Animals
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Attention

Devastating swarms of locusts now headed for the Middle East - UN forecaster


Sputnik
Tue, 17 Mar 2020 12:57 UTC
Locusts
© REUTERS / Njeri MwangiA swarm of desert locusts flying over a grazing land in Kenya.
Swarms of desert locusts have been wreaking havoc in large parts of East Africa, Iran and Pakistan, as desperate farmers struggle to fend off the marauding insects.

The most devastating plague of locusts in over 30 years is about to hit Africa and the Middle East, according to Rome-based Senior Locust Forecasting Officer Keith Cressman.

The officer, who is employed by Locust Watch, a division of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization, on Monday cited the organization's most recent report forecasting that new "extremely alarming" swarms of the insects were forming in the Horn of Africa.

Comment: The unprecedented plague of locusts is just one of a number of effects likely related to our planet's increasingly erratic seasons and extreme weather patterns. We've already seen the damage early frosts, summer droughts and golf ball sized hail - to name but a few - can do to our food supply, but there are other equally disastrous knock on effects that may not be immediately apparent. And for an idea of just how some of these changes are affecting wildlife, a recent article Spring arriving earlier across the US throwing wildlife into disarray notes:
Warmer spring temperatures have also led beetles, moths and butterflies to emerge earlier than in recent years. Similarly, hibernating species like frogs and bears emerge from hibernation earlier in warm springs.All species don't respond to warming the same way. When species that depend on one another — such as pollinating insects and plants seeking pollination - don't respond similarly to changing conditions, populations suffer.

In Japan, the spring-flowering ephemeral Corydalis ambigua produces fewer seeds than in previous decades because it now flowers earlier than when bumblebees, its primary pollinators, are active.

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Wolf

21 injured in suspected wolf attack in Uttar Pradesh, India


The Times of India
Thu, 12 Mar 2020 20:12 UTC
wolf
Indian wolf
As many as 21 villagers were injured in a possible wolf attack in Dhaurahra area of Lakhimpur Kheri district on Sunday night. The attacks took place in a span of a couple of hours after sunset. All the victims belonged to eight villages adjacent to the buffer zone of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. All are located within a 16-km radius comprising some 20 villages.

Some of the victims claimed that a lone wolf had attacked them. However, forest department officials are yet to ascertain if it was a wolf or a jackal. However, they are certain that the same carnivore attacked all the victims. They are trying to locate the animal that has created panic among the residents of nearly 20 villages in Dhaurahra. They suspect that the animal may have lost its senses after failing to get a mate and is attacking everyone or it may have become rabid.

A recent census by WWF-India had confirmed the presence of 100 Indian wolves in the Dhaurahra forests. The Indian wolf is protected under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
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Black Cat

Mountain lion attacks person, bites deputy in Big Thompson Canyon, Colorado

Brooklyn Dance and Miles Blumhardt
Fort Collins Coloradoan
Thu, 12 Mar 2020 13:08 UTC
A cougar
© DreamstimeA cougar
The quiet of a recreational vehicle park along the lazy running Big Thompson River west of Loveland was shattered Wednesday afternoon when law enforcement shot and wounded a mountain lion that attacked a resident and a female deputy.

The animal was later killed by state wildlife officials.

The attacked occurred just after 2 p.m. at the Riverview RV Park, 2444 River Rim Road.

An eyewitness said the Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputy is lucky to be alive. She was transported to an area hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to LCSO spokesman David Moore.

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Doberman

Family pit bull terrier kills toddler in Portsmouth, Virginia

Michelle Ewing
wsoctv.com
Thu, 12 Mar 2020 12:54 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
A Virginia toddler has died after a family dog bit her, authorities said.

According to WAVY-TV, the deadly attack occurred Monday afternoon in Portsmouth.

A 1-year-old male pit bull bit a 2-year-old girl, who died at a nearby hospital, police said.

Portsmouth police said the dog was a family pet, The Associated Press reported. Authorities said they have quarantined the animal.

Police and animal control officers are investigating the incident, according to the news outlets. No further information was immediately available.

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Attention

Rare oarfish washes up in the Philippines sparking fears of impending disaster


Strange Sounds
Wed, 11 Mar 2020 12:27 UTC
Rare oarfish washes ashore in the Philippines on March 3, 2020. Picture via Youtube video
Rare oarfish washes ashore in the Philippines on March 3, 2020. Picture via Youtube video
A rare Oarfish washed ashore on a beach in the Philippines, sparking fears of an impending disaster.

The 14ft long creature was found by concerned locals on the sand in Surigao del Norte, Philippines, on March 3, 2020.

Locals transported the giant sea creature from the Punta Beach in the town of Tinago, Malimono, where it was treated but later died.

While residents believe the oarfish is a sign of an impending earthquake, local authorities said that the belief is baseless.

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Butterfly

The bird's-eye view: How birds see the world compared to humans

Hamza Naseem
Sciencephile
Fri, 28 Feb 2020 18:38 UTC
Rockhopper Penguin
© Ian Glover/FlickrRockhopper Penguin
How is it that an eagle can snatch a rabbit off the ground from hundreds of feet in the air and we can not even grab a glass off a table without knocking it over? It's because they see the world differently from us.

Thankfully, a recent scientific research has revealed an astonishing world of vision diversity across the animal kingdom.

The dragonfly brain works so fast that it sees movements in slow motion, snakes pick up infrared thermal signals from hot objects, thus detecting their prey, while horses and zebras have their eyes pointed to the side, which allowing them to have a peripheral vision and to avoid the dangers when necessary.
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Arrow Down

Two super-rare white giraffes, including world's only known female, killed by poachers in Kenya

Elias Marat
The Mind Unleashed
Wed, 11 Mar 2020 12:47 UTC
Giraffes
HIROLA CONSERVANCY: The giraffes lived in an unfenced conservancy
In the latest senseless crime against wildlife, two extremely rare white giraffes in Kenya have reportedly been killed by poachers.

Rangers at the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy discovered the carcasses of a female white giraffe and her calf in a village in Garissa County.

Conservancy manager Mohammed Ahmednoor on Tuesday said that after a long search, they were only able to recover the super-rare animals' skeletal remains. In a statement, he said:

"This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffe.

It's killing is a blow to the tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species and a wake-up call for continued support to conservation efforts.

This is a long-term loss given that genetics studies and research which were significant investment into the area by researchers, has now gone to the drain. Also, the white giraffe was a big boost to tourism in the area."
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Attention

86 dusky dolphins found dead on remote Namibian beach

Nyasha Nyaungwa
MSN
Tue, 10 Mar 2020 12:02 UTC
Probe launched after 86 dolphins die on beach
Probe launched after 86 dolphins die on beach
Namibia said on Monday that 86 dusky dolphins, including two calves just days old, had been found dead on a remote beach and it had launched an investigation into what happened.

Marine biologist Kolette Grobler estimated that the mammals had been dead for about a week before they were found on Friday by commercial lobster fishermen at Hottentot Bay, some 40 km (25 miles) north of the southwestern coastal town of Luderitz.

"We suspect that one of them was injured or got sick and called on the others for help, and this might have caused them to accidentally beach themselves," Grobler said.
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Attention

Three whales dead in Northland, New Zealand after second stranding in one day

Ryan Anderson
Stuff
Tue, 10 Mar 2020 19:41 UTC
The two whales still stranded were euthanised around 11am on Tuesday
© ABI MONTEITH/DOCThe two whales still stranded were euthanised around 11am on Tuesday
Three pygmy killer whales have died after a small pod was stranded onshore at a Northland beach overnight, less than a day after another stranded whale died.

Four whales were found on Waipu beach about 6pm Monday and reported to Project Jonah and the Department of Conservation. One of the pygmy whales had to be euthanised on Monday night, with two more following close to eleven on Tuesday morning as they were too ill to be saved. The fourth whale is still believed to have been successfully re-floated and in the ocean.

DoC spokeswoman Abi Monteith said local iwi will now decide what to do with the whales. They will either be cleansed, buried or passed on for scientific research.

Comment: Also recently a dead Gray whale washed up in San Clemente, California and a lifeless Humpback appeared at Nags Head, North Carolina (both on March 6th).

A dead whale washed up on shore in San Clemente
© Matt LarmandA dead whale washed up on shore in San Clemente on Friday, March 6, before being hauled off to be examined for cause of death.

Humpback whale was washed ashore in Nags Head, NC.
© Charlotte ObserverHumpback whale was washed ashore in Nags Head, NC.


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Cow

Signs and Portents: Two-headed calf dies on Fiji

Anish Chand
The Fiji Times
Mon, 09 Mar 2020 12:00 UTC
2 headed
© Facebook/I Love Animals Group
A small farming community in Rakiraki marvelled at the birth of a stillborn two-headed calf last Friday.

For many in Rarapatu, the event gave them the opportunity to witness the unique deformity for the first time.

"The cow was having difficulties in giving birth so we called a traditional masseur who managed to assist in the birth process,' said animal owner Karan Naidu.

He said the rare phenomenon was only marred by the death of the deformed calf.

"We buried it and the only consolation is that its mother is OK."
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