A large number of dead harbor porpoises have been washing up on beaches in San Mateo County and elsewhere in the Bay Area this summer, and marine mammal experts are at a loss to explain what could be killing them.
A total of 24 harbor porpoises "12 males, 9 females, and three still in utero" have been discovered by beachcombers since early June, according to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. More carcasses are likely to show up in August.
"It's the tip of the iceberg. These are open ocean animals. For every one we find dead there are probably many others that are out there," said Mary Jane Schramm, spokeswoman for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
Earth Changes
An investigation is under way after dozens of dead and dying seabirds were found on Orkney.
The birds - greater black-backed gulls - seemed to be suffering from an illness which first made them lethargic and unable to fly, then killed them.
The birds - greater black-backed gulls - seemed to be suffering from an illness which first made them lethargic and unable to fly, then killed them.
JEFFERSON COUNTY - A family was stunned when a mountain lion entered their home early Monday morning, killed one of their dogs right beside their bed, and carried it off into the night. The dog was a 12-year-old yellow lab named 'Scout.'
On Friday, fires threatened several sites of ancient culture in Istanbul as fire fighters backed by a dozen aircraft struggled to extinguish scattered blazes engulfing woodlands in the coastal tourism province of Antalya.
Fire fighters said up to 4,000 hectares (9,885 acres) of woodlands in Antalya could be destroyed if they are not contained. No deaths or injuries have been reported, but television images showed destroyed houses and fleeing villagers.
Antalya Forest Directorate spokesman Aydogan Turedi said flames were approaching an ancient Greek amphitheatre in Aspendos, 37 km (23 miles) from the Mediterranean resort of Side.
Fire fighters said up to 4,000 hectares (9,885 acres) of woodlands in Antalya could be destroyed if they are not contained. No deaths or injuries have been reported, but television images showed destroyed houses and fleeing villagers.
Antalya Forest Directorate spokesman Aydogan Turedi said flames were approaching an ancient Greek amphitheatre in Aspendos, 37 km (23 miles) from the Mediterranean resort of Side.
Sea turtles are ancient, but not primitive. Having evolved on land some 200 million years ago, they spend their entire lives at sea except to lay eggs on rugged beaches around the globe.
Leatherback turtles are the largest of the seven seafaring species and they are truly remarkable, most worthy of admiration and in need of protection.
Leatherbacks are Earth's last warm-blooded reptiles and their weight can easily exceed one ton.
Leatherback turtles are the largest of the seven seafaring species and they are truly remarkable, most worthy of admiration and in need of protection.
Leatherbacks are Earth's last warm-blooded reptiles and their weight can easily exceed one ton.
The death toll from a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck central China's battered Sichuan province climbed to two Wednesday, with another 22 injured, local emergency officials reported. A light, 4.8-magnitude quake rattled the same area on Wednesday.
Sichuan is still recovering from a devastating 7.9-magnitude temblor in May.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of Tuesday's strong quake was about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north-northwest of Guangyuan, near Sichuan's border with neighboring Gansu province.
Sichuan is still recovering from a devastating 7.9-magnitude temblor in May.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of Tuesday's strong quake was about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north-northwest of Guangyuan, near Sichuan's border with neighboring Gansu province.
HOUSTON - Tropical Storm Edouard plowed into a wildlife refuge on the upper Texas coast early on Tuesday, bringing driving rains and peak winds near 65 mph (100 kmh) but leaving key energy installations mostly unscathed.
Edouard, the fifth tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, was just shy of hurricane strength when it came ashore at the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, halfway between High Island and Sabine Pass, forecasters said.
At 11 a.m. EDT, the storm was about 40 miles (65 km) west of Port Arthur, Texas, and about 45 miles miles (70 km) north-northeast of Galveston, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Edouard, the fifth tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, was just shy of hurricane strength when it came ashore at the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, halfway between High Island and Sabine Pass, forecasters said.
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| ©REUTERS/NOAA/Handout. |
| NOAA satellite image shows Tropical Storm Edouard in the Gulf of Mexico August 4, 2008. |
At 11 a.m. EDT, the storm was about 40 miles (65 km) west of Port Arthur, Texas, and about 45 miles miles (70 km) north-northeast of Galveston, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The discovery of a critically endangered gorilla population in the vast forests of northern Congo is a mammoth 125,000 - double that of previous estimates - should make even the most pessimistic conservation biologist smile.
The numbers of western lowland gorillas living across 47,000 square kilometres of dense forestland were thought to have plummeted from 100,000 to half that number since the 1980s.
Just last year, the threat from the deadly ebola virus and indiscriminate bushmeat hunters prompted the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to add the apes to their critically endangered list.
The results of the census by the Wildlife Conservation Society and local government researchers were announced today at a meeting of the International Primatological Society in Edinburgh, UK.
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| ©WCS |
| Western lowlands gorillas. |
The numbers of western lowland gorillas living across 47,000 square kilometres of dense forestland were thought to have plummeted from 100,000 to half that number since the 1980s.
Just last year, the threat from the deadly ebola virus and indiscriminate bushmeat hunters prompted the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to add the apes to their critically endangered list.
The results of the census by the Wildlife Conservation Society and local government researchers were announced today at a meeting of the International Primatological Society in Edinburgh, UK.
A 15-year-old girl died and four people were injured in a severe storm in Poland, the national rescue service said.
The girl was in a car when the vehicle was crushed by a falling tree on Monday in Legionowo, to the northeast of Warsaw. A woman and a child were injured in a similar accident in the capital.
The girl was in a car when the vehicle was crushed by a falling tree on Monday in Legionowo, to the northeast of Warsaw. A woman and a child were injured in a similar accident in the capital.
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| ©Alexandre Bernard |
| An Anelosimus eximius communal web. |
Giant webs catch most food when occupied by about 500 social spiders.
For many people it's the ultimate nightmare: thousands of spiders collaborating to form a well organized society. A new study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals how colonies of one spider species grow to an enormous size, and the surprising factors that ultimately limit their expansion.
Spiders are usually thought of as lone hunters. However, a few dozen species do live cooperatively, building collective webs and sharing food-gathering and child care between them. One example is the neotropical species Anelosimus eximius, which can be found living in colonies containing thousands of individuals.
