Animals
S


Cow

Lightning bolt kills 32 cows in Texas County, Missouri

Jackie Rehwald
USA Today
Mon, 01 May 2017 12:33 UTC
Texas County farmer Jared Blackwelder found 32 of his dairy cows dead on Saturday.
Texas County farmer Jared Blackwelder found 32 of his dairy cows dead on Saturday.
As he does every morning, Texas County dairy farmer Jared Blackwelder started milking his cows around 4 a.m. Saturday. He finished up just before daylight and headed back to the barn. He was about to lock the gate when lightning struck hard and close.

"It was so bright I couldn't hardly see," he said. "It just brought fire down the fences."

Later in the day, when it was time to milk again, Blackwelder returned to the field and found 32 of his certified organic cows dead.

A veterinarian confirmed the cows had been struck by lightning. Blackwelder suspects it was that same lightning strike that sent fire along his fences.

"I went down over the hill and seen them laying there," an emotional Blackwelder said. "They were just piled on top of each other. They were huddled up, trying to get out of rain.

"It's not like they are pets. But the ones I'm milking, I've raised every one of them," he said. "Dairy cattle are a little different because you mess with them twice a day. It knocks you hard."
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Bulb

Light pollution's serious impact on coastal wildlife

University of Exeter
Phys.org
Mon, 01 May 2017 00:00 UTC
coastal turtle
© EurekAlert!Coastal leatherback turtle
Scientists have recognised for some years that light pollution from buildings, vehicles and streetlights is a growing phenomenon that impacts on the behaviour and success of many animals including migrating birds, hunting bats and the moths they try to capture.

As the human population grows the problem is due to worsen and even remote coastal areas are now being affected by civilization's tell-tale glow-in-the-sky. Turtles, disoriented as they return to their nesting beaches, or confused hatchlings struggling to find the sea, are iconic examples.

Now, a new study conducted by scientists from the University of Exeter and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the University of Exeter looks at the true extent to which light pollution is affecting key marine wildlife in the UK.

Dogwelk
© Galleries - Looe Marine Conservation GroupDogwelk
The research team set up a series of laboratory experiments to determine whether the less well known, but highly important inhabitants of the seashore were also affected. Using the dogwhelk (Nucella lapillus), a key seashore species that modulates biodiversity and community structure of our coasts, they kept one group of dogwhelks in artificially-lit night sky conditions, while a control group experienced a more natural night/day cycle.

Comment: "Let there be...less light!"

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Attention

Signs and Portents: Boy discovers two-headed turtle in Whispering Pines, North Carolina

Jaymie Baxley
The Pilot
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 18:05 UTC
The two-headed turtle found by Jack Baggett
The two-headed turtle found by Jack Baggett
Jack Baggett, a nature-obsessed 6-year-old, was elated to find a newly hatched turtle while fishing with his father last week at a pond in Whispering Pines.

The boy scooped up the tiny reptile and brought it home, hoping his mother would let him keep it as a pet.

But when his parents inspected the turtle under a light, they noticed something odd. A few things, in fact.

"(It had) four eyes and two mouths," Mary Baggett, Jack's mother, said.

The turtle was born with a rare genetic deviation that causes animals and humans to form multiple heads. The condition is called polycephaly, and it is believed to occur when twin embryos fail to fully separate.
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Attention

Woman attacked by shark off San Onofre Beach, California


cbs8.com
Sun, 30 Apr 2017 09:33 UTC
Shark attacks
A shark attacked a woman wading in the ocean with friends, tearing away part of her upper thigh off a popular Southern California beach, authorities and witnesses said Sunday.

Leeanne Ericson was camping at San Onofre Saturday evening.

She loves the ocean and decided to join her boyfriend in the water when she was bitten by a shark.

"She was swimming, he was surfing and I guess he heard her scream when he was on the board," said family friend Laura Smith. "He jumped and dove off the board and went looking for her and found her on the bottom and brought her up on the surf board and paddled in with her and tied the leash around her leg to try to control the bleeding until they airlifted her down to the hospital, but if it wasn't for him she wouldn't have made it. He truly save her life."


Comment: 2 people suffered light injuries due to shark attacks on the same day off South Africa and South Carolina .

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Binoculars

American red-winged blackbird never before seen in the UK turns up on North Ronaldsay, Scotland


The Telegraph (UK)
Sun, 30 Apr 2017 17:06 UTC
Female red-winged blackbird
© Simon DaviesFemale red-winged blackbird on the island of North Ronaldsay
Birdwatchers have chartered four planes to fly to Orkney to spot a blackbird which has never been seen before in the UK.

The red-winged blackbird is an American species which was spotted by a local bird observatory on the island of North Ronaldsay on Saturday.

Now scores of twitchers have taken advantage of the Bank Holiday weekend and chartered planes to go and see the rare bird, which was spotted by Simon Davies, principal assistant warden of the North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory.

Mr Davies was doing a bird census when the blackbird "popped up its head behind some gas cannisters", said Larissa Simulik, an assistant warden at the observatory.
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Bizarro Earth

Killer whales go on unprecedented killing spree off coast of Monterrey, California

Alix Martichoux
SFGate
Fri, 28 Apr 2017 00:00 UTC
killer whales monterrey california
Photographers snapped some amazing pictures of killer whales and humpbacks while watching off the coast of Monterey, Calif. in April 2017.
A week of insane whale sightings in Monterey Bay got even crazier Wednesday when a pod of nine killer whales attacked a gray whale calf right in front of a whale watching tour boat.

This is the fourth kill in seven days for the group of orcas. That's one kill every other day since last Thursday by the same nine killer whales (with a few others joining occasionally). Nancy Black, a marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch who has been studying these whales for decades, called the frequency of the pod's killings "remarkable" and "unprecedented."

"This has never happened in my thirty years," Black told SFGATE. "Just to witness that out in nature when you usually see that kind of thing on television is really spectacular."
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Attention

Rampaging rhino kills man on street in southern Nepal

Luke Barnes
Daily Mail
Sat, 29 Apr 2017 15:48 UTC
A crowd of worried onlookers can be heard screaming and shouting in the background
A crowd of worried onlookers can be heard screaming and shouting in the background
Next time you're stuck in traffic complaining about your commute remember it could be a lot worse.

You could have a 5,000 pound rhino charging at you.

Terrifying footage has emerged showing the huge horned beast rampaging down a street in southern Nepal town of Hetauda.

Two unfortunate motorcyclists can be seen fleeing the beast in front of it, while screams and panicked shouts can be heard in the background.

A crowd of curious onlookers can be seen following the beast at a distance.

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Attention

Bodyboarder killed by shark off Reunion Island; second such death in 2 months

Jenny Awford
The Sun (UK)
Sat, 29 Apr 2017 15:12 UTC
Shark attacks
A bodyboarder was mauled to death by a shark just two months after one of his best friends was killed in almost identical circumstances.

Adrien Dubosc, 28, was bitten in the leg in shark-infested waters off Pointe au Sel, Reunion, on Saturday morning.

The trained shark spotter was dragged to shore and given CPR in front of his horrified family members, but rescuers could not save him.

His death comes weeks after his friend Alexandre Naussac, 26, died on a nearby beach on the French island, which lies off the coast of Madagascar.

Comment: For details of previous attack, see: Man killed by shark off Reunion Island

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Attention

Domesticated elephant kills tour owner in Indonesia

Ni Komang Erviani
The Jakarta Post
Fri, 28 Apr 2017 12:46 UTC
Elephants cross an oil palm plantation in Langkat regency, North Sumatra, recently.
© Apriadi GunawanElephants cross an oil palm plantation in Langkat regency, North Sumatra, recently.
The owner of a company that provides elephant facility tours was killed by one of the elephants at his park.

I Nyoman Levi Suwitha, 60, was attacked by a male Lampung elephant on Friday at Bakas Levi Rafting and Elephant Tours in Bakas village, Klungkung regency, about 30 kilometers from Denpasar, Bali.

Klungkung Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Arendra Wahyudi told The Jakarta Post that Nyoman Levi came to the elephant cage at around 10:20 a.m. local time soon after he arrived from Denpasar. When he was feeding the elephant, the animal suddenly attacked him. During the incident, the elephant lifted up Nyoman Levi and slammed his body on the ground, leaving him unconscious.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 55 sheep in Ballari, India


The Times of India
Sat, 29 Apr 2017 19:31 UTC
Around 55 sheep killed due to lightning
Around 55 sheep killed due to lightning
Around 55 sheep were killed due to lightning at Ujjaini village on the outskirts of Kudligi town in Ballari district on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

The incident happened when shepherd Pakkirappa was staying in a field along with the sheep. "There were thundershowers all through the night and at one point of time, lightning struck the flock of sheep killing 55 of them,'' Fakkirappa said.

Fakkirappa has informed the revenue officials about the loss and sought compensation. A team of revenue department officials and veterinary doctors visited the spot.
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