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Many stranded Bottlenose dolphins may be deaf

Tanya Lewis
news.discovery.com
Sat, 03 Aug 2013 12:54 UTC
Image
© Wikimedia Commons
An adult female bottlenose dolphin with her young, Moray Firth, Scotland
Dolphin deafness can be caused by aging, underwater noise or other factors.

In waters from Florida to the Caribbean, dolphins are showing up stranded or entangled in fishing gear with an unusual problem: They can't hear.

More than half of stranded bottlenose dolphins are deaf, one study suggests. The causes of hearing loss in dolphins aren't always clear, but aging, shipping noise and side effects from antibiotics could play roles.

"We're at a stage right now where we're determining the extent of hearing loss [in dolphins], and figuring out all the potential causes," said Judy St. Leger, director of pathology and research at SeaWorld in San Diego. "The better we understand that, the better we have a sense of what we should be doing [about it]."

Whether the hearing loss is causing the dolphin strandings -- for instance, by steering the marine mammals in the wrong direction or preventing them from finding food -- is also still an open question.
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Attention

World's largest geyser puts on rare show at Yellowstone

Laura Zuckerman
newsdaily.com
Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:38 UTC
The world's largest geyser has exploded to life at Yellowstone National Park for the first time in eight years, sending a high-pressure burst of steamy water 300 feet into the air, a park official said on Thursday.

The stream of 160 degree water released on Wednesday night by the so-called Steamboat Geyser lasted for roughly 10 minutes, delighting a small number of "geyser gazers" who have waited years for such a show, Yellowstone spokesman Dan Hottle said.

"There are a lot of people who wait hour after hour, day after day, for things to erupt," he said.

Yellowstone visitors could potentially wait a lifetime for Steamboat Geyser, which has gone as long as 50 years between major eruptions. Steamboat Geyser last sent a superheated torrent of water hundreds of feet into the air in May 2005.
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Question

Oysters hit by mystery illness along French coastline

Henry Samuel
The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:31 UTC
A mystery illness is wiping out up to 80 per cent of adult oysters along French coastlines in the latest plague to hit the embattled molluscs, which are struggling to cope with global warming.

Image
© ALAMY
Oyster production in Corsica. Experts are at a loss to explain the causes of the recent illness in French oysters
For the past month, oyster farmers have watched powerless as their shellfish have died in droves with experts at a loss to explain the causes.

"In some areas, 50 to 80 per cent of saleable oysters aged between two to three years have died out," said Olivier Laban, president of the shellfish producers' federation of Arcachon-Aquitaine, western France.

"We have no idea what the origin of this blight is," he told Le Figaro.

Tests are under way at Ifremer, France's marine research institute, with samples taken from oysters along the West coast and the Mediterranean

"All the samples show mortality rates that are higher than normal," said Tristan Renault, mollusc specialist at Ifremer.
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Cloud Lightning

Storms hit across France


The Connexion
Mon, 29 Jul 2013 00:00 UTC
Image
Storms have caused heavy damage and black outs in different regions of France.

The latest area to be hit was the Riviera where this morning 14,000 homes were left without power after violent squalls brought down trees and power cables.

Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has said he will ask the government to treat the event as a natural disaster. Businesses along the seafront were damaged along with cars, windows and roofs. Some residents thought they had been hit by a tornado.

The storms has led to the cancellation of several TGV services and disruption to flights at Nice Airport.
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Sun

People, crops and fish suffer in record-breaking China heat wave

Jethro Mullen
CNN
Thu, 01 Aug 2013 03:17 UTC
Image

People are packing into swimming pools or taking refuge in caves to escape the fierce temperatures. Local governments are resorting to cloud-seeding technology to try to bring rain to millions of acres of parched farmland.
Record-breaking temperatures have been searing large swaths of China, resulting in dozens of heat-related deaths and prompting authorities to issue a national alert.

People are packing into swimming pools or taking refuge in caves in their attempts to escape the fierce temperatures. Local governments are resorting to cloud-seeding technology to try to bring rain to millions of acres of parched farmland.

The worst of the smoldering heat wave has been concentrated in the south and east of the country, with the commercial metropolis of Shanghai experiencing its hottest July in at least 140 years, according to state media.

Temperatures in the sprawling city of 23 million inhabitants reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher on 25 days in July, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday. More than 10 people died from heatstroke in Shanghai during the month, it said.

But the brutal temperatures aren't confined to the Shanghai region.

"About 19 provinces and regions are experiencing scorching heat, covering more than 3 million square kilometers, almost a third of the country," He Lifu, chief weather forecaster at the National Meteorological Center, told the English-language newspaper China Daily.
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Bizarro Earth

Large sinkhole discovered in Western Kansas

Kion Hudson
WIBW.com
Fri, 02 Aug 2013 15:52 UTC
Sinkhole
© WIBW.com
Wichita -- Watch your step if you venture into Wallace County in western Kansas.

The Wallace County sheriff says a large sinkhole was discovered about a week ago eight miles north of Wallace.

They're waiting on experts to come out and examine the sinkhole. They have no idea what caused it, and no injuries have been reported.
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Cow

France: Cow attack kills one, injures four


connexionfrance.com
Wed, 31 Jul 2013 15:49 UTC
A group of walkers has been attacked by a cow in the Hautes-Pyrénées, leaving one dead and four others injured.

Image
© Robert Kneschke - Fotolia.com
The incident happened at 11.30 on Tuesday morning on the Col d'Azet, near Saint-Lary-Soulan.

The group passed a herd of cows, but one animal, protecting her calf, charged an 85-year-old walker.

He was airlifted to Pau hospital but died of his injuries. Four other walkers, a Spanish couple and their children aged three and five were also hurt.

A spokesman for mountain security in the area said: "Walkers must be careful of herds of cows and try to avoid them. They should also keep their distance from sheep being guarded by patous, the big white mountain dogs who watch intruders with suspicion."
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Road Cone

Bordeaux, France: Man finds 2 meter-long snake in his car!


connexionfrance.com
Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:30 UTC
Image
Firefighters in Bordeaux extracted a 2m boa constrictor from a car after the runaway snake fell asleep in the engine.

The unnamed snake was initially seen making its escape down rue du Commandant-Charcotin in the Caudéran area, but by the time fire fighters arrived, it had sought shelter by climbing into the engine of Mario Poularas' car via the gearbox.

Mr Poularas told Sud Ouest newspaper that he was relieved not have needed his vehicle on the morning that fire fighters knocked on his door to tell him that a boa constrictor had fallen asleep inside it.

"I don't know what I would have done if I'd seen the animal in the passenger compartment," he said.

Boa constrictors are not venomous, but are still, as Sud Ouest put it, "not cool to find while changing from first".

Fire fighters took half an hour to extract the animal, during which time its owner realised it had escaped after he left the vivarium door open.
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Alarm Clock

SW France: Firefighters ready for forest blazes


connexionfrance.com
Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:17 UTC
Emergency services and Canadair water planes are on standby for forest fires across Aquitaine.
Image

The current spell of hot, dry and windy weather means conditions are ideal for 'severe fires' and every department in the region has been placed on alert.

Authorities are asking all those passing through forests in the region to take extreme care: no smoking, or throwing away cigarette ends, matches or anything vaguely flammable and no burning of rubbish or vegetation.

People are also advised to limit the amount of driving they do in the area.

Two Canadair aircraft are on standby at the airport in Mérignac where they will stay until the severe fire alert is lifted.
      Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Violent storms forecast for south west France


connexionfrance.com
Fri, 02 Aug 2013 15:10 UTC
Eight departments in the south west are on alert for 'violent storms' set to strike tonight.

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Residents of the Charente, Dordogne, Landes, Gironde et Lot-et-Garonne, Creuse, Vienne and Haute-Vienne should be vigilant as the storms hit later today.

Strong gusts of winds up to 100kph, hail and heavy rain (up to 30mm in an hour) are expected.

The riskiest period is 19.00 until Saturday morning at 04.00.

The storms are set to begin in the Golfe de Gascogne tonight and spread across Aquitaine, the Limousin and the east of Poitou-Charentes.

Wider areas will be affected but not to the same intensity as the departments on alert.
      Read More...
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