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Dead pygmy sperm whale found in waters off Karachi, Pakistan


The Express Tribune
Sat, 07 Mar 2015 14:19 UTC
Image
© WWF - Pakistan
This specimen of the one of the smallest whales species, pygmy sperm, was found by fishermen around 120 nautical miles southwest of Karachi.
One of the smallest whales species, pygmy sperm, was found around 120 nautical miles southwest of Karachi. The fishermen caught the whale on Wednesday while they were fishing in the deep sea but the whale was already dead.

This is one of the smallest whales found in the outer continental shelf and considered to be very rare. Known to exist in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, this species is usually found dead on the shores.

The captain of the boat alFahim, Saeed Zaman, caught the pygmy sperm in gillnet used for catching tuna while they were fishing off the shelf area. The whale was enmeshed in the net and died when it was hauled onto the boat.
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Snowflake

World record snowfall set in Italy?

Richard Davies
iceagenow.info
Sat, 07 Mar 2015 14:04 UTC
Image

Snow in Abruzzo
Italian website says "yes," but official measurements are needed.

"The latest updates of the dramatic situation that occurred in Abruzzo and Molise are clear," says this Italian website. "But official measurements are needed!"

In Capracotta, Isernia, more than 2 meters of snow fell in 24 hours, compared to the historical 193 cm in 24 hours measured in 1921 in Silver Lake, Colorado.

The Capracotta phenomenon occurred between yesterday afternoon and tonight, so with a duration of just 16-17 hours, it could set a real world record of intensity!
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Info

Dolphins continue to die 5 years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster

David Kirby
takepart.com
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 12:59 UTC
Image

Dolphin
A new government-funded study attributes the high rate of marine mammal deaths in part to the BP oil spill.

Dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico continue to die at high rates five years after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to a new government-funded study.

The report, published in the journal PLOS One, could have a significant impact on how money the petroleum giant must pay to restore the Gulf will be used to save imperiled dolphins.

The study "indicates that the current multi-year marine mammal unusual mortality event (UME) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico has multiple groupings of high bottlenose dolphin mortalities and may be due to different contributing factors, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said in a statement.
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Attention

Update: Elephant returns to Nepal after trampling six to death


The Times of India
Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:39 UTC
Image

Charging elephant
The wild elephant, which trampled six persons to death and seriously injured four others in Sitamarhi and Madhubani districts of Bihar over the last two days, returned to its natural habitat in Nepal during the wee hours today.

Additional Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) S S Chaudhari said, "We successfully managed to send the wild tusker back to Nepal. It crossed the Royal Canal at the international border near Jainagar in Madhubani district at around 2.30 AM. We verified this with its footprints."

The elephant had strayed from its herd based at Parsa Wildlife Sanctuary in the neighbouring country during the ongoing mating season, after perhaps losing in a fight with some other tusker and entered Sitamarhi district on Tuesday last.

Comment: See also earlier report: Rampaging tusker kills four villagers in India

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Wolf

Russia pensioner battles and kills wolf that attacked her in Dagestan


BBC
Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:55 UTC
Image

Russia pensioner with axe
A pensioner from the town of Novo Biryuzyak, in the south of Russia, has killed a wolf that attacked her.

Aishat Maksudova was fixing a fence in a field and was armed only with an axe at the time.

Aziz Nuritoff reports.

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Wolf

Coyotes seen attacking large dogs in Stamford, Connecticut


newyork.cbslocal.com
Sat, 07 Mar 2015 20:26 UTC
Image
© Karen Hart
Coyote chasing dog
Coyotes were attacking in Connecticut this week, with three reports of the animals hunting down dogs.

Luckily, all the dogs survived. But as CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported, animal control officials said there is a big reason some big dogs are becoming prey.

At least one coyote has been making the rounds in suburban Stamford - looming dangerously close to homes and setting its sights on several family dogs.

"There was something following (my dog); chasing her," said Stamford resident Karen Hart.

Hart snapped a photo of her 2-year-old shepherd mix, named Kylie, running for her life.

"She got into the house and I slammed the door just as the coyote was approaching the front door," Hart said.

There were four attacks in a period of one week.

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Attention

Man killed by wild boar and 9 injured in India


The New Indian Express
Sat, 07 Mar 2015 20:15 UTC
Image

The boar which was shot dead with the help of residents. (Inset) Abdul Salam who was killed by the wild animal
A man died and nine others sustained injuries in a wild boar attack near Koodaranji here on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Keelath Abdul Salam, 50, alias Abdu, a farmer and a resident of Kalpur. The wild boar was later shot dead with the help of the local residents.

According to the police, the wild boar attacked Abdul Salam at his farm land, around 9 am. Though he was rushed to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, he succumbed to injuries, the officials said.

The injured - Haseena, Vasu, Lalitha, Kunjumon, Sabu, Abu, Najeed and Abdullah - have been admitted to the hospital and their condition has been reported to be not serious.

Eye-witnesses said the animal first attacked Haseena on a road and later went on the rampage, attacking Abdul Salam and others.
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Attention

Dead Humpback whale washes ashore in Monterey, California


sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com
Fri, 06 Mar 2015 20:00 UTC
Image
© CBS
A young humpback whale carcass is washed ashore at Sunset Beach in Monterey, March 6, 2015.
A dead humpback has whale washed ashore on a Monterey beach close to where a second whale was seen swimming near the shore.

The whale turned up Friday morning at Sunset State Beach after being seen floating offshore Thursday night.

A marine biologist said it was a young whale about 45 feet long. It had no apparent signs of trauma on the carcass and was in the beginning stages of decomposition.

Biologists say it's not uncommon to see a humpback wash ashore. "It kind of comes in waves. Last year we had one humpback whale. Few years before that we didn't have any, one year we had two or three," said Robin Duncan, UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab operations manager.

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Fish

New mass fish death in Singapore

Carolyn Khew
The Strait Times
Sat, 07 Mar 2015 17:24 UTC
Image
© Lau Fook Kong
Thousands of fish were found washed up on shore at Lim Chu Kang jetty on Saturday in the latest in a series of mass deaths.
Thousands of fish were found washed up on shore at Lim Chu Kang jetty on Saturday in the latest in a series of mass deaths.

Breeds big and small, including catfish and mullets, were discovered on the beach near where several fish farms are situated in the Strait of Johor.

Both sea and farm fish were affected.

Farmer Ong Kim Pit, 65, told The Sunday Times that he first saw fish jumping out of the water on Friday night, adding that his baby mullets were worst hit.

"It happened within minutes," he said. "My fish were jumping and jumping in the water. I don't know why."

Comment: See also: Mass death of marine creatures at Pasir Ris beach, Singapore

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Question

10,000 Band-tailed pigeons die over the winter in California, but cause remains unexplained

Edward Ortiz
The Sacramento Bee
Sat, 07 Mar 2015 16:14 UTC
Image

Band-tailed pigeon
An unexplained epidemic ravaging band-tailed pigeons in California has resulted in more than 10,000 of the bird's deaths this winter.

Dead birds have been found in 21 counties in California, including in the Sacramento region, marking one of the largest die-offs recorded. It's particularly troubling because the species reproduces at a lower rate than similar birds.

Researchers are at a loss to explain the cause, but they suspect that the multiyear drought and changes in acorn supply may be to blame.

The band-tailed pigeon is a common, medium-size, gray-feathered bird known for a white crescent on its neck and a long tail that sports a pale band at its tip. The bird is a relative of the passenger pigeon - a species once as common as the band-tailed pigeon, but now extinct.
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