Earth ChangesS


Question

Pensioner dragged off his scooter before being kicked and bitten to death... by donkeys


The Daily Mail, UK
Mon, 20 May 2013 10:47 UTC
Sandor Horvath, 65, was attacked by donkeys in Hungary

Bitten and trampled on so much looked like he had been attacked by wolves

Postmortem revealed the bites and markings had come from the donkeys

Pair responsible for killing him are now waiting to be put down
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Killed: Sandor Horvath, 65, was chased and pulled off the scooter at a farm in Magyarszecsod

Killed: Sandor Horvath, 65, was chased and pulled off the scooter at a farm in Magyarszecsod

A Hungarian pensioner was dragged off his mobility scooter and mauled to death by a pair of killer donkeys.

Sandor Horvath, 65, was bitten and trampled on so much that when his body was found it was believed had been torn apart by wolves.

Mr Horvath, was chased and pulled off the scooter at a farm in Magyarszecsod where he was visiting his farmer friend.

His mutilated remains were found by the farm owner who called the police, believing his friend had been attacked by wild dogs.

But a postmortem revealed the bites and markings had come from the donkeys.

Police who pieced together the evidence said it appeared that the donkeys had chased the man and dragged him off the scooter before killing him.

The farmer's daughter Csikos Darda said: 'I had noticed that the donkeys were becoming increasingly aggressive and I'd asked my father to do something about it, but he'd said they were fine.'

A vet told local media: 'Donkeys aren't usually aggressive towards humans.

'They probably reacted like this as they thought the victim was intruding upon their territory.'

The pair are now waiting to be put down.

A police spokesman said: 'If these were dogs then they would also be put to sleep.

'We can't allow animals to go around killing people. Putting them to sleep is the best thing for everyone.'
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Culprits: Police who pieced together the evidence said it appeared that the donkeys had chased Mr Horvath and dragged him off the scooter before killing him. The pair responsible, pictured, are waiting to be put down

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Cloud Lightning

More severe storms, tornadoes expected in central U.S.


Reuters via Yahoo News
Mon, 20 May 2013 10:09 UTC
The central United States braced for violent thunderstorms on Monday that could bring more hail, heavy rain and tornadoes to the region stricken by a deadly twister over the weekend. The National Weather Service said severe storms would likely pummel the Ozarks and the middle Mississippi Valley, with northwest Arkansas, far southeast Kansas, southern Missouri, most of Oklahoma and northern Texas facing the greatest risk.

"A very moist atmosphere will become quite unstable again today," the forecasters said. "This combined with strong favorable winds aloft will result in a risk of a few strong tornadoes, very large hail and damaging winds in the most intense storms."

A massive storm front hammered the region on Sunday with fist-sized hail, blinding rain and tornadoes, including a half-mile-wide twister that struck near Oklahoma City.

One man was killed at a mobile home park in the town of Bethel Acres near Oklahoma City and 21 people were injured in storms throughout the state, said Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management.
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Snowflake

Anchorage, Alaska sets new record for longest snow season- 232 days!


The Extinction Protocol
Mon, 20 May 2013 09:43 UTC
232 days - it took over 30 years for Anchorage to set a new record for the longest snow season on record. The National Weather Service measured 2/10ths of an inch just after 9 p.m. Friday and 1/10th Saturday morning - breaking the old record of 230 days set in 1981-1982. Anchorage police responded to 22 crashes, 4 with injuries and 37 vehicles in distress between midnight and noon Saturday. Police say roads were wet and not icy midday and "motorists should use caution if the temperatures drop below freezing. Other parts of the city had much higher amounts of snow, however official measurements must be consistent and observed at the Sand Lake forecast office. The recent snowfall also broke the daily record for liquid precipitation, lowest maximum temperature for May 17, and a host of other records. NWS says Saturday evening's forecast calls for "mostly cloudy with isolated snow showers in the evening...then partly cloudy after midnight - lows in the upper teens to mid 20s and north wind to 15 mph." For Sunday, the forecast will be mostly sunny, highs in the 40s, and light winds, according to NWS. -NBC
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Bizarro Earth

Shallow 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Aisen, Chile


The Extinction Protocol
Mon, 20 May 2013 09:31 UTC
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The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-6.5 earthquake has struck off the coast of Chile. The quake was recorded at 5:49 a.m. local time (EDT; 0949 GMT) Monday, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, some 600 kilometres from the city of Puerto Quellon. No tsunami warning was issued. Chile's naval seismology office says it was not felt on land. U.S. seismologists originally estimated the magnitude at 6.8. Chile is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. A magnitude-8.8 quake and the tsunami it unleashed in 2010 killed 551 people and destroyed 220,000 homes. It was so strong it changed time, shortening the Earth's day slightly by changing the planet's rotation. The strongest earthquake ever recorded also happened in Chile, a magnitude-9.5 in 1960. - CTV News

USGS Technical data
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Cloud Grey

22 tornadoes rip through Kansas and Oklahoma - more to come


The Extinction Protocol
Mon, 20 May 2013 08:50 UTC
Tornadoes touched down in three states on Sunday, ripping roofs off homes and turning trees to matchsticks, as severe weather swept the region. A large "violent and extremely dangerous" tornado was spotted on the southwest side of Wichita, Kansas, the National Weather Service said. A second confirmed tornado was seen near Edmond, Oklahoma, said the weather service. Another tornado was spotted in nearby Luther, Oklahoma, but it was not immediately clear whether that was the same twister. A third tornado touched down near Wellston, Oklahoma, taking out power lines and damaging several homes, according to video from CNN affiliate KFOR. The affiliate's helicopter pilot estimated the funnel cloud to be about a half-mile wide. "It's tearing up everything," the pilot said. "Just ripping everything up in its sight."


Aerial video from KFOR and CNN affiliate KOCO showed severe damage near Wellston and near Carney, Oklahoma. Roofs were ripped from homes, branches stripped from trees and roads were filled with debris. Tornadoes were also reported east of Dale, west of Paden, and near Prague in Oklahoma. Part of Interstate 40 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, was shut down in both directions Sunday night after a tornado touched down, overturning multiple tractor-trailers. Still more tornadoes were spotted in Iowa, near Earlham, Huxley and east of Dallas Center, according to the weather service. It did not mince words, telling people to take cover there, as elsewhere. "You could be killed if not underground or in a tornado shelter.
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Bizarro Earth

Tension mounting on Pacific Plate: Kamchatka rocked by scores of earthquakes


The Extinction Protocol
Mon, 20 May 2013 08:47 UTC
A massive earthquake swarm has occurred in the region of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia. More than 20 earthquakes have struck the region in the last 22 hours- the strongest of which was a 5.9 magnitude earthquake, which rattled the seafloor at a depth of 16.5 km deep. The latest seismic flare-up along this region reflects growing agitation on one of the planet's largest tectonic plates- the Pacific plate. Increasing seismic volatility along this region of Kamchatka could have serious ramifications for every tectonic plate that comes into contact with the Pacific plate- from the South Pacific to South America. A similar, more intense earthquake swarm occurred along the periphery of the Pacific Plate near the Santa Cruz Islands in February of this year. Is the Pacific plate on the verge of a large-scale change?
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Heart - Black

Trapping of millions of birds in Egypt threatens European bird populations


wildlifeextra.com
Sun, 19 May 2013 10:15 UTC
Migratory murder on Egypt's coast

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© NABUThe nets stretch approximately 700 kilometres from the Libyan border almost to Gaza
May 2013. Disturbing evidence has emerged from the Mediterranean coast of Egypt: Bavarian Broadcasting have documented a total of 700 kilometres of nets set to catch birds. The birds are then offered as a delicacy in markets and restaurants across Egypt.

The nets are very difficult to avoid for many migratory birds as they form a barrier across their flight path either across the Mediterranean or the Sahara when they are looking for a place to rest. The exact number of birds caught in this way can only be estimated, but experts believe that tens of millions are killed each year.

That songbirds are on the menu (and targeted by many hunters) in many countries of southern Europe and North Africa is nothing new. The existence of fishing nets on the coast of Egypt has long been known, but what is new is the scale of netting, which now extends from Libya across almost the entire coastline of the Egypt to the Sinai - interrupted only in a few places by military installations or major cities.
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Arrow Down

Manatees are dying in droves, Florida says 'too bad'

Douglas Main
takepart.com
Thu, 02 May 2013 05:02 UTC
Red tide' and a loss of sea grass account for some manatee deaths, but researchers believe undiscovered factors are also at play.

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© Kallista/Getty ImagesThe NOAA is launching a study to investigate the factors behind the recent rash of manatee deaths
A record number of endangered manatees are dying in Florida's algae-choked waterways. So far this year, 582 manatees have died, more than any year on record, according to preliminary numbers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

Pat Rose is an aquatic biologist and the executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, an organization devoted to preserving the animal. In his interview with TakePart, Rose reports the estimated minimum population of these gentle beasts is only 3,100 adults. That means their population has decreased by more than 10 percent in just four months.

A total of 247 of these have died in the southwest of the state due to an explosion of a red-hued algae called Karenia brevis, also known as a red tide.

This pesky microorganism produces neurotoxins that can kill manatees by causing them to seize to the point where they can't make it to the surface - or even lift their head out of the water - to breathe.

The large marine mammals are also dying in the eastern part of the state, in Brevard County near Orlando. Rose says a gradual die-out of sea grass, upon which the manatees feed, has combined with blooms of brown algae and likely other unknown factors to kill nearly 150 more manatees. Since 2010, about 30,000 acres of sea grass have been wiped out.

Luckily, it appears that both events are winding down, and the rate of manatee deaths appears to be slowing. But that's cold comfort for Rose, since the number of threats to manatees appears to be growing, and little is being done to address the problem.

Traditionally, boat collisions have been the biggest killer of manatees; they're vulnerable since they're large, slow-moving and often hang out on the surface. Until this year, at least 41 percent of all manatee deaths resulted from these collisions, and likely more, because not all of these deaths are reported or detected.

Comment: The one of the other supposedly 'undiscovered factors that are also at play', but nevertheless well reported, are the unusually cold water temperatures experienced along the Florida coast in recent winters.

See -

http://www.sott.net/article/221068-279-Manatees-die-of-cold-chill-in-Florida

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Question

What the heck are these weird tracks on the bottom of the ocean?

Greg Newkirk
WhoForted?
Sat, 18 May 2013 00:59 UTC
Ocean Floor Tracks
© Google EarthZoom in
When it comes to mysteries, there's no better place for hiding them than the bottom of the ocean. In fact, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as much as 95% of the world's oceans remain unexplored.

And yet some people don't believe in sea monsters.

Well, thanks to the advent of the internet, we can do some of that exploring from the comfort of our computer chairs, and you never know what sorts of strange stuff will turn up. Our pal Samuel Burgan (AKA IceBurg) was doing just that, and found a bunch of bizarre markings on the ocean floor, so he sent a few snapshots our way.
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Bizarro Earth

Penguins and sea lions found dead on Chilean shore

Jordan Greene
Santiago Times
Thu, 16 May 2013 18:08 UTC
Dead Penguin
© Santiago Times
Chilean Navy discovers more than 600 dead animals in Punta de Choros, a small fishing town north of La Serena.

The bodies of sea lions, cormorants and penguins littered a seven mile stretch of beach in Punta de Choros, northern Chile on Sunday. The crime scene is in close proximity to the Humboldt Penguin Nature Reserve.

Two days prior the Movement in Defense of the Environment (MODEMA) reported a band of ten fishing boats off the coastline of Punta de Choros. MODEMA and other environmental groups accused the boats of blast fishing - using explosives to catch mass quantities of fish.

Sernapesca, Chile's National Fishing Service, investigated the scene and determined that all the animals were killed by the same incident. Autopsies report animals with fractured skulls, missing rib cages and multiple abrasions.

Local authorities promptly called in the Investigative Police's (PDI) Environmental Crime Brigade for further investigation. Microbiological and chemical analysis tests are currently being run to determine if blast fishing is the cause of death.

In Chile, blast fishing is illegal. Companies caught fishing in this manner face prison time and fines. The monetary amount depends on the damage to the ecosystem. However, causing the death of penguins during commercial activities is a jailable offense. Officials from Sernapesca told The Santiago Times that the combined offenses amount to a "serious crime."
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