Earth ChangesS


Attention

'Wreck' of short-tailed shearwater as 200 birds found dead in New Zealand


tvnz.co.nz
Thu, 07 Nov 2013 05:24 UTC
Image
© Wikimedia CommonsThe short-tailed shearwater
Nearly 200 seabirds have been found dead along Waikato's west coast beaches.

A total of 184 short-tailed shearwater, a migratory bird that typically breeds on the islands between Tasmania and Victoria, have been washed ashore between Waikorea beach and Taharoa, south of Kawhia.

It is not known when the birds died and were washed ashore, but numbers are said to be "unusually large" by one expert.

Hugh Clifford, who organised the beach patrol on behalf of the Waikato branch of the Ornithological Society, said the number of short-tailed shearwater found this year was much higher than normal.

"There would be millions of them passing down through the Tasman Sea on the southern migration.

"Some of them were pushed closer to New Zealand and the food conditions may have been unfavourable, causing them to perish."

Each year during the southern hemisphere winter, the short-tailed shearwater migrate about 15,000 km to the Northern Pacific, before making their way back towards southern Australia to breed around October.
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Bizarro Earth

Malaysian angler catches bizarre fish


MSN News
Wed, 06 Nov 2013 06:04 UTC
Armored Gurnards
© BarcroftThe bizarre and unidentified fish, which the fisherman's family have taken to calling 'Armour Fish'.
A rare and mysterious fish has been caught in Malaysia, leaving locals baffled.

Forty-three year old Sapar Mansor from Permyjaya hooked the creature in the sea near the coastal village of Tudan. He told the Borneo Post: "This is the first time in my life that I have seen this type of fish."

The creature has two tusk-like spikes near its mouth and measures over one foot in length. The fisherman's family have taking to calling the creature an 'Armour Fish' due its sharp spines.

His wife added: "It is God's gift and I and my family will keep the fish."

Comment: Identified as Robust armoured-gurnard (Satyrichthys welchi).

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Bizarro Earth

Oklahoma earthquakes make a 'boom' sound

Chellie Mills
KFOR
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 15:09 UTC
Oklahoma Quakes
© KFOR

Oklahoma County - There was a lot of talk this weekend about those earthquakes. Many people reported not only feeling the rattle, but hearing a loud noise accompanying the quakes.

It's that boom which has many asking the question, why are Oklahoma earthquakes so loud.

Often when we think of earthquakes, we see videos of quakes around the world. The shaking of items off shelves and the knocking people down come to mind.

However, when it comes to Oklahoma earthquakes many people say it's not the shaking but the sound that is unnerving.

Doug Gregory, who lives close to where a number of the earthquakes happened over the weekend, said, "It's kind of like a thunderstorm going over but you know that's not happening."

Mr. Gregory said he felt several over the weekend.

Amie Gibson with the Oklahoma Geological Survey says so far this month Oklahoma has had at least 65 earthquakes. A couple of the largest earthquakes took place this weekend in the area of Memorial Road and Post Road.
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Bad Guys

Sinkhole swallows car in Montreal, Canada

Anne Sutherland
The Montreal Gazette
Mon, 04 Nov 2013 00:00 UTC
Broken water main on King Edward Ave. collapses road
Erdfall Montreal
© Dave Sidaway, The GazetteCity workers attend to a sinkhole that opened up and swallowed a car on Monday morning, Nov. 4, 2013, in Montreal.
Montreal - A hapless motorist discovered a broken water main in the worst possible way: the road collapsed as he drove over it Monday morning.

The broken main/sinkhole is on King Edward Ave. at Fielding Ave. in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. The road is closed to traffic as city workers have to remove the car before they can get at the pipe.
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Attention

Deer farmer, 75, dies five days after being gored by stag in rutting season in Wales

Luke Salkeld and Chris Pleasance
The Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 06 Nov 2013 05:49 UTC
  • Kenneth Price was gored by a deer last Wednesday
  • Air ambulance crew carried out emergency surgery at the scene
  • He was flown to hospital in Swansea where he received more surgery
  • Mr Price passed away yesterday leaving his wife Doreen, 73
A deer farmer has died after being attacked by a stag.

Kenneth Price, 75, was left with serious injuries after the animal gored him with its antlers.

Paramedics operated at the scene before he was airlifted to hospital. Despite further surgery, Mr Price died five days later.

Image
Mr Price died after being gored by a male deer during rutting season on Mountain Hall farm near Saron in Wales
The lifelong sheep farmer had diversified into breeding deer for venison more than five years ago, it is believed.

His widow Doreen, 73, was yesterday being comforted by friends and relatives.

Mr Price was a leading sheep judge who was a regular at the Royal Welsh Show. David Pittendreigh, regional chairman of the National Sheep Association, said: 'Kenneth was a super, super man. It's a real tragedy.
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Blue Planet

Jellyfish taking over oceans, experts warn

Karla Cripps
CNN
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:30 UTC
Jellyfish
© Funny-Potato.com

It's a beautiful afternoon on the beach.

The sun is shining, you're rolling in the waves, showing off the toned torso you worked on at the gym all winter.

Suddenly a sharp, burning sensation hits your skin.

You've just been stung by a jellyfish.

If experts' warnings are true, swimmers around the world can expect to experience these unwanted love taps in greater numbers than ever before.

"Jellyfish and tourism are not happy bedfellows," says Dr. Lisa-Ann Gershwin, author of the recently published book, Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean.

Gershwin says popular beach resorts around the world are seeing huge increases in jellyfish "bloom" activity, a result of overfishing and changing water temperatures.
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Question

5 Endangered whales found dead on Russia's east coast


en.ria.ru
Wed, 06 Nov 2013 04:33 UTC
Image
© Vasily Tatatai /WWF5 Endangered Whales Found Dead on Russia’s East Coast
The remains of five endangered gray whales have been found washed ashore in Russia's most northeasterly region, a nongovernmental marine life organization said Tuesday.

"The remains belong to gray whales of the Chukotka-California population, which have been put on Russia's Red List of threatened species," Marine Mammal Council deputy head Andrei Boltunov said.

"We need to register all the cases of these animals' death and investigate the reasons of the incident," he said.

In September, a team of Russian scientists found the remains of ten gray whales washed up on the 800-kilometer (500-mile) stretch of the Chukotka coast during an aerial survey. No cause of death has been determined.

Large numbers of polar bears have been attracted to the sites where the carcasses were found, prompting scientists to warn local residents of the danger from the animals.

"Close attention should be paid to the crowds of polar bears near the remains of whales and walruses washed ashore," said Viktor Nikiforov, head of the World Wildlife Fund's Polar Bear Patrol program.
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Arrow Down

Rise of the mutant rats: More and more rodents immune to regular poison in the UK

Daniel Binns
Metro, UK
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 21:28 UTC
Rat
© GettyResistant: Rats are becoming immune to poison.

Mutant 'super rats' which cannot be killed by regular poisons are spreading across Britain, experts are warning.

The creatures, which look like normal rodents but eat toxic pellets 'like feed', have been discovered in Kent, the west country and now in Sussex.

The British Pest Control Association's Richard Moseley told Metro: 'Normal rats are being killed off by poison, so these resistant species are taking their place - it's only natural that their numbers are expanding.

'But they're being found further afield than previously anticipated.

'They eat poison like feed; you might as well be leaving out grain for them'.

There are an estimated 10.5million rats in Britain and they breed rapidly.

The gestation period is just 21 days and a female can have up to 14 pups at a time. Some breeding pairs can have 800 young in just two years.

Poison-resistant rats have been around for 50 years but researchers warn they are spreading rapidly. Mutants have been found in Sussex for the first time by researchers from the University of Huddersfield.
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Bizarro Earth

Dust devil damages officer's car

Amy Parmenter
NBC Connecticut
Thu, 31 Oct 2013 17:43 UTC

When a strange phenomenon blew through the Hartford Police department's parking lot and damaged an officer's personal vehicle, police turned to NBC Connecticut to help them solve the mystery.

Surveillance video shows a ghost-like wisp of wind whirling around the car, ripping off the mirror, tossing it around a bit and then dropping right back beneath the door.

"At the end of his shift, he went out to his car and found his rear view mirror had been damaged and it was lying there next to his vehicle," said Lt. Brian Foley, spokesman for the Hartford Police Department.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupts for 3rd time, evacuations ordered

Helena Rudhart
AustrianTribune.com
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:12 UTC
Image
According to reports by the officials, a volcano erupted for the third time on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra. This eruption caused the evacuation of many villagers living near the affected place. Mount Sinabung ejected a 7-km (4.3-mile) column of ash into the air, which prompted the concerned authorities to compel the people living within the 3-km radius to evacuate their places immediately.

According to sources, the military helped to evacuate about 1,293 people from four villages, surrounding the volcano. It has also been revealed by the sources that in the month of September about 14,000 people were forcibly evacuated, after the recognition of the activity signs of the volcano.

Sinabung is the world's fourth most populated country and it comprises of nearly 130 active volcanoes. These volcanoes in Sinabung straddle the "Pacific Ring of Fire".
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