Earth ChangesS


Wolf

Pit bull terrier savages its female owner in Moturoa, New Zealand

Michelle Ong and Helen Harvey
stuff.co.nz
Wed, 04 Feb 2015 18:21 UTC
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New Plymouth animal control officers capture a dog after another dog was shot for attacking its owner.
A police officer shot a pit bull dog as it savaged its female owner in her suburban backyard yesterday.

The woman underwent surgery at Taranaki Base Hospital yesterday for lacerations to her face and arms.

A family spokesman said the woman was not only distressed about what happened to her, but was equally upset at what had happened to her dogs.

Two other dogs were not involved in the attack but were taken away by New Plymouth District Council animal control officers. Their fate was uncertain last night.
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Attention

Dead whale washes ashore on the Maldives


vnews.mv
Wed, 04 Feb 2015 17:20 UTC
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© Mohamed ShanThe dead whale that washed on Hulhumale' shore, last night
A dead whale, approximately 70 feet in length, has washed ashore, in the beach area connecting Hulhumale' and Hulhule.

Of a species of found in Maldivian waters, the corpse was rotten and damaged.

While it measures approximately 70-75 feet, discussions are now underway by HDC and the Police whether to bury the corpse or to take it out to open waters, as it lies at the East of Hulhumale'.

Some elderly people who have gathered to witness the event said that this is a sperm whale (the type of whale that produces ambergris). A number of people are now gathering at the beach to take a look at the whale.

Although the area where the whale has been washed ashore is not inhabited, the odor of the rotten corpse is now strong in the area.
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Attention

Thousands of dead starfish found on Pensarn beach in Wales

Suzanne Jordan
newsnorthwales.co.uk
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 15:28 UTC
Thousands of of dead starfish have washed up on a beach in Abergele after a period of stormy weather.

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Shocked amateur photographer, Gordon McGookin, initially thought that Pensarn beach was covered in rubbish when he went out for a walk on Sunday.

On a closer inspection, he discovered thousands of starfish and razor clams spread out across 500 metres of sand.

Mr McGookin, aged 39 who lives in Pensarn, said: "I try to get out each day usually walking on the beach. It was Sunday when I spied them, just after the tide had gone out.

"There was thousands of them. I have never seen anything like it before. I was a bit concerned but I guess the recent rough sea and high tides over the last week or two was probably the cause."

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Attention

3,000 waterbirds die at Walker Lake, Nevada

Jeff DeLong
Reno Gazette-Journal
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:14 UTC
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© Reno Gazette-JournalCanvasback ducks enjoy the water at Walker Lake. Thousands of ducks and other birds have died from an outbreak of avian cholera at the lake.
Thousands of birds have died at Walker Lake from a disease experts say hasn't made an appearance in Nevada in decades.

An estimated 3,000 birds - most of them American coots and ducks - have died in an outbreak of avian cholera since early December in an event that still is unfolding. As many as 10 percent of Walker Lake's ducks may have died.

"It is still an ongoing outbreak," said Peregrine Wolff, veterinarian for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The event marks the first time for an outbreak of avian cholera in Nevada since the 1980s, Wolff said.

The highly infectious and quick-killing disease is unrelated to the avian flu that has spread among waterfowl in neighboring states and which experts said last Friday was found in a duck in Nevada's Lincoln County late in January. Avian cholera poses no threat to people or dogs.
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Pineapple

'Pineapple Express' organizing for heavy rain in California - as much as 20 inches in some areas

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 02:41 UTC
WUWT contributor Dr. Ryan Maue writes on his Twitter feed:
Can't ask for better setup for enormous rainfall totals over NorCal & now linto Bay Area in 5+ days
Looking at the model output below, I tend to agree, if the pattern holds. It sets up Northern California for the perfect orographic lifting enhancement in the Sierra Nevada mountain range that will not only provide a bounty of liquid precipitation, but a significant boost to the well below normal California snowpack.
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Most or northern California will get some benefit from this "super soaker" storm:

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The Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts show some parts of Northern Calfornia getting as much as 20″, along with many mountain areas getting 5″ or more.

Comment: There have been reports of flooding all over the world in the past month. Is California next? See the map below for flooding reported in the month of January of this year.



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Arrow Up

Once again, Great Lakes ice far above normal

Steven Goddard
Real Science
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:00 UTC
Great Lakes ice cover has been above normal five of the last seven years, and seven of the last thirteen years. It is already far above the normal annual maximum, with another month of growth left.
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Many experts claim the exact opposite, because their career depends on lying about the climate.
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Attention

Elephant tramples boy to death in Bangladesh


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:42 UTC
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© Rahula Dassenaieke
A five-year-old body was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Tonkaboti area under Sadar upazila on Monday night.

The deceased was identified as Md Tareque, 5, son of Nurul Islam of the area.

Witnesses said, a herd of wild elephants stormed into the area at around 7:30pm. At one stage, one of the elephants swooped on Nurul's farmhouse of the area and killed his son.

Nurul and his wife sustained injuries while they were fleeing the house.

Some of the houses in the area were also damaged by the elephants.
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Attention

20 dolphins have been found stranded on Irish shores in January


The Irish Times
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 20:16 UTC
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The number of common dolphins stranded throughout the country since October is close to the amount that should be expected for an entire year
Scientists have expressed alarm at a recent spike in dolphin strandings which has seen almost 20 of the animals recovered on Irish shores in the last month.

The number of common dolphins stranded throughout the country since October is close to the amount that should be expected for an entire year, according to marine biologist Dr Simon Berrow.

"The number of dolphins we've had washed up in the last few weeks is shocking in terms of conservation and management," said Dr Berrow, a member of the Marine Biodiversity Research Group at Galway Mayo IT (GMIT).

Comment: See also: Spate of deep sea beaked whale deaths puzzle experts in Scotland

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Telescope

Ice halo around the moon seen in the UK

Jonathan O'Callaghan
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 17:46 UTC
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Pictured is the moon halo over the, Isle of Wight. The moon halo is formed by a high-altitude ice crystal cloud that gathers around the moon
Last night many observers in the UK reported seeing an odd halo of light around the moon.

The remarkable phenomenon was captured in stunning images, showing the moon surrounded by a bright ring of light.

The spectacle is caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere, specifically when thin cirrus or cirrostratus clouds are present at an altitude of about 20,000 feet (6,100 metres).
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Attention

Elephant handler has his arm amputated after being trampled by raging animal in Kharkov, Ukraine

John Hall
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 17:37 UTC
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Shock: Oleg Grishchenko (pictured before the attack) was caught unaware when the elephant named Tandy charged at him. He suffered serious crush injuries and had to have his arm amputated
A renowned Ukrainian animal expert had to have his arm amputated after being crushed by an angry elephant.

Oleg Grishchenko, 39, has worked with elephants all his life and is considered one of the most knowledgeable handlers in eastern Europe.

But he was caught unaware when the animal, called Tandy, became extremely and unexpectedly agitated, charging at him at a zoo in the city of Kharkov, in eastern Ukraine.
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