Animals
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Attention

Off-duty deputy shoots black bear that charged at his family near La Verne, California

Victoria Spilabotte
foxla.com
Thu, 15 Dec 2016 20:53 UTC
Black bear
Black bear
Bears roaming a hillside neighborhood above La Verne are a common sight.

"It seems like they're the king of the neighborhood," resident Max Lopes said.

Lopes has taken several videos of bears he sees weekly.

"It seems like they're not scared of anything at all," he said.

That could be why one bear tried to attack an off-duty sheriff's deputy and his kids on Tuesday night.

Wildlife officials said it happened outside a home on Live Oak Canyon Road when the deputy spotted three bears going through a trash can. The bigger bear, weighing an estimated 400 pounds, tried to attack.
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Attention

Man attacked by fur seal in New Zealand


Newshub
Wed, 14 Dec 2016 14:56 UTC
The tourist was assisted by a DOC ranger who spotted the attack, before being flown to Nelson Hospital
© GettyThe tourist was assisted by a DOC ranger who spotted the attack, before being flown to Nelson Hospital
A marine life expert says it's possible a seal that bit a German tourist in Abel Tasman National Park was just trying to play.

The 18-year-old was flown to hospital after being severely bitten on both legs while swimming off the rocks below a lighthouse on Wednesday.

Mark Oram, head of sport & recreation at AUT University, says the tourist invited the attack by deciding to get into the water with the animal.

"Probably the surprising thing is that it doesn't happen more often. New Zealand fur seals, like other marine mammals, are predators - they hunt and kill things to survive. Aggression is a part of their behaviour.

"So when people choose to enter their world, they do so at their own risk."
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Snowflake

'Mass death' threatens deer population in Altai and eastern Russia due to freak snow falls


The Siberian Times
Mon, 12 Dec 2016 13:11 UTC
Deer in deep snow
Deer in deep snow
Rescue effort underway to provide emergency feeding sites for the helpless animals, with the wild boar population also in trouble.

High snow drifts in the Altai Mountains and further east in Russia are causing huge problems this winter for herbivores - roes, deer and boars. Even larger animals as moose - elk - are finding it hard to cope with the deep snow.

Boar that are not full grown are dying in snowdrifts if there are no adults to break through the trails. The biggest threat is to roe deer, say wildlife experts.

Special feeding sites have been set up to allow them to find food. The last winter in Altai with similar heavy snow falls was in 2001-2002, when the number of roe deer was reduced from 27,000 to 17,000.

At the beginning of 2016, an estimated 25,000 roe deer were in the Altai region, but there is a threat of a new wipe out.
© AltaiprirodaAt the beginning of 2016, an estimated 25,000 roe deer were in the Altai region, but there is a threat of a new wipe out.
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Attention

Dead gray whale calf appears at Gearhart, Oregon

Lizzy Acker
The Oregonian
Wed, 14 Dec 2016 11:22 UTC
A gray whale calf washed ashore on Dec. 12, 2016 in Gearheart.
© Tiffany Boothe/Seaside AquariumA gray whale calf washed ashore on Dec. 12, 2016 in Gearheart.
A gray whale calf that washed ashore in Gearhart Monday and then disappeared, reappeared Wednesday in Seaside, allowing the Seaside Aquarium along with Portland State University to perform a necropsy on the animal.

The whale was a male and approximately 10 feet long. "Because of the time of year and size we believe the animal was most likely stillborn," wrote the Seaside Aquarium Tiffany Boothe in an email. "Gray whales are currently migrating passed the Oregon Coast on their way to their breeding grounds in Mexico."

Boothe added, "The whale had been heavily scavenged upon by sharks before washing ashore."

After the whale was found Monday, attempts to secure it higher on the beach were unsuccessful.
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Wolf

Mad dog bites 10 city children in Maharashtra, India

Faisal Tandel
mid-day.com
Wed, 14 Dec 2016 17:29 UTC
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
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Attention

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

Michael Havis
The Star (UK)
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 15:17 UTC
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
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Attention

Signs and Portents: Two-headed calf born in Nigeria

Thandiubani
tori.ng
Mon, 12 Dec 2016 11:41 UTC
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
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Microscope 2

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

Mike McRae
Science Alert
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
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.
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Attention

Dead humpback whale found on beach in North Truro, Massachusetts


Boston Herald
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 18:48 UTC
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
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Bizarro Earth

Conservation body warns giraffes undergoing a 'silent extinction'

Marlowe Hood
Yahoo
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:18 UTC
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".
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