Earth ChangesS


Attention

Remains of humpback whale found in Corolla, North Carolina

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© Karen ClarkThe whale was first discovered off Pine Island.
What remained of a badly decomposed juvenile humpback whale washed up off Corolla on Friday, then was swept away by the nor'easter, only to turn up Monday five miles to the south in Duck.

The Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network received a phone call Friday about a large dead whale floating off the sand bar in Pine Island, according to N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission program coordinator Karen Clark.

"On Saturday the team measured a 34-foot juvenile male humpback whale with severe scavenging," Clark said. "Externally there was nothing indicative for cause of death."

Ice Cube

New species of bivalve mollusk discovered in depths of Arctic Ocean

new species bivalve mollusk
© Paul Valentich-ScottNew species of bivalve mollusk was recently described and named Wallerconcha sarae.
In the depths of the Arctic Ocean, buried deep in the sediment, an ancient creature waited for over a million years to be discovered. Paul Valentich-Scott, from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (California), and three scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS, Menlo Park, California), Charles L. Powell, Brian D. Edwards, and Thomas D. Lorenson were up to the challenge. Each with different expertise, they were able to collect, analyze, and identify a new genus and new species of bivalve mollusk.

The path to discovery is seldom simple or easy. This discovery is no exception. Brian Edwards was the chief scientist on a joint US-Canadian ice breaker expedition aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the summer of 2010. The primary purpose of the expedition was to map the Arctic seafloor and the sediments beneath. Dr. Edwards took deep sediment core samples to further understand the geology of the region including the unusual seafloor mound where these samples were collected. In several of these cores he uncovered bivalve seashells buried nearly 15 feet (4.5 m) below the seafloor surface.

Upon returning to his USGS laboratory in Menlo Park, California, Brian worked with Tom Lorenson on sampling the cores and extracting the shells. The recovered shells were then taken to USGS paleontologist Chuck Powell, for identification. While Chuck was able to ascertain the higher level classification of the clam shells (Family Thyasiridae), he was unable to determine the genus or species. Chuck contacted Paul Valentich-Scott, a clam specialist from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in California.

Comment: For news of other recently discovered species of flora and fauna see:

New species of deep-sea coral discovered off California coast

Two new species of venomous jellyfish found off Australia coast

New species of dinosaur discovered lying forgotten in a museum


Bizarro Earth

Cape Verde volcanic eruption leaves a trail of destruction

cape verde volcano
© Joao Relvas/EPA Many villagers will have little to return to.
Around 60 volcanoes erupt in the average year. On any particular day, there are usually about 20 volcanoes erupting somewhere in the world. Naturally, they can't all make headlines. But when there are human tragedies involved, we need to question the priorities of the news media.

Contrast the fuss about eruption warnings in Iceland with the vanishingly low media profile of the current eruption on Fogo, one of the islands in the Cape Verde archipelago off the coast of West Africa.

In Iceland, great fears of an ash cloud eruption that could down or ground aircraft subsided as the magma broke surface beyond the ice and fed a large and spectacular but pretty harmless fissure eruption across a remote and uninhabited region.

On the other hand, since Fogo's eruption began on November 23 it has so far destroyed two villages and the homes of more than 1,000 people.

Comment: See also: Residents evacuated as Pico do Fogo volcano in Cape Verde erupts after a 20 year silence


Arrow Down

Pit bull attack on San Diego woman results in surgery and permanent scars

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A 70-pound female Pit Bull, who appeared to have recently had puppies, viciously attacked a beagle being walked by his owners and then bit the owner in the face on Sunday. The incident occurred near the intersection of 40th and Myrtle in City Heights, California, around 4 p.m., according to 10News.

Craig Moreno, who lives nearby, said he had just come home when he saw the woman on the corner in a position that looked like she was a hugging a dog. Then he heard her scream for help and realized she was trying to pull a beagle out of the jaws of the huge Pit Bull.

Several other people were also trying to help, Moreno said, so he just jumped right in and also held onto the beagle.

But the Pit Bull did not let loose - not even when a neighbor hit it with a golf club. It continued until someone found the woman's water bottle and began pouring water onto the dog's face. Moreno described to 10News how they pulled harder as they poured the rest of the water into the dog's face and it finally let go.

Comment: Canine attacks by pit bulls as well as other breeds are becoming all too common recently. However, it is not only dogs that are behaving strangely as there have been reports of wild animal attacks by numerous diverse species across the globe.

SOTT EXCLUSIVE: Global canine insurrection? Another week of savage dog attack reports


Cloud Lightning

UK 'weather bomb' brings hundreds of lightning strikes, and power outage to 17,000 homes

weather bomb ireland
© ReutersThe storm brought powerful waves to UK coasts, including here at Portstewart in Northern Ireland
High winds and huge waves are affecting north-western parts of the UK as bad weather hits power supplies and travel.

The "weather bomb" has brought hundreds of lightning strikes, temporarily cutting power across the Western Isles, affecting 17,000 homes.

The Met Office has warned parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland to "be prepared" as the rapidly developing storm threatens gusts of up to 80mph.

Wind speeds are expected to peak on Wednesday afternoon and early evening.

Comment: The UK was battered only 2 weeks ago from another huge storm bringing high winds and floods and is expecting one of the worst winters in decades, but the severe weather has been besieging the entire globe. Watch the most recent SOTT Earth Changes Summary for a glimpse of nature's ferocity:




Attention

Large number of grey seals washing up dead on Cornish beaches, UK

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© Caz Waddell
Huge numbers of dead seals have been found stranded on Cornish beaches recently, and wildlife experts admit they are baffled.

Cornwall Wildlife Trust says it has attended almost twice as many strandings of seals as would normally be expected for this time of year adding that, throughout October and November, 35 dead seals have washed up along the Cornish coastline, and over the same period a further 37 seals have been rescued alive from Cornish beaches by British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

Caz Waddell, from Cornwall Wildlife Trust said: "While bad weather will undoubtedly have been the cause of some of these strandings, the sheer number of cases has left us slightly baffled. We don't yet have any answers as to why this is happening, but it shows just how important it is for people to tell us about any stranded marine animal they see. The more animals we can study, the more we can try to get to the bottom of what might be going on."

Attention

Rampaging moose stomps on 2 women walkers in Colorado

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A moose on the rampage attacked two women walking with their dogs, injuring both severely.

The animals can weigh a half ton or more.

"We were just moseying along, hiking, enjoying our hike, and then all of a sudden, I looked up and he was looking right at me,"said Jacquie Boron, 50, who was hiking with her neighbor Ellen Marie Divis, 57, near their homes in Black Hawk, Colo., about 35 miles northwest of Denver.

Boron said the moose grunted and immediately charged toward her, hitting her squarely in the chest and knocking her off her feet.

"I knew that they were aggressive, and I knew that I should be very careful with them," she said. "But I didn't expect them just to charge me."



Sheeple

Michigan man shoots demented ram during crazy attack

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A relentless attack waged on the Richard family by a Thanksgiving party crasher in Whitmore Lake.

"He kept pounding and pounding and pounding."

It started right after dinner when Mike Richard took his dog Murphy for a walk.

"I took a look off to my right and the ram was over here," Mike said.

A ram broke free from a neighbor's land and wanted very badly to be a part of the Richard's holiday gathering.

"It looked at us and I could see the aggression in its eyes," Mike said. "And started charging after us."

"I slammed the door in its face and that's when all hell broke loose," Paula said.

"He wanted in this house," Mike said.



Attention

Man dies after vicious hippo attack in South Africa

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A Limpopo man has died following an attack by a hippo, the provincial health department said on Tuesday.

"The man was fishing on Friday afternoon when the hippo attacked him," spokesperson Macks Lesufi said.

"When he was rescued, he was badly injured."

Dashi Makhuvele fought tooth and nail with the large animal when it attacked him at Makuleke dam while fishing.

Following his ordeal, the 34-year-old man survived to tell the tale but due to the nature of his injuries he died in hospital on Sunday.

Fish

Rare deep sea fish found on Mooloolaba Beach, Australia

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Rare Angler Fish washes up at Mooloolaba
A rare fish species with an odd mating habit and a light dangling from an antenna on its head to attract prey has washed up from the depths at Mooloolaba Beach.

Thirteen-year-old Mia Cornwall discovered the Angler Fish, also known as a Black Sea Devil or a Melanocetus, during a morning walk.

Mia's grandfather Peter Beinssen, who shares her love of all things in nature, arranged for the specimen to be dropped at SeaLife from where it is destined for the Queensland Museum.

Mr Beinssen said the Angler Fish normally lives at depths of around 1600m.