Animals
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Attention

Bear kills 3 people in Telangana, India

S Raja Reddy
New Indian Express
Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:53 UTC
Image used for representative purpose.
Image used for representative purpose.
A wild bear attack claimed the lives of three persons who had entered the Maharashtra - Adilabad interstate forest area on Wednesday. Forest officials have alerted residents living along the border not to enter the forest area, which is about two km from the district border.

The incident caused serious concern in forest-fringe villages along the border. District Forest Officer Prashanth Bajirao Patil issued a statement urging residents to remain cautious.

Villagers have been strictly instructed not to enter forest areas until further notice. Activities prohibited include firewood collection, cattle grazing, Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) collection, MGNREGS works inside forests, and any other personal or commercial activities within forest limits.

Forest officials are conducting combing operations and closely monitoring the bear's movement in coordination with Maharashtra Forest officials. Necessary precautionary and safety measures are being taken to control the situation.

Village heads, public representatives and local authorities have been asked to spread awareness and ensure compliance. Any information about the bear should be reported immediately to the Forest Range Office, Boath.

Comment: Another individual was killed a day earlier in the region.

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Attention

Three women killed, three injured in elephant attack in Odisha, India

Chinmaya Dehury
prameyanews.com
Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:36 UTC
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In a tragic incident, three women lost their lives and three others sustained serious injuries after being attacked by a wild elephant while collecting firewood in Lochapali village under the Patpuri Forest of the Sadar range in Dhenkanal district on Tuesday.

The deceased have been identified as Indu Pradhan, Tuni Behera, and Kuntala Pradhan. The injured women—Rama Dehury, Rasmita Pradhan, and Jhili Pradhan—were rescued by forest department personnel and rushed to the district headquarters hospital, where they are undergoing treatment in critical condition.

According to reports, the six women entered the forest to collect firewood when they unexpectedly came face to face with the elephant. The animal reportedly attacked them, killing three women on the spot and seriously injuring the others.

Forest officials reached the site soon after receiving information about the incident and have initiated an investigation. Patrolling in the area has been intensified to prevent further incidents.

Confirming the incident, Dhenkanal Range Officer Uchhaba Chandra Pradhan said that the forest department team was already on patrol when the tragedy occurred.
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Doberman

Boy, 4, mauled to death by stray dogs in Maharashtra, India


The Hindustan Times
Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:13 UTC
At around 10 am on Saturday, the boy was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood in the sugarcane field at Kenjal village which is around 48 kilometres from Pune.
© Hindustan TimesAt around 10 am on Saturday, the boy was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood in the sugarcane field at Kenjal village which is around 48 kilometres from Pune.
A four-year-old boy died after being attacked by stray dogs in a sugarcane field at Kenjal village in Bhor taluka Saturday morning. The son of migrant farm labourers from Jalgaon, the boy, had gone to answer the call of Nature while his parents were working in the field when the incident occurred, the police said.

At around 10 am on Saturday, the boy was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood in the sugarcane field at Kenjal village which is around 48 kilometres from Pune. Investigating officer, constable Mayur Nimbalkar from Rajgad police station, said that the boy had multiple bite injuries on his body. "He was found nearly 500 metres inside the sugarcane field and appeared to have been dragged by the dogs. There were wounds on his entire body, suggesting the involvement of two to three dogs. He was brought to Bhor rural hospital at around 11.30 am where the doctors pronounced him dead and referred the body for an autopsy," Nimbalkar said.

Initial fears that the boy might have been attacked by a leopard or any other wild animal were ruled out after an inspection by the forest department. Range forest officer Vasant Chavan who visited the site said that the injuries were caused by dogs. Besides, paw marks were found at the site and eyewitnesses too confirmed seeing a dog attacking the boy.
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Doberman

Pit Bull Wins Westminster Dog Show After Killing All The Other Contestants


BabylonBee.com
Sun, 08 Feb 2026 19:06 UTC
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A new champion has been crowned in the Westminster Dog Show, with a pit bull named "Slayer" winning by default after killing all of the other contestants.

The contest appeared to be narrowing down to the two favorites, a Pomeranian named "Alice" and a poodle named "Winston." However, both were mauled to death during the final showing, leaving Slayer to collect the cup.

"Congratulations to Slayer and to his owner, Jethro Calhoun," said the dog show judge, Braxton Anderson. "It came down to the wire, but we can now confirm that the one other remaining contestant, the beagle 'Trixie,' no longer has a pulse. You have truly left the carcasses of the competition in your wake. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a champion!"

The Westminster Dog Show started out with over 2,500 contestants, with the field being narrowed at preliminary events based on judges' scorecards and who Slayer hadn't yet killed.

"The dogs are judged on structure, temperament, condition, and being alive," stated Anderson. "The last criterion there really turned out to be key."

At publishing time, all future Westminster Dog Shows had been cancelled after Slayer killed all of the judges.

Coming soon to a Democrat-controlled city near you!
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Attention

Wife killed, husband injured in bear attack in Maharashtra, India


thehitavada.com
Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:41 UTC
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People in Ramtek tehsil continue to grapple with man-animal conflict, as in one more incident, a couple was attacked by bears that led to death of the woman while the husband suffered serious injuries.

The couple is identified as Rajkumar Rajaram Bhalavi (45) and Sulochana Bhalavi (45), residents of village Umri. As per the reports, the couple went deep into the jungle to collect fire wood when they came under attack by two bears.

They were corner in Beat no 292 of reserve forest area when the two bears roaming attacked them as the two were cutting wood. The couple could not withstand the attack as the bears left them badly wounded.

The incident, as per Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Govinda Luche, occurred around 3.30 pm.The attack was too power and Sulochana died on the spot.
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Doberman

Woman dies after being mauled by her own pit bulls in South Africa

Murray Swart
iol.co.za
Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:27 UTC
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Faziela Swartz (44), who died after being attacked by dogs at her home in Mitchells Plain. Police have opened an enquiry docket into the circumstances surrounding her death.
A Mitchells Plain woman has been mauled to death by her dogs, raising concerns about public safety and calls for stricter controls around dangerous dogs.

Graphic video footage showed the attack, with one of the pit bulls biting her.

Police confirmed that SAPS members were called to a premises in Maralize Street, Morgenster, at about 1.53pm last Tuesday, following a complaint of a dog attack.

According to SAPS spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk, officers were informed that the victim had been attacked by her own two dogs inside her backyard.

Van Wyk said: "On arrival the 44-year-old victim was already taken to hospital by private vehicle. The members were informed by bystanders that the victim was attacked by her own two dogs inside her backyard. The neighbours tried to get the dogs away from the victim without success.

"She later died in hospital, on Tuesday, February 3, as a result of injuries sustained in the attack. An enquiry docket has been opened to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death. Both dogs were removed from the premises by Law Enforcement officers."
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Blue Planet

See a rare, bus-sized giant phantom jelly wade through ocean waters off the coast of Argentina

Sara Hashemi
Source
Fri, 06 Feb 2026 17:21 UTC
giant phantom jelly
© ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean InstituteA giant phantom jelly documented by a recent deep-sea expedition.
During an expedition off the coast of Argentina, scientists saw something unexpected. In December, they spied a rare jellyfish roughly the length of a school bus, known as the giant phantom jelly, wading through Atlantic waters at about 820 feet below the surface.

"There was a mixture of excitement and disbelief," says María Emilia Bravo, a marine biologist at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and the expedition's chief scientist, to Alexa Robles-Gil at the New York Times. "Its ethereal and delicate presence in such an extreme environment was deeply surprising."

The researchers stumbled upon the massive jellyfish while using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) called SuBastian on an expedition spanning Argentina's entire coast. Unlike some jellyfish, giant phantom jellies lack stinging tentacles. Instead, they use ribbon-like arms to grab prey, typically plankton or small fish, and pull them into their mouths.
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Attention

Fin whale found dead on Oregon beach

Joni Auden Land
opb.org
Sat, 07 Feb 2026 10:57 UTC
A dead fin whale washed ashore on Sunset Beach in Clatsop County, Ore., on Feb. 7, 2026.
A dead fin whale washed ashore on Sunset Beach in Clatsop County, Ore., on Feb. 7, 2026.
A 46-foot-long fin whale washed ashore in Clatsop County on the Oregon coast Saturday morning. Officials from the Seaside Aquarium said the whale had already been dead for some time before washing up on the beach.

Fin whales are one of the largest whale species in the world, known for their incredibly long and slender bodies. Aquarium officials said that only the blue whale — the largest mammal on earth — is bigger.

A cause of death for the whale was not immediately identified. A necropsy, where a team of scientists collects samples of the whale to determine the cause of death, will take place sometime next week, according to the aquarium.

Last November, a humpback whale became beached near Yachats while it was still alive, kicking off a scramble by residents to push it back into the ocean. Rescue workers were not able to save the humpback before it died on the sand.

It's illegal for regular citizens to touch a live whale while it's stuck on land, and experts say trying to do so is extremely dangerous.

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Lightning

Lightning strike kills 11 cows in South Africa


CentralNews.co.za
Sun, 08 Feb 2026 10:43 UTC
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A devastating lightning strike has left small-scale farmers in Caguba Village reeling after it killed 11 of their cows while they grazed in an open field during a thunderstorm, wiping out what many call their "bank" for emergencies like paying school fees or lobola, and sparking urgent calls for government help to protect livestock in rural areas prone to severe weather.

The Tragic Lightning Strike Incident

The bolt hit on Thursday morning, 5 February 2026, as heavy rains pounded the area. The cows, belonging to two local farmers, were out grazing when the storm turned deadly. Mthandazo Mthimkhulu lost three of his animals, worth about R30,000, while Thandazile Mjokovana saw eight of hers die in an instant. Witnesses described a loud crack followed by the sight of the fallen cattle, some still smoking from the strike. No people were hurt, but the loss cut deep for families who rely on these animals for survival.
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Attention

Three members of same family trampled to death by wild elephants in Jharkhand, India - at least 25 such deaths across the state in 11 days


New Indian Express
Thu, 05 Feb 2026 13:14 UTC
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In yet another incident of man-animal conflict in Jharkhand, three members of the same family were trampled to death by a herd of elephants in Chutki Punnu village under Gomia block in Bokaro.

Five other villagers are said to be injured and struggling for life and death in a local hospital in Bokaro.

According to Bokaro Divisional Forest Officer Sandeep Shinde, "The herd of elephants attacked their house for paddy and damaged a portion of it. When the trio tried to flee from the place, they were trampled to death by the elephants outside the house."

According to villagers, the herd of elephants entered the village on Wednesday evening, around 7 pm. The villagers managed to drive them away using torches, making noises and other methods.
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