Earth ChangesS


Attention

US: More bald eagles dying on Michigan roads

Lansing - State and federal officials are cautioning motorists to be more aware of the presence of bald eagles on Michigan roadways.

The number of eagles killed by cars is on the rise over the past six years in the state, according to a joint news release from the Michigan wildlife officials and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In addition to catching and eating fish, eagles commonly feed on dead animals, meaning they're often around road corridors where they scavenge on large road-kill such as deer, coyote, fox or raccoon.

"The bald eagle tells one of our nation's most revered conservation success stories, and although this species has recovered to sustainable levels, we must keep in mind that as numbers rise, so does the risk for mortality due to human interactions," said Jack Dingledine, an official with the Fish and Wildlife Service's East Lansing field office.

Cloud Lightning

Malaysia: Floods Force Temporary Closure Of Niah, Lambir Hills National Parks

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The Niah National Park and Lambir Hills National Park in the Miri division are temporarily closed to the public with immediate effect due to serious flooding, the Sarawak Forestry Corporation said in a statement Tuesday.

It said the parks were closed for safety reasons and an announcement would be made once they were ready to receive visitors.

Niah, which is about 109 km from Miri and 131 km from Bintulu, is one of Sarawak's smallest national parks but it is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world following the discovery of the oldest modern human remains in Southeast Asia.

The 6,952-hectare Lambir Hills National Park, which is only 32 km from the Miri city centre, has a complex and diverse forest eco-system, including 237 different species of birds, flying squirrels, wild pigs, gibbons, many different types of monkey, various species of deer besides insects and other invertebrates.

Eye 1

China: Giant Hole Opens up Behind House

giant sink hole
© na
A Chinese family had to leave their home after a giant sinkhole suddenly opened up in their backyard overnight.

The hole is nearly 70ft wide and nobody has so far even been able to measure how deep it is.

Zhang Fengrong, 58, of Leshan, Sichuan province, said he suddenly heard a roaring sound at 2am.

He stepped outside and was amazed to see the giant hole opening up, and getting closer and closer to his house.

Evil Rays

Scientists Track Down Source of Earth's Hum

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© Unknown
You can't hear it, but the Earth is constantly humming. And some parts of the world sing louder than others.

After discovering the mysterious low-frequency buzz in 1998, scientists figured out that the Earth's hum is caused not by earthquakes or atmospheric turbulence, but by ocean waves colliding with the seafloor. Now, researchers have pinpointed the source of the Earth's "background noise," and it looks like it's coming primarily from the Pacific coast of North America.

When two waves of opposite direction but similar frequency collide, they create a special kind of pressure wave that carries energy to the ocean bottom. As these waves pound against the sea floor, they generate a constant vibration with a frequency of about 10 millihertz, much too low for humans to hear but easily detectable with seismometers. By comparing the intensity of the hum with the height of waves around the world, scientists can track where the buzz is coming from.

Black Cat

US: Yankton Sees Bird Kill-Off

dead birds
More than 200 starlings were found dead in downtown Yankton Monday. Officials attribute the cause of the deaths to the fact that the birds had not migrated from the area. (Courtesy photo)

It is estimated that more than 200 dead starlings were found in downtown Yankton Monday. However, it is not believed the deaths pose a threat to humans.

Yankton Animal Control Officer Lisa Brasel estimated that she collected 200 starlings Monday, and employees of the city Parks and Recreation Department were also on the scene picking up deceased birds. The total number of corpses gathered up by city employees has not yet been compiled.

"I talked to one of the local vets, and they said there is nothing wrong (with the birds)," said Brasel, who took specimens to a veterinary office. "They just didn't migrate and are dying. I was going to call the South Dakota Department of Health to see what they have to say about it, but they are closed today (because of Martin Luther King Day)."

Black Cat

Birdless bird sanctuary in North Holland

I took this amazing video a couple of days ago, this is a bird sanctuary in North Holland but look closely, this area should be teeming with birds but its deserted!

I drive past this sanctuary frequently and it is always full of birds, where did they go?


Question

Romania: A Second Wave of Dead Birds

dead dove
Hundreds of birds died in Romania, for the second time in a month

Hundreds of dead or agonizing crows have brought terror to a town in the Eastern part of Romania. Since Saturday, the locals of Roman, a town of 80.000 people, have noticed that hundreds of crows fell to the ground dead or in agony in one of the local parks. On Monday, dozens of birds were struggling with death, unable to fly. Local experts suspect that the crows may have been poisoned, but no verdict can be given before a forensic study is conducted.

Some three dozens starlings have also been found dead in Constanţa, by the Black Sea, in Romania, on January the 8th. Veterinarians concluded that the starlings died of cold and alcohol intoxication.

Bizarro Earth

US: Pelicans turn up sick, dead off Jacksonville coast

pelican
© Will Dickey/The Times-UnionA sick pelican dries out inside an enclosure at BEAKS on Big Talbot Island, one of hundreds around Mayport in need of treatment.
Hundreds of Eastern brown pelicans, some with missing wings and frostbite, have been injured or killed in the St. Johns River the past couple of weeks in the Mayport area.

The exact reason is unknown but the cold weather could have caused hypothermia when the birds landed in the water. The pelicans have been losing a protective coating they have on their body to shield their feathers from becoming saturated by water.

Cindy Mosling, co-founder of the Bird Emergency Aid and Kare Sanctuary on Big Talbot Island, thinks chemicals in the water could be the culprit.

X

Canada: Mysterious infection is killing British Columbia salmon

Carleton Professor Part of Team Investigating Mysterious Fish Infection

Ottawa - The Globe and Mail published the following story. Carleton Professor Steven Cooke was one of the 15 scientists involved in this research. He developed the biopsy technique that enabled the collection of non-lethal tissue samples from fish. His lab was involved with fish tagging and tissue collection in the wild.

Mysterious infection is killing B.C. salmon

By Mark Hume

Large numbers of sockeye salmon are dying in the Fraser River, before spawning, because of a mysterious virus, new research suggests.

Historical records show that some fish always die en route to their spawning beds, but since the early 1990s the problem has become increasingly acute - with more than two million fish dying in some years. Researchers have long puzzled over what was causing the seemingly healthy fish to suddenly stop swimming and turn belly up.

A large team of researchers from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and three Canadian universities has now found most of the fish that die before spawning have a common "genomic signature" - or a pattern that shows changes have taken place in an array of genes activated to fight infection.

"Our hypothesis is that the genomic signal associated with elevated mortality is in response to a virus infecting fish before river entry and that persists to the spawning areas," says the report published in the journal Science on Thursday.

Question

New Zealand: Mourning Dolphin Carries Dead Calf Around Harbour

Dead Dolphin Calf
© Orca Research TrustAn adult female dolphin with a dead calf in the Whangarei Harbour.

A female dolphin carrying a dead calf has been spotted swimming in Whangarei Harbour.

Northland orca researcher and whale expert Ingrid Visser was on the water last Thursday and managed to take photos of the female dolphin, known as Potato, with the dead calf.

"The dead baby was very decomposed, most bones gone, blubber floating at the surface when she stopped carrying it, for moments only. She was carrying it on her dorsal fin, across her pectoral fins and across her tail flukes," Dr Visser said.

The dolphin managed to travel up to 8 knots and went to the bow of Dr Visser's boat at one stage.

"There is concern for her in terms of the decomposition of the carcass - having it near her eyes, mouth and blowhole when it is full of bacteria is not a good option."

Dr Visser said they could only get close during the two hours they tracked the dolphin.