Animals
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Health

Zebra attacks zookeeper at Safari Park in China

Sam Webb
The Sun (UK)
Wed, 01 Feb 2017 14:20 UTC
The zebra latches on to the unlucky zookeeper
The zebra latches on to the unlucky zookeeper
Terrifying mobile phone footage has captured the moment a zoo employee was attacked by an enraged zebra and violently dragged into the bushes.

The dramatic incident took place at the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province - and the viral video comes just days after a male tourist was mauled to death by a tiger in an East China zoo.

In the 15-second clip, which has since been viewed tens of millions of times on China's popular microblogging site Sina Weibo, tourists can be heard gasping as the zebra clamps its teeth into the zoo employee's arm.

The man, surnamed Li, stumbles and falls to the ground as the animal drags him along, and a number of other employees can be seen chasing after the zebra with sticks to save their colleague.

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Attention

Dead newborn gray whale found in Redondo Beach, California

Megan Barnes
Daily Breeze
Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:17 UTC
Gray whale
Gray whale
The carcass of a newborn gray whale washed ashore at Redondo Beach on Tuesday afternoon, catching the attention of lifeguards as it floated listlessly in the surf near Avenue C.

Los Angeles County lifeguard rescue boats towed the 12-foot-long baby out to sea at about 4 p.m., according to lifeguard Capt. Eric Howell.

Pacific gray whales are in the midst of their annual winter migration from their Alaskan feeding grounds to warm Mexican lagoons, where they mate and give birth. Newborns aren't born with a thick enough layer of blubber to withstand Alaskan temperatures, but they thrive in the warm waters off Baja California. They typically bulk up quickly on their mother's fat-rich milk during the journey back up north.

Lifeguard officials worked with representatives from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service to determine where to tow the dead whale on Tuesday, Howell said.
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Bizarro Earth

Chimps attack and murder former tyrant

Chelsea Whyte
New Scientist
Tue, 31 Jan 2017 17:19 UTC
chimps kill tyrant
© Jill D. Pruetz A violent end
It was a gruesome scene. The body had severe wounds and was still bleeding despite having been lying for a few hours in the hot Senegalese savanna.

The murder victim, a West African chimpanzee called Foudouko, had been beaten with rocks and sticks, stomped on and then cannibalised by his own community.

This is one of just nine known cases where a group of chimpanzees has killed one of their own adult males, as opposed to killing a member of a neighbouring tribe.

These intragroup killings are rare, but Michael Wilson at the University of Minnesota says they are a valuable insight into chimp behaviour such as male coalition building.

"Why do these coalitions sometimes succeed, but not very often? It's at the heart of this tension between conflict and cooperation, which is central to the lives of chimpanzees and even to our own," he says.
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Attention

Bear encounter sends man to hospital in Gulf Breeze, Florida

Grace Tennyson
weartv.com
Sun, 29 Jan 2017 12:14 UTC
Black bear
Black bear
A man and his dog were injured by a bear Saturday evening while out in Gulf Breeze.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said they are responding to the scene where the bear injured a man and his dog in Santa Rosa County.

The man reportedly let his dog out into the front yard, not knowing there was a bear outside. The dog was hurt so the man went to get the dog when the bear swatted him.

FWC said the man's injuries are not life-threatening and he was released from Gulf Breeze Hospital after receiving treatment Saturday night. The dog is also said to be okay.

FWC is investigating the incident, collecting evidence, and is starting trapping efforts in the area.
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Question

Mass seagull deaths mystifies biologists at Port of Tacoma, Washington

Craig Sailor
The Washington Times
Mon, 30 Jan 2017 10:47 UTC
Glaucous gull
Glaucous gull
A mysterious ailment that has killed or paralyzed sea gulls around the Port of Tacoma this week is baffling wildlife biologists.

About 50 sea gulls have been found dead or paralyzed from the neck down.

"We have never seen a situation like that," said state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Michelle Tirhi. "It was a mystery to our biologists and veterinarians."

Ill birds have been found in a seated position with only their heads moving.

"One could walk up to them and pick them up," Tirhi said. "They can't fly, they can't walk, they can't move."

Port workers began finding dead and sick gulls Sunday night.
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Attention

Uptick in whale strandings in North Carolina

Christopher Thomas
publicradioeast.org
Mon, 30 Jan 2017 09:53 UTC
Beached Cuvier Whale at the Outer Banks found Sept. 2016
© Credit Karen Clar / The Virginia-Pilot
Beached Cuvier Whale at the Outer Banks found Sept. 2016

Beached whale sightings in North Carolina have been on the rise over the past decade - the most recent being in September with a rare, Cuvier's beaked whale that washed ashore in Nags Head.

Chris Thomas has more possible causes for the increased number of strandings along our coast.

North Carolina is home to 8 kinds of whale, including humpback, pilot, and blue - many of which are endangered.

William McLellan is a research biologist at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington and is the state coordinator for its Marine Mammal Stranding Program.

"North Carolina has one of the highest diversity of whale, potentially the highest diversity of whale and dolphin/porpoise species on the Atlantic Ocean."
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Attention

Four dolphins have washed up at Torcross and Thurleston in the UK

Sam Acourt
South Hams Gazette
Mon, 30 Jan 2017 14:56 UTC
Common Dolphin
© cetus.ucsd.eduCommon Dolphin
Three more dolphins have washed up in the South Hams after one was found on the Aveton Gifford tidal road last week.

One, a common dolphin, was found on Torcross beach by the crew working on the road there, while another washed up on Broadsands and a third washed up at Yarmer Sands, both in Thurlestone.

It is unknown why the three dolphins washed up, and two are scheduled to be picked up by the Natural History Museum for post mortem, while the one at Broadsands is too decomposed to be autopsied.
The dolphin that washed up on Yarmer Sands, Thurlestone
The dolphin that washed up on Yarmer Sands, Thurlestone
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Black Cat 2

Thousands of black birds seize control of sky in Houston, Texas

Valeria Edwards
Daily Mail
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 22:08 UTC
Thousands of Black Birds Seize Control of Houston Sky January 2017
An eerie video shows the moment thousands of blackbirds descended upon travelers along a freeway in Houston.
A driver captured the creepy sight as the birds soared through a dark gray sky.

In the video, the birds appeared to be flying in a snake-like formation as they swarmed over cars entering and leaving the city.

Comment: There's been many cases of strange bird behavior in the last decade. One wonders what unseen changes are going on in the environment to cause them.

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Horse

Brutal Western U.S. winter weather has been terrible for animals

Andrew Selsky
Post Register
Sat, 28 Jan 2017 11:26 UTC
Two juvenile elk wander in a field
© Jerome A PollosTwo juvenile elk wander in a field
Antelope injured while falling on ice. Horses stranded in snowy mountains. Cougars descending from their wilderness lairs to forage in a town.

It's been a beastly winter in the American West, not just for people but for animals too. One storm after another has buried much of the region in snow, and temperatures have often stayed below freezing, endangering a rich diversity of wild animals.

In southern Idaho, about 500 pronghorn antelope tried to cross the frozen Snake River earlier this month at Lake Walcott, but part of the herd spooked and ran onto a slick spot where they slipped and fell. Idaho Fish and Game workers rescued six of the stranded pronghorn, but 10 were killed by coyotes and 20 had to be euthanized because of injuries suffered when they fell down.

Another 50 pronghorn were found dead in the small western Idaho city of Payette after they nibbled on Japanese yew, a landscaping shrub that's toxic. Tough winter conditions have forced some wildlife to feed on the plant in urban areas.

Heavy snow has forced the Idaho Fish and Game department to begin emergency feeding of big game animals in southern Idaho.

In this Jan. 18, 2017, photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, elk feed at the Wenaha Wildlife Area near Troy, Ore.
In this Jan. 18, 2017, photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, elk feed at the Wenaha Wildlife Area near Troy, Ore.

Comment: See also: Animals struggle with heavy snowfall, winter weather in Idaho

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Wolf

Wolves losing their natural fear of humans? Several attacks reported in 2016 across Canada

Robert Alison
Muskoka Region.com
Sat, 28 Jan 2017 09:44 UTC
Wolf
© wikipedia
Public perception of wolves has fluctuated enormously over time. In antiquity, wolves were widely beloved.

"Apollo takes pleasure in the wolf," said historian Aelian in about 200 A.D.

"That is why, at Delphi (in Greece), a bronze wolf statue is set up."

Over time, the image of the wolf has become somewhat tarnished. In North America, public opinion is split between those who admire wolves and those who despise them. There does not seem to be any middle ground, no compromise.

Historically, negative public opinion has been galvanized by Aesop fables, such as "The boy who cried wolf" and "The wolf and the lamb." In Grimms' Fairy Tales, a wolf eats Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother and then tries to ambush Little Red herself.

In "The wolf and seven young kids," a wolf kills and eats seven young goats, but they are liberated alive from the wolf's stomach by a resourceful mother goat.
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