Animals
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Attention

Dead whale washes up on Montara Beach, California - 14th of the year for the Bay Area

Dead whale washes up on Montara Beach
Dead whale washes up on Montara Beach
A dead whale washed up on the shores of a Bay Area beach over the weekend, marking the fifth such instance in the last week, and the 14th of the year.

The whale, which washed up on Montara Beach, was a gray whale, according to the Marine Mammal Center. The organization told KTVU they had not yet had a chance to closely examine the animal to determine a cause of death.

Researchers with the California Academy of Sciences and the Marine Mammal Center said they haven't seen so many dead whales in the region since what they call the "unusual mortality event" between 2019 and 2023.

The Montara Beach whale was the 14th dead whale in the region since the start of the year — 13 of those were gray whales and one was a minke whale.

Since May 21 alone, stranded whales have died near Alcatraz, Point Bonita, Berkeley, the Farallon Islands and Bolinas.


Fish

'Doomsday Fish' in Tamil Nadu, India: fishermen catch rare oarfish

Doomsday Fish in Tamil Nadu
© X/@sanatan_kannadaDoomsday Fish in Tamil Nadu
Fishermen off the coast of Tamil Nadu recently caught a rare deep-sea creature known as the oarfish also called "Doomsday Fish".

Scientifically called Regalecus glesne, the oarfish is a ribbon-like marine species that can grow up to 30 feet long.

It is typically found at depths of 200 to 1,000 meters and rarely surfaces, making its appearance highly unusual.

With its silvery, wavy body and striking red fin-like crest near the head, the fish's rare sighting has sparked curiosity and speculation among locals.


Doberman

Man mauled to death by neighbour's pitbull in Zimbabwe

Harare man killed by neighbour’s pitbull
© @X(crimewatchzimbabwe)Harare man killed by neighbour’s pitbull
A Harare man was mauled to death by a neighbour's pitbull in the Bluffhill suburb last night. The residents of Bluffhill woke up to the gruesome scene as one of their neighbours was attacked to his death by a pitbull.

The horrifying dog attack has left a man in his thirties dead in New Bluffhill, Harare, after the pitbull with known aggressive tendencies escaped its property.

Residents Raised Concerns Against Vicious Pitbull Before

Local residents report the canine had previously demonstrated dangerous behaviour by repeatedly jumping over the half-height perimeter wall surrounding its owner's home.

According to pictures shared online, the owner's durawall is low, and his dog could easily jump over it. The locals raised concerns, asking for the owner to lock his animal in before. However, pictures of the dog roaming the roads without a leash in previous months have been shared all over the internet.

Black Cat

Man dies in tiger attack in Uttarakhand, India - 9th killing for the state this year

tiger
A 34-year-old man was mauled to death by a tiger while collecting leaves used to make eco-friendly utensils in the forests of Rishikesh range in Lal Tappar area of Dehradun district on Friday. This marks the ninth human death from tiger attacks in the state this year.

Officials said a male tiger, recently relocated from Corbett to Rajaji Tiger Reserve, had been exploring new territory and moving between Tapovan and Rajaji over the past 20 days but has since returned to the reserve.

The area is also home to a tigress, and it is yet to be determined which animal was responsible for the attack, officials added.

The victim, identified as Raju (only first name available), had entered the forest with his brother around 9.30am when the tiger attacked them. His brother, Sanju, ran for help, but by the time others arrived, Raju had died. Officials noted that the body was intact, suggesting it was an accidental encounter rather than a predatory attack.

"An ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh has been given to the family, and the remaining compensation to follow upon completion of formalities," said Dehradun DFO Neeraj Sharma.

The recent tiger movement from Motichur to Rishikesh and Barkot forest ranges underscores the ecological connectivity of the Kansrao-Motichur-Barkot wildlife corridor.

Comment: See also these reports indicating a rising trend in recent years of fatal attacks across India:



Info

Unearthing a forgotten monument in Turkey

Kurt Tepesi
© Prof. Dr. Bahattin Çelik
In the arid plains of southeastern Anatolia, a quiet giant slumbers. While Göbekli Tepe has dazzled archaeologists and the global public alike as the world's earliest known temple complex, a lesser-known site within the Taş Tepeler archaeological zone is beginning to attract the curiosity of scholars: Kurt Tepesi. Long overshadowed by its more famous neighbors, Kurt Tepesi is now emerging as a crucial piece in the complex puzzle of early Neolithic society.

Located within the Şanlıurfa province of Türkiye, Kurt Tepesi forms part of the ambitious Taş Tepeler Project, a network of twelve archaeological mounds that challenge the traditional narrative of civilization's dawn. This collective of sites — including Karahan Tepe, Sayburç, Sefer Tepe, and Harbetsuvan — is revealing that monumental architecture, social organization, and symbolic behavior flourished in the Fertile Crescent far earlier than previously believed.

Yet among these names, Kurt Tepesi has remained strangely quiet in both media and academic circles. This is not due to a lack of potential. On the contrary, Kurt Tepesi may offer a rare window into a transitional phase of Neolithic life — one that bridges the gap between mobile forager societies and settled, symbolically complex communities.

Info

Newly discovered 'ghost' lineage linked to ancient mystery population in Tibet, DNA study finds

A study of more than 100 genomes from people who lived in ancient China has unmasked a "ghost" in their midst.
burial of Xingyi_EN,
© Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and ArchaeologyThe burial of Xingyi_EN, a woman who died in the Early Neolithic period in Yunnan Province, China.
A 7,100-year-old skeleton from China has revealed a "ghost" lineage that scientists had only theorized about until now, a new study finds.

Researchers made the discovery while studying ancient skeletons that could help them map the diverse genetics of central China. The DNA of this ghost lineage individual, an Early Neolithic woman who was buried at the Xingyi archaeological site in southwestern China's Yunnan province, also holds clues to the origins of Tibetan people.

"There likely were more of her kind, but they just haven't been sampled yet," study co-author Qiaomei Fu, a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, told Live Science in an email.

Fu and colleagues detailed their analysis of 127 human genomes from southwestern China in a study published May 29 in the journal Science. Most of the skeletons that they sampled were dated between 1,400 and 7,150 years ago and came from Yunnan province, which today has the highest ethnic and linguistic diversity in all of China.

"Ancient humans that lived in this region may be key to addressing several remaining questions on the prehistoric populations of East and Southeast Asia," the researchers wrote in the study. Those unanswered questions include the origins of people who live on the Tibetan Plateau, as previous studies have shown that Tibetans have northern East Asian ancestry along with a unique ghost ancestry that has mystified researchers.

The oldest person the researchers tested was found to be the missing link between Tibetans and the ghost' lineage.

Attention

Bear attack leaves woman critical after attack near Llubljana, Slovenia

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A woman has been left critically injured after being set upon by a bear in a forested area, with residents warned to stay away as the animal fled.

The attack happened Tuesday at the edge of the forest in Skofljica, some 10 kilometres (6 miles) southeast of Slovenia's capital city, Ljubljana, police said. The bear is said to have launched a horror attack on the woman before retreating into the forest, with authorities urging Skofljica residents to keep away from the area and be cautious. It came just days after authorities approved the culling of 206 brown bears, whose population in the area has grown to around 1,000.

The small Alpine nation of just over 2 million people is home to several vast forests with many protected nature zones. Despite strong opposition from animal rights groups, authorities occasionally approve bear or wolf culls. Two bear attacks on people were recorded in 2022, according to Slovenia's official STA news agency.

Comment: Related:


Doberman

1-month-old girl mauled to death by family dog while in bed at Queens, New York home

MMMMMMMM
Authorities are investigating a deadly dog mauling of a 1-month-old girl in Queens, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the case.

Investigators were at the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City on Tuesday, bringing out bags of evidence from a 6th-floor apartment unit which became the setting of a disturbing scene.

A police source told NBC New York that the mother of the child called 911, claiming the baby girl was sleeping in bed between her and her boyfriend. When the couple woke up, they allegedly saw their German shepherd-pit bull mix puppy attacking the infant.

The dog had jumped on the bed and was biting the girl's face, according to the law enforcement source.

Lightning

Lightning strike kills over 100 livestock in Jammu and Kashmir, India

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Over 100 sheep and goats belonging to nomadic families were killed after they were struck by lightning in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident occured in the upper reaches of the Budhal sub-division, when lightning, accompanied by heavy thunder and hail storm, hit a shepherd's camp during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, officials said.

The nomadic families from the Targain village of Budhal had moved to the upper reaches along with their livestock as part of the seasonal migration in search of greener pastures and established their camp near Marg top as per their traditional practice.

A team of officials from the Budhal Sheep and Husbandry Department visited the site this morning and prepared a detailed report on the losses incurred by the affected families, who have made an urgent appeal for compensation and rehabilitation support.


Doberman

6-year-old girl mauled to death by stray dogs in Karnataka, India

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In a heart-wrenching incident that highlights the growing menace of stray dogs in Karnataka, a 6-year-old girl was mauled to death in Tiptur taluk of Tumkur district.

The victim, identified as Divya, was playing in front of her house in Ayyanbavi village when a pack of stray dogs suddenly attacked her. The brutal assault left the child with severe injuries, including her intestines being exposed due to the bites.

Hearing her screams, neighbors rushed to the spot and managed to chase away the dogs. Divya was immediately taken to Tiptur Hospital, but tragically, she succumbed to her injuries during treatment.

The incident has triggered outrage among locals, with growing calls for urgent government intervention to control the stray dog population and prevent such tragedies.