Animals
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Binoculars

First ever sighting of a black tern from the northern hemisphere in New Zealand

Kate Green
Stuff
Wed, 26 Jan 2022 19:57 UTC
A black tern, never before recorded in New Zealand, has been spotted at Waikanae Estuary, drawing crowds and flummoxing experts.
© ROGER SMITHA black tern, never before recorded in New Zealand, has been spotted at Waikanae Estuary, drawing crowds and flummoxing experts.
People living alongside Waikanae Estuary might be wondering what they're missing, as a steady stream of people make their way across the sand spit, armed with large cameras and a palpable sense of determination.

The focus of their attention is easy to miss. The black tern, a small bird of mottled white, grey and black, sits nestled among a group of native white-fronted terns. You wouldn't know to look at it how far it has travelled.

This unassuming visitor is the first of its kind to be seen in New Zealand, with the species originally hailing from Europe, Western Asia and North America.

Resident Roger Smith is one of many people lucky enough to capture it on camera and is as flummoxed as the rest of the birding community about how the bird came to be on a beach north of Wellington.
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Attention

Dead dolphin appears on beach on the Costa del Sol, Spain - the 8th since December

Eugenio Cabezas
surinenglish.com
Thu, 20 Jan 2022 13:09 UTC
The dolphin was spotted by local residents on Monday
© GUSTAVO ARMIJOThe dolphin was spotted by local residents on Monday
It is the eighth such animal that has appeared on the Costa del Sol's beaches since December

A dead dolphin has been taken to the Aula del Mar in Malaga after washing up on Nerja's La Torrecilla beach on Monday. Local residents alerted Civil Protection officers, who in turn contacted the Endangered Marine Species Recovery Centre (Cream) of the Aula del Mar.

Biologist José Luis Mons, one of the founders of the Aula del Mar, explained to SUR on Tuesday that pending the results of the necropsy, the animal may have been pregnant but he could not specify the exact cause of death. "Adult specimens can live between 12 and 15 years, and this one would have been around seven years old," the expert added.
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Attention

Crowds gather to see huge dead whale carcass on Spanish beach

Sian Elvin
Metro (UK)
Fri, 21 Jan 2022 12:58 UTC
A major operation is underway on the La Rada beach in Estepona to remove the carcas
© BackgridA major operation is underway on the La Rada beach in Estepona to remove the carcas
A 40ft whale has washed up on a beach in southern Spain in a sad and rare phenomenon.

The marine mammal - which is a fin whale - is thought to have beached itself after becoming injured.

Crowds gathered on the La Rada beach in Estepona to see and take pictures of the carcass.

Jose Luis Mons, from the Centre for the Recovery of Marine Species, told The Olive Press: 'It is not common to find whales stranded here on the beach, but tragically it does happen on some occasions.

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Doberman

4-year-old girl injured in stray dog attack dies in hospital in Maharashtra, India


The Print
Fri, 21 Jan 2022 12:52 UTC
dog attack
A four-year-old girl, who was attacked by a pack of stray dogs last week, died at a hospital in Maharashtra's Nagpur district, an official said on Friday.

The victim, Anjali Rawat, succumbed to her injuries at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Thursday, he said.

The girl was attacked by a pack of stray dogs at Bharkas village near Butibori in Nagpur district on January 13.

The incident took place when the girl's parents were away and she was rescued by a woman in the neighbourhood and taken to a primary health centre at Takalghat town.
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Question

Cluster of dead birds litter Elizabethtown roadways in Kentucky

Julia Huffman
wave3.com
Tue, 11 Jan 2022 13:13 UTC
Quicksie 98.3 shared a Facebook post showing dozens of dead birds scattered across the roadway.
Quicksie 98.3 shared a Facebook post showing dozens of dead birds scattered across the roadway.
Crews from the City of Elizabethtown and Elizabethtown Police Department had to clean up a unusual mass of birds found dead on Tuesday.

Quicksie 98.3 shared a Facebook post showing dozens of dead birds found on the intersection of Ring Road and Patriot Parkway.

Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson said officials cannot offer an explanation as to how or why they all died.

The birds have been cleared from the roadway.

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Eye 2

Rare snowy owl soars over Washington DC


The National Herald
Wed, 12 Jan 2022 11:25 UTC
An American Flag flies in the distance as a rare snowy owl looks down from its perch atop the large stone orb of the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at the entrance to Union Station in Washington, Friday, Jan. 7, 2022
© Carolyn KasterAn American Flag flies in the distance as a rare snowy owl looks down from its perch atop the large stone orb of the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at the entrance to Union Station in Washington, Friday, Jan. 7, 2022
A snowy owl apparently touring iconic buildings of the nation's capital is captivating birdwatchers who manage to get a glimpse of the rare, resplendent visitor from the Arctic.

Far from its summer breeding grounds in Canada, the snowy owl was first seen on Jan. 3, the day a winter storm dumped eight inches of snow on the city.

Since then, it's been spotted in the evenings flying around Washington's Capitol Hill neighborhood, landing on Union Station, the National Postal Museum, various Senate buildings, and Capitol Police headquarters.

Late last week about three dozen people in thick coats trained their binoculars on the football-sized bird with bright yellow eyes as it perched on the stone head of Archimedes, a famous ancient Greek mathematician, carved above the train station entrance.

The nocturnal hunter appears to be targeting the city's plentiful downtown rat population.

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Wolf

Wolf population growing near Athens, Greece

Anna Wichmann
Greek Reporter
Thu, 13 Jan 2022 11:15 UTC
Wolf populations near Athens have been growing ever since the fire on Mt. Parnitha in 2007.
© Gunnar Ries/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.5Wolf populations near Athens have been growing ever since the fire on Mt. Parnitha in 2007.
A recent incident in which a wolf approached a man and his daughter and attacked their dog on Mt. Parnitha just outside of Athens on Saturday shocked many Greeks all across the country.

Most residents of the Greek capital certainly had no idea whatsoever that wolves roamed the mountainous slopes located so close to the metropolis.

The Greek wildlife protection organization Callisto, which is dedicated to conserving the country's native wolf populations, announced after the incident that at least 25 wolves live in the area spanning from central Greece to the mountainous outskirts of Athens, but the actual number may be higher.

Wolf attack near Athens

This is an increase compared to past years, when wolf populations outside of Athens struggled. It is believed that a recent surge in the numbers of local deer, which occurred after a massive forest fire razed much of Mt. Parnitha in 2007, led to an increase in the wolf population.
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Attention

Dead whale washes ashore in Little Compton, Rhode Island

Tim Studebaker
abc6.com
Wed, 12 Jan 2022 11:08 UTC
whale
A property owner in Little Compton was greeted with an unpleasant surprise Saturday: a dead humpback whale had washed ashore.

Mike Healey is a spokesperson for the Rhode Island DEM. Healey says, "It's a young male, 25 feet long, 20,000 pounds, and we don't know how it died."

It's beached near Church Cove in Little Compton, on private property, and that's making it a little more complicated for officials to address the situation.

Healey says, "It's a very rocky beach. It's totally exposed to the surf."

Beached whales are not uncommon in our area, but this time around the whale is young and doesn't immediately appear to have been injured.

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Doberman

Man dies after being attacked by dogs inside house in Lampeter, Wales

Robert Harries
Wales on Line
Wed, 12 Jan 2022 10:51 UTC
dog attack
A man has died in west Wales after reportedly being attacked by three dogs.

The incident happened at a property in Lampeter in Ceredigion on Monday evening.

A man in his 60s, who has not been named, died at the scene and a woman was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.

A police investigation into the death is now under way.

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Fish

Piranha attacks in Paraguay leave 4 dead, more than 20 injured this year

Lawrence Richard
New York Post
Sat, 08 Jan 2022 19:09 UTC
4 people were killed by Piranhas while bathing in the rive
4 people were killed by Piranhas while bathing in the river.
Four people were killed and 20 others have been injured in separate piranha attacks in Paraguay this year, causing concern among locals.

On Jan. 2, a 22-year-old man temporarily went missing during a family outing near the Paraguay River, south of the capital Asuncion, at Itá Enramada, as piranhas attacked him and carried him underwater. His family contacted the police and he was found less than an hour later with severe bite marks from the ferocious fish.

In a separate instance, a 49-year-old man was killed in the Paraguay River, in the town of Puerto Rosario, after he went swimming and drowned as a result of a piranha attack. He had bite wounds on his face, according to a report.

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