m.

"He's a tough guy," Stanyon said. "He was able to ride out of there on his own."
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Attention

Hundreds of dead birds found near Bali volcano as nearly 50,000 people flee danger zone


Yahoo!
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:19 UTC
Dead birds have been filmed around Mount Agung
Dead birds have been filmed around Mount Agung
Australian airlines are closely monitoring Bali's biggest volcano, which is expected to erupt any day.

Hundreds of dead birds have been filmed around Mount Agung as the intensity and frequency of tremors near the volcano increase.

Nearly 50,000 people have fled their homes, seeking shelter in squalid evacuation centres.

The threat isn't affecting popular tourist areas such as Kuta and Seminyak, which are outside the danger zones.

Mount Agung is about 75 kilometres (47 miles) from the tourist hub of Kuta, and has been rumbling since August, threatening to erupt for the first time in more than 50 years.


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Wolf

Wolves seen on the outskirts of Rome for the first time in more than 100 years

Gareth Davies
Daily Mail
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:07 UTC
Two wolf cubs are picked up on hidden cameras in the nature reserve of Castel di Guido near Rome, which is run by run by LIPU, the Italian League for the Protection of Birds
Two wolf cubs are picked up on hidden cameras in the nature reserve of Castel di Guido near Rome, which is run by run by LIPU, the Italian League for the Protection of Birds
Wolves have been spotted on the outskirts of Rome for the first time in more than a hundred years.

The predators were seen roaming through the Castel di Guido, near Leonardo da Vinci airport, walking close to a three-lane motorway.

Scientists have welcomed the symbolic return, given that the city's symbol is two children - Romulus and Remus - suckling on a wolf.

Alessia De Lorenzis, a professor of natural sciences who is monitoring the wolf pack, told The Telegraph: 'This is the first time in more than 100 years that wolves have been found living near Rome.

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Heart - Black

Whalers in Japan kill 177 whales to 'study' if commercially hunting them is sustainable


Scroll.in
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 12:52 UTC
A dead minke whale onboard a ship that was part of a Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters earlier this year.
© Glenn Lockitch/AFPA dead minke whale onboard a ship that was part of a Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters earlier this year.
Japan is a signatory to an international moratorium on hunting whales, but it exploits a loophole that allows whales to be killed for scientific purposes.

Japan said on Tuesday said it killed 177 whales off its northeast coast, in an annual hunt that has been repeatedly condemned by animal rights activists and several governments, AFP reported.

Three ships that left port in June returned with 43 minke whales and 134 sei whales, the country's fisheries agency said.

Although Japan is a signatory to the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on hunting, it exploits a loophole that allows whales to be killed for scientific research. The studies are "necessary to estimate the precise number of (sustainable) catches as we look to restart commercial whaling", AFP quoted agency official Kohei Ito as saying.

In March, another Japanese fleet of five ships returned after killing 333 minke whales.
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Attention

Whale shark found washed ashore in Tamil Nadu, India

South Indian Crime Point
You Tube
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 12:35 UTC
whale shark
A whale shark was found washed ashore near Thoothukudi old port on Wednesday evening. Sources in Thoothukudi Wildlife Range, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, said while patrolling along the shore, the forest personnel found the carcass of the female whale shark. It weighed around 1.5 tonnes.

The injuries on its body and near the tail indicated that it was hit by the propeller of a boat engine. Veterinary surgeons carried out a post-mortem on the carcass, which was highly decomposed, after which it was buried on the shore.

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