Animals
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Wolf

Mad dog bites 10 city children in Maharashtra, India

Ishwar Nupe (9) and Vinod Vijay Gavai (10)
Ishwar Nupe (9) and Vinod Vijay Gavai (10)
A stray dog has struck terror among the residents of Ulhasnagar after it went on a mad rampage and bit 10 children on the same day. All the kids had to be taken to hospital and five of them had to be admitted for severe injuries.

Sunday attack

All of the attacks were separate incidents as the kids reside in different areas like Sainath Colony, Saraswati Nagar and Raigad Colony. Vijay Kalbande, additional civil surgeon at the Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar, said, "The incident took place on Sunday afternoon. Out of the 10 victims, we admitted five for treatment as they had suffered severe bites, while the remaining five were discharged. Most had suffered injuries on their legs, while a few were bitten on their arms."

Demon dog
Dog demon

Attention

Signs and Portents: Piglet born with face of monkey in China

The piglet was one of eight from its litter that survived
© ReutersThe piglet was one of eight from its litter that survived
The piglet is one of a litter of fifteen born four days ago, eight of which survived.

However the piglet was struggling to compete with its siblings for mum's milk.

So the creature now lives inside with farmer Lin, who is taking care of it.

Lin, from Zhijin county in China's western Guizhou province, said the piglet scared her at first.

She told Chinese news site 6Park: "I am already 63 years old and have never seen a pig look like this."

 Lin has already turned down some generous offers for the piglet
© 6PARK.COM Lin has already turned down some generous offers for the piglet

Attention

Signs and Portents: Two-headed calf born in Nigeria

Calf with two heads found in Northern Nigeria
Calf with two heads found in Northern Nigeria
A mutant cow born with two heads has left a stir in the north as many people came out to catch a glimpse of the rare animal.

People were left totally baffled after a cow born with two heads was discovered in northern part of Nigeria.

The unusual cow attracted people who came to see with their own eyes. It is believed that the cow did not survive due to complicated nature of its birth.

It is believed the cause of the two heads might be as a result of genetic mutation. Hausa news site, Rariya shared the photos online.

Two-headed calf

Microscope 2

Discovery: Mutated fish that have become 8,000 times more resistant to toxic waste

golden fish
© Andrew Whitehead/UC DavisThe Future of Fish
Researchers have discovered that a fish living off the east coast of the US has evolved to be 8,000 times more resilient to toxic waste than normal fish. The small striped 'mud minnow', or killifish, is known for living in heavily polluted estuaries such as New Jersey's Newark Bay and Virginia's Elizabeth River. And scientists have now shown that it survives thanks to an extreme mutation that lets them endure toxic waste.

The killifish is a favourite among aquarium owners for its small size and beautiful colours. It's also a favourite for ecologists as an indicator species, acting as an aquatic canary in polluted environments. "You see killifish at these sites that are extremely tolerant of some very nasty chemical pollutants," environmental toxicologist Andrew Whitehead from the University of California, Davis, told National Geographic.

The mix of dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), and heavy metals in these sites were anywhere up to 8,000 times the level that would make most killifish go belly-up. Just like Blinky the three-eyed fish from the Simpsons, these fish were thriving in a toxic soup. Unlike good old Blinky, there was nothing physically different about these populations. Their genes told a different story, however.

Attention

Dead humpback whale found on beach in North Truro, Massachusetts

Dead humpback whale on High Head Beach
Dead humpback whale on High Head Beach
An animal welfare group says a dead humpback whale was found on a beach in Massachusetts.

Misty Niemeyer, a necropsy coordinator with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, tells The Cape Cod Times the beached carcass was reported to IFAW on Wednesday by Center for Coastal Studies staff on a boat that was passing by the Atlantic Ocean beach in North Truro.

IFAW experts examined the animal on High Head Beach on Thursday, but couldn't immediately determine a cause of death.

Niemeyer says experts determined the 32-foot-long female humpback— estimated to be about 3 to 7 years old —has likely been dead for at least two days and possibly more than a week.

Source: Associated Press

Bizarro Earth

Conservation body warns giraffes undergoing a 'silent extinction'

giraffes
© AFP Photo/Mark RALSTON
Wild giraffe numbers have plummeted by 40 percent in the last three decades, and the species is now "vulnerable" to extinction, a top conservation body warned Thursday.

The population of the world's tallest land mammal dropped to below 100,000 in 2015, mainly due to shrinking habitat and illegal hunting, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported.

The group added 742 newly-discovered birds to the global species inventory, but said 11 percent were already facing annihilation and 13 previously unknown species have already disappeared in the wild.

"These majestic land animals are undergoing a silent extinction," Julian Fennessy, co-chairman of the IUCN's specialist group on giraffes, said in a statement.

Previously, giraffes held the status of "least concern" on the IUCN's Red List, which tracks the conservation status of fauna and flora and ends with the category "extinct".

Wolf

Stray dogs kill 4 children within a week in 2 Uttar Pradesh villages, India

Stray dogs
Representative image
Villagers in Kundarki sub-division of Moradabad have taken to the streets in protest after two more children, six-year-old Abdul Samad and 10-year-old Rehnuma, were mauled to death by strays. Two days ago, two kids were killed by dogs in another village. In all, eight children have fallen to dog attacks in the area this year. Officials are unable to understand how the number of canines has gone up again when 160 dogs were caught in the area and released into the wild just last month.

The situation has become so grim that the administration now wants trained shooters and tranquiliser guns to deal with the menace. The district magistrate has ordered a probe into the growing number of dog attacks.

Abdul Basit, sub-divisional magistrate, said, "The alarming frequency of dog attacks indicates that the canines here may have developed the habit of eating human flesh and find easy prey in children. On occasions, we have placed pieces of animal meat in jungles in our bid to lure them into traps, but they didn't eat it." The administration has also blamed forest officials for not providing assistance in catching dogs. "The forest department says the problem is out of their purview as jungle dogs are not categorised as vermin," Basit added.

Six-year-old Abdul Samad was attacked by a pack of over a dozen dogs in Bhishmpur village of Kundarki on Tuesday when he was playing near a field along with four other children. "My son resisted the dogs and fought them for 10 minutes before he fell down. By the time other children informed others and he was rescued, it was too late," said his father Ibne Hasan. Ten-year-old Rehnuma was killed by dogs in Chitupur village on Monday.

Attention

Safari leader killed by elephant in Malawi

A safari leader has died after his vehicle was flipped over by an elephant
A safari leader has died after his vehicle was flipped over by an elephant
A safari leader has died after his vehicle was flipped over by an elephant which then attacked him when he got out and took a photograph.

Norwegian Sigurd Halvorsen was taking a group of four tourists and two other guides around the Majete Game Reserve in Malawi when the enraged animal rammed into them.

The elephant battered the car against a tree and turned it over before the terrified passengers managed to escape unhurt.

Halvorsen, from Haugesund in Norway, started taking pictures when he believed he was at a safe distance - only for the huge animal to launch an attack.


His family insist that he was not using a flash despite claims in Malawi media, according to Norwegian website Haugesund Avis.

Wolf

Pit bull terrier seriously injures four-year-old boy in Pocatello, Idaho

Dog attack
A four-year-old boy is recovering Monday night after he was attacked by a pit bull Sunday afternoon.

The boy is currently in his mother's custody and was living with her. The pit bull was owned by the mother's boyfriend.

The attack happened just off Highway 30 in a camper home next to the Idaho Salvage Pool. Greg Hamann, the boy's father, said his son went into the kitchen to talk to his mom. That's when the pit bull attacked. Hamann said they don't know why the dog would have attacked.

Now his son has a lot of healing to do. The attack damaged two of the boy's facial nerves, which control movements, like smiling. Other wounds damaged the spit glands, the upper lip and below one eye.

dog  attack
It took surgeons six and a half hours of surgery to repair the damage. Hamann said there were so many stitches no one could even get an exact count, but he said there's more than 1,000. He said his son will not only have a long to recovery physically, but emotionally.

"He's going to have to do a lot of counseling because he's going to be terrified," Hamann said. "A poor four-year-old don't know what's going on when something like that happens. So it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of counseling, a lot of love."


Wolf

Woman mauled by at least 1 of her 3 dogs in Lauderhill, Florida

Dog attack
A woman was rushed to a hospital Monday afternoon after she was attacked by at least one of her dogs, police said.

The incident was reported in the 4100 block of Northwest 21st Street.

Lauderhill Fire Rescue officials said the woman was taken to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition after she was attacked by three pit bulls. However, Lauderhill police Maj. Rick Rocco said the breed of dog is unconfirmed.

Rocco said the woman was visiting from out of state and brought her three dogs with her. She was alone in her nephew's apartment when he came home to find the dog attacking her.

He called police, and officers arrived to help.