Animals
S


Red Flag

Covered in ash: Chinstrap penguins threatened by volcanic eruption

chinstrap penguins
© Pete Bucktrout, British Antarctic SurveyVolcanic ash threatens an enormous colony of chinstrap penguins.

The hatcheries of migratory penguins can be magical places, full of fluffy chicks and doting parents. But things are less picturesque when you add volcanic ash to the mix. A volcano on the northernmost island of an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean has been spewing ash and smoke since March, threatening one of the largest colonies of penguins in the world, according to a new study.

Zavodovski Island, one of the South Sandwich Islands, is uninhabited by humans, but it is home to more than 1 million chinstrap penguins, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). BAS researchers found the volcanic eruption via satellite imagery and fishermen from nearby South Georgia were able to photograph ash blowing eastward across the island over penguin-nesting grounds.

"We donꞌt know what impact the ash will have on the penguins," Peter Fretwell, a geographer with the BAS, said in a statement. "If it has been heavy and widespread it may have a serious effect on the population."

Comment: Further reading:


Cheeseburger

Fast food binges from garbage dumps turning bears into 'couch potatoes'

Foraging for rubbish
© Laurent Geslin/NaturePL.comForaging for rubbish

Garbage dumps are turning bears into couch potatoes. A survey of brown bears in north-east Turkey has revealed how visiting a dump has completely changed local bears' lifestyles. Bears that visited the dump became more sedentary, no longer migrating and foraging over the same distance as those that didn't.

"It's surprising that two substantially distinct lifestyles can develop and coexist within a small and isolated subpopulation," says Gabriele Cozzi of the University of Zurich in Switzerland. This is a first for brown bears, he says, although such differences have been found within groups of black bears.

Cozzi and his team radio-tagged 16 bears, then followed their movement for an average of 10 months, and up to 20 months. They found that the 10 "dump bears" - seven males and three females - did not stray far from the dump, except to hibernate during the winter.

By contrast, the six bears - three males and three females - that never visited the dump ventured far and wide. These bears migrated an average of 165 kilometres each year in search of food, especially in the period before hibernation, when they were probably "fattening up".

Comment: Urban Black Bears 'Live Fast, Die Young'


Attention

Pod of rare whales spotted off the coast of Dunedin, New Zealand

A rare Shepherd's Beaked Whale spotted from a University of Otago Research vessel In late June.
© University of OtagoA rare Shepherd's Beaked Whale spotted from a University of Otago Research vessel In late June.
A pod of rare whales was spotted off Dunedin's coast - the first such sighting in New Zealand waters.

The Shepherd's Beaked Whales were spotted from a University of Otago Research vessel in late June.

The Shepherd's Beaked Whale, Tasmacetus shepherdii, is one of the least known cetaceans in the world, and was previously known from only nine confirmed sightings in the world of live members of the species, and 55 strandings of dead whales.

Dr Will Rayment, from Otago's Department of Marine Science, led a survey expedition of the submarine canyons off the Otago coast aboard the vessel Polaris II.

"There have previously been no confirmed sightings in New Zealand waters, although New Zealand is the world's stranding hotspot for the species."

Attention

Shark bites woman multiple times off Melbourne Beach, Florida; 5th recent attack for the area

Shark attacks
A woman suffered injuries consistent with shark bites Wednesday afternoon in unincorporated Melbourne Beach, according to Brevard County Fire Rescue.

The woman suffered a bite on her buttocks and thigh and a deeper bite on her left hand and wrist area, Chief Mark Schollmeyer said. She also saw the animal.

The unidentified 42-year-old woman is from New Jersey, according to Brevard County Ocean Lifeguard Division chief Eisen Witcher.

The 3:30 p.m. incident took place near 2999 S. Highway A1A about a quarter-mile from a lifeguard tower.

The attack appears to be the fifth confirmed shark bite to take place off Brevard's 72-mile shoreline this year.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning kills 7 buffaloes in India

Lightning
Seven buffaloes were killed by lightning strikes in a jungle above Bhanara village of Manali late on Tuesday night, said sources.

However, the owner of the buffaloes got to know about this only on Wednesday morning. Roshal Lal, a resident of Mandi district , said he was sleeping in his tent near the pasture, when the lightning occurred during a thunderstorm.

Fish

Rare deep sea oarfish found on beach in South Africa

Campers at the Hartenbos Caravan Park came across an oarfish on the beach yesterday.
© Rhoda da SilvaCampers at the Hartenbos Caravan Park came across an oarfish on the beach yesterday.
Campers at the Hartenbos Caravan Park came across an oarfish on the beach yesterday.

Antonia Pereira da Silva says it was high tide at around 16:00 when he saw the 1.3m long oarfish coming out with the surf.

Oarfish are large, greatly elongated, pelagic lampriform fish belonging to the small family Regalecidae.

This type of fish is rarely seen.

A marine biologist from Oceans Research in Mossel Bay, Dr Enrico Genarri, urges residents to report any other findings of oarfish in the area.

"It will be best to keep the fish in shallow water. Our team will then tag the fish and release it. This will be crucial for our team to obtain more information about this rare fish."


Attention

Man critically injured by bear in Kashmir, India; unprecedented surge in attacks reported

Himalayan Black Bear is visible in the lower reaches from spring to autumn and hibernate in winter in Kashmir.
Himalayan Black Bear is visible in the lower reaches from spring to autumn and hibernate in winter in Kashmir.
A bear severely injured a man in Pehru Mattan while he was working in his apple orchard, here in south Kashmir's Islamabad district.

The person identified as Mohideen Beigh from Pehru was shifted to district hospital Islamabad with blood drenched body.

The doctors at the Islamabad hospital after dressing his wounds referred him to Srinagar, terming his condition critical.

Meanwhile, wild life department has rushed a rescue team to the spot where the wild animal was attacked the man.

"We have sent a team there to get hold of the animal," said Wild Life warden Islamabad Mohammad Sadiq.

Pertinently, there has been an unprecedented surge in the cases of bear attacks in Mattan area from last couple of months.

Comment: See also these other recent reports from India: Bear kills man and injures another seven within an hour in India

Sloth bear mauls farmer to death in Telangana, India

Bear mauls 6 people in Odisha, India

Sloth bear kills 3 before being shot dead in India


Arrow Down

Mysterious: Turtle eggs not hatching on Australian island

Turtle
© Oregon State University/FlickrA green turtle hatchling heads toward the sea.
There may be such a thing as too many turtles, according to scientists investigating why so few turtle eggs were hatching on Raine Island, located on the tip of Australiaꞌs Great Barrier Reef.

For more than 1,000 years, green sea turtles have nested on Raine Island, where they dig pits to lay and bury their developing eggs. Yet after a millennia of fruitful nesting seasons, the island has recently had a drop in the rate of successful hatches — now less than 30 percent, even in undisturbed nests.

With protective coral along the broad sandy beaches, and no land-based predators, scientists were stumped as to why an otherwise ideal nesting location would have so few baby turtles hatching from eggs and scuttling down to the water.

Comment: Further reading:


Fish

Incredibly rare 'ghost fish' recorded alive for first time, 2km down in depths of Pacific Ocean

The 'ghost fish' has never been seen alive before
The 'ghost fish' has never been seen alive before
An incredibly rare 'ghost fish' has been seen alive for the first time ever.

The ethereal deep ocean dweller, measuring just 10cm long, has never before been spotted by researchers, let alone caught on camera.

It lives in the murky depths of the sea - 2km below the surface.

The odd-looking fish is pale, with almost translucent skin and bulbous, glowing eyes.

It is thought to belong to the Aphyonidae family.

Some think the scaly creatures looks like Falcor, the dragon from the cult 1984 movie, 'The NeverEnding Story'.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 18 cows in Strobl, Austria

18 cows killed by lightning
© Georg Buchegger18 cows killed by lightning
A cow called Lucky is the only survivor of a lightning strike that killed 18 other cows at once in alpine meadow in Austria.

Cow herder Georg Buchegger was shocked to discover all but one of his herd dead under a tree on Sunday, after they were struck by lightning while sheltering from a storm.

A photograph taken by Buchegger shows the dead cows laid strewn across the ground around the tree in the alpine meadow near the town of Strobl in Salzburg.


According to the Krone newspaper, the only cow from the 19-strong herd to survive is appropriately called 'Glück', which means Lucky.