Animals
S


Snowflake Cold

Record 834 manatees spotted at Manatee Lagoon, Florida as cold snap draws more sea cows (UPDATE)

Scott Sutton and Kayla McDermott
wflx.com
Thu, 29 Jan 2026 20:14 UTC
160 manatees spotted at Manatee Lagoon amid cold snap
160 manatees spotted at Manatee Lagoon amid cold snap
The chilly air across South Florida and the Treasure Coast has many of us bundled up and braving the cooler-than-average temperatures — and that includes wildlife.

Representatives at the Manatee Lagoon in Riviera Beach said Thursday that they counted 160 manatees at the facility, the highest number spotted all season.

The gentle giants are attracted to the area by the warm-water outflows from the adjacent Florida Power & Light Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center.

With temperatures expected to continue falling through the weekend and forecast lows in the 30s, workers at the lagoon said they believe sightings will likely increase.


Comment: Update February 2

The Daytona News-Journal reports:
Nearly 1,000 manatees gathered Feb. 2 at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City as record-breaking cold temperatures continue to infiltrate Florida.

The state park provided the official manatee count Monday morning and an afternoon update hours later via Instagram.

"The arctic cold brought in a record number of manatees this morning with a river temperature of 55.9F (13.3C)," the update read. "Save the Manatee Club counted a record number of 834 manatees, the park staff counted even more."


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Attention

Wild elephant kills tourist in Thailand - had previously killed 2 other people


Haberler.com
Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:27 UTC
mmmmm
A 65-year-old tourist was killed in an attack by a wild elephant in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. Authorities stated that the attack was carried out by a male elephant, which had previously killed two other people.

A terrible incident occurred in Thailand's Khao Yai National Park. A 65-year-old tourist lost his life after being attacked by a wild elephant during a morning walk. The incident happened in front of the man's wife.

Authorities stated that the attack was carried out by a male elephant named "Phlai Oyewan." The elephant quickly charged at tourist Jirathachai Jiraphatboonyathorn, grabbed him with its trunk, threw him to the ground, and stepped on him, causing severe injuries. Witnesses reported that the man died at the scene.

Fortunately, his wife managed to escape and called park officials to have the elephant removed. National park official Chaiya Huayhongthong explained that the elephant was in an extremely aggressive phase during the attack and had previously killed two other people. Huayhongthong confirmed that the deceased was the third person killed by Oyewan.
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Attention

Third shark attack in two days in Sydney, Australia - one victim subsequently dies (UPDATE)

Yashee Sharma
9news.com.au
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:04 UTC
Shark attacks
A surfer is in a critical condition and 20 beaches have been closed after a third shark attack at a Sydney beach in just over 24 hours.

A man believed to be in his 20s was bitten on his leg at North Steyne Beach in Manly about 6.20pm today. 

A group pulled the man from the water and onto the sand and began first aid as they waited for emergency services to arrive.

Multiple emergency services, including paramedics, the intensive care ambulance, a helicopter and police, responded to the incident.

The man was treated for serious leg injuries and taken to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.
All 20 beaches on the Northern Beaches have been closed until further notice.

This will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. 

It came hours after a suspected bull shark bit an 11-year-old boy's surfboard also on Sydney's Northern Beaches this morning, and another a 12-year-old boy was mauled at a beach in the city's east yesterday.


Comment: Update January 24

9news.com.au reports:
Shark attack victim Nico Antic has died in a Sydney hospital.

The 12-year-old was attacked by a suspected bull shark as he was jumping off a rock face at Neilson Park, near Shark Beach in Vaucluse, on Sunday.

The boy's friends jumped into the water to pull him to safety, but Nico suffered serious leg wounds and was taken to hospital in a critical condition.


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Wolf

Local mayor describes 'escalating dingo aggression' as police await post-mortem of woman killed on K'gari, Australia

Rebecca Masters Yashee Sharma
9news.com.au
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:55 UTC
A dingo; Fraser Island K'gari.
A dingo; Fraser Island K'gari.
A local mayor has described the escalating aggression of dingoes on K'gari as police await a post-mortem examination on the body of a Canadian teenager found on the beach yesterday morning.

The 19-year-old woman told friends and colleagues at a backpackers' hostel where she worked that she was going for a swim about 5am.

Two men later found her body with significant injuries surrounded by a pack of up to a dozen dingoes near Orchid Beach, north of Maheno Wreck.

Police hope a post-mortem examination on the body, scheduled for tomorrow, will help determine whether the woman died as a result of drowning or being mauled by dingoes.

Local Fraser Coast mayor George Seymour told Today this morning the woman's death was a "shocking tragedy".

He said it had been 25 years since the last fatal dingo attack on the island but there had been "an escalation of aggressive dingo activity" in recent years.
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Doberman

Man, 59, mauled to death by pit bull in New York City home: cops

Zoe Hussain
New York Post
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 11:56 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
A man was mauled to death by a pit bull dog inside a Staten Island home on Sunday afternoon, according to cops and sources.

Police responded to a 911 call about a vicious animal inside a home on New Dorp Lane just after 4 p.m., according to the NYPD.

After arriving, officers found a 59-year-old man who had multiple wounds on his body that appeared consistent with dog bites, cops said.

The unidentified man was pronounced dead on the scene. It's not immediately clear if he lived in the home where the gruesome attack took place or if others were inside at the time.

The dog, identified as a pit bull, was taken to the ASPCA, according to law enforcement sources.

The city's Medical Examiner will officially determine the man's cause of death, police added.

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Horse

Horses can smell human fear when we sweat

Paul Arnold
Phys Org
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 17:03 UTC
Horses
© bbcearth.com
Horses can smell your fear. If you are experiencing this emotion while standing near a horse, they will be able to detect it through your scent alone, which changes their behavior and physiology. That's the conclusion of a new study published in the journal PLOS One.

Scientists already know that dogs can smell human stress. But a team from the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) in France wanted to see if the same is true for horses, another domesticated animal that has lived alongside us for thousands of years.
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Attention

Boar attack leaves 4 injured in South Kashmir's Tral


Roshan kashmir
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:38 UTC
mmmmm
At least four civilians were injured on Saturday after a wild animal, suspected to be a wild boar, attacked pedestrians at Tral market area in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said.

The incident triggered panic among locals as the animal reportedly entered the busy market area and attacked people at random. Officials said four persons sustained injuries in the attack.

All injured individuals were promptly evacuated to a nearby hospital, where they are undergoing medical treatment. Their condition was stated to be stable.

Authorities said the situation was swiftly brought under control with the intervention of concerned teams.

Officials urged locals to remain cautious and avoid unnecessary movement in the area until the situation is fully secured.

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Doberman

Man, 71, dies after being attacked by dogs inside his home in Harlingen, Texas

Gabriela Gonzalez
ValleyCentral.com
Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:28 UTC
MMMMMMMM
A man died after he was attacked by his dogs inside his home in Harlingen, according to a spokesperson for the Harlingen Police Department.

The 71-year-old man, who has not been identified by police, died Thursday night, police said.

At 11:09 a.m. Thursday, police responded to the man's home on the 1400 block of E. Taylor St. regarding a call about an animal bite.

Responding officers found that the man had been attacked and bitten by dogs inside his home. It's unclear how many dogs were involved in the attack.

The man was taken to a local hospital and later died.

The dogs were picked up and taken in by animal control, police said.
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Attention

75-year-old man killed by bear in Madhya Pradesh, India


Free Press Journal
Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:27 UTC
mmmmmm
A 75-year-old man lost his life after a bear attacked him in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol.

The elderly man had gone to graze his cattle when a bear pounced on him in the forest range. The accident happened near the Kunuk River in the Gohparu forest range.

South divisional forest officer Shraddha Pendre reached the spot after receiving information about the incident.

According to the divisional forest officer's report, 75-year-old Chetan Prasad, a resident of Shahdol district who had gone to graze his cattles in the Gohparu forest range, was killed by a bear.

Continuous movement of bears has been observed in the Jaitpur Keshwahi area. They are roaming in residential areas in search of food.

Several videos have surfaced showing bears carrying food items from a cargo vehicle into the forest.

Comment: See also this small selection of similar reports from across the world in recent years indicating perhaps an increasing trend in such aggressive behavior:
Many more such records can be under the Topics-Animal heading located here. Reports of attacks by other species, such as dogs, elephants, sharks, alligators, bison, kangaroos, hyenas, leopards, cougars, tigers, pythons and sundry others (some non-fatal but atypical) have also been compiled - with the database going back to 2006. It's almost as though the Animal Kingdom has had enough of humanity in recent years and is revolting.

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Black Cat

Three killed in tiger attacks in Nepal within week

Rastriya Samachar Samiti
onlinekhabar.com
Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:07 UTC
tiger
Three people have been killed in separate tiger attacks in Surkhet and Salyan districts over the past week, spreading fear among residents living near forest areas.

The victims have been identified as Ganga Saru (57) of Bheriganga Municipality-5, Surkhet; Dhanasari Rawat of Kalimati Rural Municipality-7, Salyan; and Chandra Bahadur Khaptadi (65) of Kalimati Rural Municipality-8. According to local authorities, Saru was attacked on January 7 in the Gerbani area.

Later, Rawat was killed by a tiger on January 10 in Kalimati Rural Municipality-7, which shares a border with Gerbani. Khaptadi was attacked and died on January 13 as he had been at a local ghatta (traditional water-powered grinding mill).

DSP Hem Bahadur KC at the District Police Office, Salyan, said that parts of Kalimati Rural Municipality and the neighbouring areas of Surkhet are close to Banke and Bardiya National Parks. "People who go into nearby forest areas to collect fodder and firewood are at higher risk of wild animal attacks, including tigers," he said.

Following the deaths, fear has gripped the local communities. Kalimati-7 ward chair Mitralal Rijal said residents are terrorised after the series of fatal attacks within a short period. In addition to human casualties, the tiger also killed two domesticated animals, further increasing concern among locals, it is said.
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