Animals
S


Health

Swarming Killer Bees Send 70 Mexican Police Officers to the Hospital


Associated Press
Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:35 UTC
At least 70 police officers were hospitalized after so-called Africanized bees swarmed a police shooting range in southern Mexico, authorities said Tuesday.

The attacked occurred Monday in Tapachula, Chiapas, after one of the policemen hit the bees' hive with a bullet, local police officer Miguel Serrano said Tuesday. At least 10 of the 70 officers stung were in serious condition, he said.
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Frog

Scientists find bizarre lungless frog


msnbc/Live Science
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:45 UTC
The first lungless frog has been discovered lurking in the jungles of Borneo.

The enigmatic amphibian, dubbed Barbourula kalimantanensis, apparently gets all the oxygen it needs through its skin.

lungless frog
©David Bickford / LiveScience
The first lungless frog has been discovered lurking in the jungles of Borneo.
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Fish

Karachi: Fishermen concerned over mysterious death of fish


The International News
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:52 UTC
Fishermen have expressed concern over the large-scale death of fish at the Karachi coast. They demanded of the concerned authorities to conduct a survey to learn the actual reasons behind the death of the fish and to take effective steps to address the problem.

Hundreds of dead fish, including Mullet, Bohi and other species, have been seen at the seashore near Baba, Bhit, Shamspir and Salehabad islands, the premises of Karachi Fish Harbour (KFH) and other coastal villages for the last couple of days.
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Evil Rays

Navy sonar blamed for death of beaked whales found washed up in the Hebrides

Michael McCarthy
The Independent
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:32 UTC
Anti-submarine sonar may have killed a group of whales found dead in the Hebrides in one of Britain's most unusual strandings, scientists believe.

Five Cuvier's beaked whales, a species rarely seen in British waters, were discovered on beaches in the Western Isles on succeeding days in February. Another animal from a related species was discovered at the same time.
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Health

Japan: Dozens in hospital after bee attack


Herald Sun
Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:25 UTC
A awarm of bees attacked half-marathon runners in south-western Japan today, forcing 30 people to be rushed to hospital, rescuers said.

During the race in Saga city, athletes were set upon by the bees as they ran near a river bank, according to one of the local fire departments which dispatched five ambulances because of the incident.

"I have never experienced anything like this before,'' chief rescuer Tomomi Koyanag said.
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Butterfly

American Songbirds Are Being Wiped Out by Banned Pesticides and Loss of Habitat for Biofuel Corn Crops

Leonard Doyle
The Independent
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:34 UTC
The number of migratory songbirds returning to North America has gone into sharp decline due to the unregulated use of highly toxic pesticides and other chemicals across Latin America.
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Bizarro Earth

U.S. Forest Service: Colorado aspen trees are 'starving to death'

Bob Berwyn
Summit Daily News
Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:35 UTC
Summit County, Colorado - Growing evidence shows drought conditions are killing Colorado's aspens at an unprecedented rate.

More than 56,000 acres of aspens have recently died in the state, according to a paper published by a group of Forest Service scientists last year.

aspen trees colorado
©Jim Stimson
Aerial view of a forest of Aspen trees, Aspen, Colorado, USA
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Question

US, North Carolina: Mysterious disorder impacts some area beekeepers, others faring well

Colin McCandless
The Franklin Press
Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:39 UTC
Beekeeping hobbyist Tom Hill's eight hives have faired poorly this year. Only three survive and two of those are not strong.

In the hives that are weakened, no dead bees are actually found in the hive and not all the bees have died. A tiny cluster of living bees survives, but they are lethargic.

For example, Hill said the bees would not sting you if you stuck your hand in the hive.

They could recover if there is no big freeze this year. If a freeze does occur though, there are not enough bees for the hive to stay warm and the rest will die.

Image
©Unknown
Property across the road from Franklin High School will be the site of Cross the Road Ministries Youth Center
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X

Over 30 dead seals washed ashore in Caspian


RIA Novosti
Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:23 UTC
Employees at an oil company have discovered the carcasses of 32 seals along the northern Caspian Sea coast near the Kalamkas oil field in Kazakhstan, the republic's emergencies ministry said on Friday.

The region has already been plagued by a similar tragedy in March 31 - May 14 2007, when a total of 928 seals, including 710 baby seals, died near the Kalamkas oil field.

A research group from Kazakstan's Biological Security Research Institute and Institute of Microbiology and Virology cited the phocine distemper virus (PDV), which has been blamed for the deaths of fin-footed mammals all over the world since 1988, as responsible for the deaths.
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Stop

A swarm of so-called "killer bees" attacked two people and a dog in Phoenix


Associated Press
Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:50 UTC
The dog was chained up in the backyard when the Africanized honey bees attacked.

The dog's owner Chantel Armenta tried to get him free but could not, and when she ran in the house, the bees followed, stinging her and her husband.

Her husband is allergic to bee stings and had to be rushed to the hospital. He is expected to live, but the dog may not.
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