Animals
S


Bug

Thousands of bees invade Bishop's Stortford, UK

Stewart Paterson
Daily Mail
Thu, 25 May 2017 20:58 UTC
Thousands of stinging bees descended on Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, causing a hive of activity among shoppers
Thousands of stinging bees descended on Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, causing a hive of activity among shoppers
Police had a real sting operation on their hands when they were called to reports of 'thousands of bees' descending on an historic market town.

The enormous cloud of flying insects caused a hive of activity among shoppers who were forced to run for cover.

Motorists driving through Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, said they were unable to see because of the swarm of bees.

Thousands of the stinging insects could be seen crawling across shop fronts.

Holly Donaldson, 26, who works at Savills estate agents, said: 'It was quite terrifying.

'My boss said "look out the window" and then we just ran for the keys to lock the windows.

Comment: A similar event happened in nearby London just over a week ago, see: Massive bee swarm descends on London during rush hour

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Arrow Down

One year after Buenos Aires Zoo closure, hundreds of animals remain behind bars in a noisy limbo

Luis Andres Henao
Associated Press
Wed, 24 May 2017 01:39 UTC
buenos aires zoo closure
The roars of lions, snorts of rhinos and trumpets of elephants still blend with the cacophony of honking buses and screeching cars passing nearby in one of the most heavily congested areas of Argentina's capital.

A year after the 140-year-old Buenos Aires zoo closed its doors and was transformed into a park, hundreds of animals remain behind bars and in a noisy limbo.

Developers last July promised to relocate most of the zoo's 1,500 animals to sanctuaries in Argentina and abroad, but they had made no firm arrangements to do so. And a new master plan announced Tuesday still doesn't specify how they will accomplish it. Many of the animals are so zoo-trained that experts fear they would die if moved, even to wild animal preserves.

Conservationists also complain that the remaining animals still live in antiquated enclosures widely considered inhumane by modern standards - and say the city government's new plan gives few specifics of how improvements will be made.
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Attention

Dead Minke whale found on Gower beach, Wales

Liz Perkins
Wales Online
Thu, 25 May 2017 17:06 UTC
Minke Whale washed up in Gower
© Ben BorehamMinke Whale washed up in Gower
Coastguards were called after a dead Minke whale was discovered washed up on a Gower beach.

They were alerted after the huge mammal was found at Oxwich Bay on Sunday night.

Members of Oxwich Coastguard were called out at 6.55pm to confirm the species.

A coastguard spokesman said: "Oxwich coastguard were down there.

"They went to see what it was and we got in touch with other authorities and it got taken out of our hands.

"It just confirmed it was a Minke whale."
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Attention

Black bear attacks hunter near Fire River, Ontario

James Gorman
9news.com.au
Thu, 25 May 2017 13:14 UTC
bear attack
A hunter has punched a bear in the face after it attacked him in the Canadian wilderness.

Richard Wesley posted video of the confrontation on May 22 after he spotted the black bear near Fire River, Ontario.

Wesley watched the animal go about its business for a few moments until it started to wander towards him.

The hunter's attempts to ward off the bear with a yell backfired and it began to charge towards him.

Wesley gripped his bow and used the weapon to punch the animal in the face - dropping his camera in the process.

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Wolf

Jackal caught after attacking people in Mumbai, India


Mid Day
Thu, 25 May 2017 13:00 UTC
The golden jackal after it was rescued in Vikhroli.
© Rajesh GuptaThe golden jackal after it was rescued in Vikhroli.
A golden jackal was rescued in Vikhroli (E) last evening, three weeks after mid-day reported (on May 3) how the animal was driving terror into the hearts of residents.

Three men in Ghatkopar's pumping house were attacked early May. Two of the victims suffered injuries on their hands while trying to shield themselves from the animals, where as the third victim's lips were injured.

BMC guard Chetan Patil was the first victim. He was on duty around 1 pm on Monday when, "Suddenly from nowhere, I was attacked by an animal. I couldn't understand what was happening. The animal jumped around 4 feet in the air to attack me," said Chetan.
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Attention

Minke whale discovered dead on Hamptons beach, New York

Timothy Bolger
Long Island Press
Wed, 24 May 2017 12:34 UTC
Minke Whale Found Dead on Hamptons Beach
Minke whale found dead on Hamptons beach
A 12-foot Minke whale was found dead the morning after marine biologists and authorities refloated it when it was found beached in Hampton Bays on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

A fisherman found the dead whale washed up on the marsh at Shinnecock County Park and reported the discovery to Southampton Town Bay Constables shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), a nonprofit group that responds to dolphin and whale strandings on Long Island.

"They have confirmed this is the same Minke whale that had been re-floated yesterday in Shinnecock Bay," said Rachel Bosworth, an AMCS spokeswoman.

The whale will be taken to another location, where AMCS experts will perform a necropsy to determine its cause of death.
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Attention

5 killer whales die after stranding on eastern Bay of Plenty beach, New Zealand


New Zealand Herald
Thu, 25 May 2017 12:22 UTC
Locals tried to keep an orca alive overnight, but it died.
© Andrew WarnerLocals tried to keep an orca alive overnight, but it died. (File photo)
Five orcas have died after six were stranded at Cape Runaway in the eastern Bay of Plenty yesterday.

Four of the pod were already dead when the Department of Conservation were called about 2pm to the remote settlement of Whangaparaoa Bay.

Locals refloated one of the remaining two yesterday afternoon and they kept a second, larger beast alive overnight.

However it did not survive.

The department's operation manager Jade King-Hazel said officials remained in contact with local Joe Rua who had previous experience with whale strandings.

Bad weather prevented a small response team flying to the area by helicopter.
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Binoculars

Rare red-billed tropicbird turns up in Gulf Breeze, Florida

Troy Moon
Pensacola News Journal
Tue, 23 May 2017 16:44 UTC
Red billed tropicbird
Red billed tropicbird
Big-time birder Bob Duncan was in a remote jungle camp in the Amazon basin region of Ecuador when he got the alert — even some of the most remote areas have Wi-Fi — that a white-tailed tropical bird had been spotted in Gulf Breeze.

That's a pretty rare bird, but not rare enough for Duncan, 82, to abandon the jungle trek that he was on with his wife, Lucy.

Good thing he didn't find out until he got home to Gulf Breeze that the bird had been misidentified and was actually an even more rare bird for the area — the red-billed tropicbird. Otherwise, Duncan might have caught the next plane home.

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Attention

Sightings of whales spiked around New York City in 2016, nonprofit says

Lisa L. Colangelo
AM New York
Tue, 23 May 2017 12:33 UTC
The non-profit Gotham Whale logged an increase in whale sightings around New York City in 2016, including this one seen near the Statue of Liberty in November.
© D GallagherThe non-profit Gotham Whale logged an increase in whale sightings around New York City in 2016, including this one seen near the Statue of Liberty in November.
Turns out 2016 was a whale of a year for New Yorkers who love the massive marine mammals.

The nonprofit Gotham Whale recorded a whopping 152 whale sightings in the waters around New York City. The group also identified 166 individual whales during that time.

"This phenomenon is brand new but it's also fraught with danger," Paul Sieswerda, the founder of Gotham Whale, said Monday. "They are coming into these areas when there is an increasing number of ships coming into New York Harbor."

Sieswerda said the group logged 87 sightings and 106 individual whales in 2014 and 62 sightings and 69 individual whales in 2015.

He believes the uptick is due to an increase in whales in the area, who are likely attracted by higher levels of food partly as a result of some restrictions on fishing, as well as a greater interest from the public to help track their movements.
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Attention

Signs and Portents: Ewe gives birth to two-headed lamb in Boorowa, Australia


Boorowa News
Wed, 24 May 2017 20:48 UTC
sheep
When Boorowa farmer Robert Riles' ewe was having trouble giving birth to twins last Thursday, he believed an unusually large head on one of the unborn lambs was the problem.

"It was Thursday morning when I went down and I noticed she was having a lamb and I thought I'd give her a couple of hours, so I came to town, did my chores," Mr Riles said.

"I went back and she still didn't have it so I gave her another hour or two and it's no different. You could see she was uneasy and knew she was in trouble.

"I pulled it and it got to the shoulders and I couldn't pull it anymore, it was just too hard.
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