Animals
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Attention

Fin whale found dead washed up on Scots shoreline

An onlooker captured the washed up mammal on the shoreline.
© Culross Stables Community Hub/FacebookAn onlooker captured the washed up mammal on the shoreline.
An 18-metre dead whale has been found washed up on a Scottish shoreline by a member of the public.

The sad discovery was made by a walker on the shoreline in the village of Culross, Fife, around 4.30pm on Wednesday, January 24.

A member of the Culross Stables Community Hub captured images footage of the whale which was still in place in on Thursday.

The onlooker first assumed it to be a boat before discovering the 18-metre adult male Fin whale dead on the shoreline.


Doberman

85-year-old man dies after dogs attack him in Indianapolis, Indiana

PIT BULL ATTACK
An Indianapolis police officer fired their weapon Tuesday morning to break up an aggressive dog attack that left an 85-year-old man dead.

His granddaughter identified him as Willie Mundine. He had been earlier listed as being 86 years old and critically injured. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a media notification Tuesday night that it will be investigating with assistance from Indianapolis Animal Care Services.

IMPD officers were called around 9:55 a.m. on a report of an aggressive dog attacking a person in 2300 block of North Kenyon Street. That's west of the I-70 interchange for Shadeland Avenue on the east side of Indianapolis.


Attention

Amur tigers attacking, killing people and dogs in Russia

Lutiy, an endangered Amur tiger, roams in his cage at the Wild Animals Rehabilitation Center at the Sikhote-Alin Nature Monument, Russia on Monday, December 5, 2005
© Burt HermanLutiy, an endangered Amur tiger, roams in his cage at the Wild Animals Rehabilitation Center at the Sikhote-Alin Nature Monument, Russia on Monday, December 5, 2005
The world's biggest tigers have gone on a rampage in Russia, killing and attacking people in rural villages in the east of the country.

The villagers and their pets are being attacked by Amur tigers, which are seriously endangered and have been the focus of conservation efforts for years by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

In December last year a man and his dog were attacked and killed in the village of Obor, in the eastern region of Khabarovsk, the Moscow Times reported.

According to local police the tiger wandered into the village and killed the man's dog. The man, who has not been named, followed the tiger into the forest and his body was later found by villagers.

There have been almost 300 cases of tigers entering the area, according to local authorities in the region.


Comment: Perhaps because of the acute weather conditions in the region recently, are tigers experiencing difficulties finding their natural prey in the colder than normal temperatures and subsequently forced to target easier domesticated animals in and around local villages?

But, hey, don't mention climate change unless it's at the hot end of the spectrum. See also:

Coldest start to winter in decades for Russia: Parts of Siberia are enduring extreme cold below minus-70 degrees Fahrenheit


Doberman

Man in wheelchair rushed to hospital after Florida City dog attack

PIT BULL
A man in a wheelchair was allegedly attacked by a pair of dogs in Florida City on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said that man was rushed to Jackson South's Ryder Trauma Center with severe injuries to his arm after the attack, which took place near Northwest 10th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Local 10 News' Cody Weddle spoke to a neighbor who did not want to give her name, but said she was surprised to hear of the attack.

"That's Boo Boo," the neighbor said of one of the dogs. "Very peaceful. He got out the other day, and my mom was able to take him, give him food, and he went right back inside his kennel."

That woman lives next door to the home where the dogs live, and said she has interacted with them many times.


Doberman

Man dies after being attacked by an American Bully XL in Geesthacht, Germany

XL bully
XL bully -Illustration
A few days ago, a 35-year-old from Geesthacht was attacked by his own dog, and now the man has died. The animal had already seriously injured the man's partner at the beginning of January.

A few days after he was attacked by his own dog, a 35-year-old man from Geesthacht near Hamburg died from severe bite injuries. His death was confirmed in a hospital on Friday evening, as the police confirmed on Sunday morning.

The 35-year-old was found bleeding profusely in a forest last Wednesday by a walker. His dog, an American Bully XL, appeared to be guarding him and reacted aggressively to the paramedics who were called. Police forces shot the animal.

Doberman

Elderly woman dies after being attacked by her 4 dogs in Limpopo, South Africa

dog attack
Limpopo police have opened an inquest after an elderly woman was attacked by her four dogs while trying to protect a visitor from the animals.

The incident happened on Friday, 19 January, and the woman died on Monday, 22 January.

South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson in Limpopo, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, on the said day, the elderly woman was at her home with her daughter when they had a visitor and the dogs tried to attack him.

In the process, the woman interjected, trying to protect the man, but her dogs turned to her and bit her. Her daughter then assisted her, and the dogs turned away. However, she sustained injuries on her lower body.

Acting Police Commissioner in Limpopo, Major General Jan Scheepers, has strongly advised community members, especially owners of pets, to be careful with dogs around them and not to relax fully.

In 2023, there was a spate of incidents where people were mauled by their dogs, which caused some to die or left them seriously injured.

Attention

Wildlife officer killed in elephant attack in Botswana

mmmmmm
A night out with colleagues ended tragically for a Kasane wildlife officer when he was trampled to death by an elephant minutes after arriving at their camp.

None of the colleagues of the 52-year-old native of Thamaga witnessed the incident which happened while they were sleeping on Saturday.

They only discovered his lifeless body in the morning at about 8am.

The incident was confirmed by Superintendent James Maabong who said the man sustained serious injuries in the elephant attack.

Doberman

Dog owner charged with manslaughter after pit bulls attack, kill intoxicated man in Guyana

PIT BULL ATTACK
The owner of several pit bulls that mauled a man to death last week appeared in the New Amsterdam Magistrate's Court on Monday and was charged with the offense of manslaughter.

Rabindranauth Jaikissoon, an Auto Electrician of Ankerville, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice appeared before Magistrate Peter Hugh where the charge was read to him he was subsequently granted bail in the sum of $250,000.

The police Prosecutor did not object to bail.

Latchminen Permaul called 'Blackboy' of lot 249 Hampshire, Topoo, Corentyne, Berbice was killed after three pit bulls attacked him on Tuesday January 16.

Arrow Down

'Hello, I'd like to eat a genetically modified animal today'

"Do you have one on the menu?"
GMO Chicken
© meatreality.org
I found an interesting section in an FDA report, "GMO Crops, Animal Food, and Beyond." The information is listed as current as of August 2022.
Are There GMO Animals in the Food Supply? Yes. FDA has approved an application allowing the sale of the AquAdvantage Salmon to consumers. The AquAdvantage Salmon has been genetically modified to reach an important growth point faster. FDA has also approved an alteration in the GalSafe pig for human food consumption and potential therapeutic uses. The GalSafe pig was developed to be free of detectable alpha-gal sugar on its cell surfaces. People with Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) may have allergic reactions to alpha-gal sugar found in red meat (e.g., beef, pork, and lamb). FDA has determined that food from the AquAdvantage Salmon and the GalSafe pig are as safe and nutritious to eat as food from non-GMO salmon and pigs.
Sounds wonderful. Shall we try a bit of each? I've ways wanted to eat salmon that was engineered to grow faster than usual.

Perhaps we should read a piece in the Alaska Beacon first. Title: "Pushback continues against genetically modified salmon being raised at Indiana farm." October 10, 2023.
Engineered by biotech company AquaBounty Technologies Inc., the "AquAdvantage" salmon is the first such altered animal to be cleared for human consumption in the United States.

In 2018, the federal agency greenlit AquaBounty's sprawling Indiana facility, which as of last December was raising roughly 492 metric tons of salmon from eggs imported from Canada but is capable of raising more than twice that amount. The company is currently making improvements to its Indiana production facility. Once completed, salmon harvests are expected to increase.

During the 2023 Farm Aid concert site, organizers from Block Corporate Salmon traveled an hour north to AquaBounty's salmon growing facility where they sought to raise awareness about the "risks and harms" of genetically engineered fish.

"AquaBounty misrepresents its system to raise salmon in tanks that they claim will be recirculating water," said Jaydee Hanson, Policy Director of Center for Food Safety. "In fact, their operations literally mine water, foul it with salmon feces, and dump it into the nearest river. They have a serious problem of illness in their chronically inflamed fish. They are not disclosing how many antibiotics they use. Consumers don't need sick fish like these."

Earlier, in 2022, Block Corporate Salmon also released "AquaBounty Exposed," a report that outlined allegedly concerning conditions at AquaBounty's Albany facility.

Former employee Braydon Humphrey, who spoke at last month's news conference, shared more than 60 pages of photos and videos that he claims detail how AquaBounty "regularly violated food and worker safety standards, ignored animal welfare concerns, and caused environmental damage unbeknownst to the public and its investors."

"I was deeply disturbed by what I witnessed during my time at AquaBounty," said Humphrey, who worked as a tech at the Indiana facility from December 2018 to January 2020. "Among other atrocities, we saw high mortalities in densely packed fish tanks — including common instances of AquAdvantage salmon dying from ruptured stomachs, caused by their artificially fast growth rate."
— Waiter? I'll pass on the salmon. How about the rattlesnake fang sushi instead? I think it'll be safer.

Attention

18 fatal shark encounters in 2023 highest for 20 years

mmmmmm
In 2023, public records documented a total of 84 shark attacks, with 18 proving fatal; five of these fatalities were attributed to encounters with great white sharks. Christian Kemper of TrackingSharks.com remarked, "There haven't been this many deaths in over 20 years. In some cases, the victims were completely consumed."

Among the 18 fatalities, four were surfers, three of whom hailed from South Australia. On May 13, 2023, Simon Bacanello, a 46-year-old teacher, disappeared during a great white shark attack while surfing, and his remains were never recovered. On October 31, Todd Gendle, 55, was struck by a shark described as "as long as a limousine."

Tragedy struck again on December 28 when 15-year-old Khai Cowley lost his life while surfing in South Australia. The final fatality occurred on December 30 when 39-year-old Jason Carter suffered a tiger shark attack while surfing on Maui. Despite being rushed to the hospital, he eventually succumbed to his injuries.


Comment: See also: