Animals
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Doberman

Pet owner dead, 'attacked by her two pit bull terriers" in Irving, Texas

PIT BULL ATTACK
A Texas woman died on Saturday after she was "attacked by her two pit bull terriers," police said.

Officers arrived at North O'Connor Road to help out the fire department, who was called to a veterinary facility about "reports of a woman in need of medical attention," Irving Police said in a news release on Facebook.

The fatal encounter took place at the O'Connor Animal Hospital, Fox 4 News reported, citing police.


Fish

Lagoon's 'incredible refuge' may hold secret to coral survival

Coral reef
Shoals of fish use the channel as a highway, dodging the prowling sharks
In a huge 'sea' in the Seychelles coral reefs survive rapid changes in temperatures and scientists are keen to find out why.

The secret to coral survival in a warming world could lie in Aldabra's vast inland 'sea'.

Coral reefs in the huge lagoon, which is big enough to swallow Manhattan twice over, survived the mass bleaching event in 2016 in much better health than those that ring the outside of the atoll.

Preliminary results from new research show that tiles placed on the bottom of the lagoon attract many more coral larvae than identical tiles placed on the fringing reef.

Doberman

One-year-old boy mauled to death by two dogs in Fresno, California

canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A 1-year-old boy was killed and his grandmother was injured Friday morning after being attacked by two dogs in southeast Fresno, Fresno police reported.

Officers were dispatched about 11 a.m. to a home in the 5900 block of East Kaviland Avenue where they found the child suffering from dog bites, Fresno police Lt. Mark Hudson said. The officers performed CPR and the child was then taken by ambulance to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.


Cloud Precipitation

Hundreds of birds die as massive hailstorm hits Newcastle, South Africa

Dead falcons
Dead falcons
Over 1,000 falcon birds are reported to have been injured or died overnight after a massive hail storm swept suddenly into Newcastle in South Africa, wreaking havoc in the space of just 15 minutes (see photos below). Fortunately for the quick thinking of local caring residents, more of the birds - which have migrated to SA from the Amur River bordering Russia and China - didn't die and will be rehabilitated.

Residents of the KwaZulu-Natal town awoke this morning to destruction with car windows smashed and shattered by the hailstones which were the size of golfballs (some said there were even bigger pieces, the size of tennis balls). Many roofs were destroyed, and rainwater flooded into homes. Even some pets sadly died.


Info

'Justin Beaver' sighting portends bad news for Washingtonians!

Justin Beaver
© The Wharf WratsA beaver was spotted in the Washington Channel Friday as cherry blossoms reach stage three of their development: extension of florets. This could be a bad sign as 20 years ago, a beaver family wreaked havoc upon the Tidal Basin's trees.
As Washington, D.C., gears up for cherry blossom tourist season, a toothy rodent has made a reappearance.

A beaver was spotted in the Washington Channel off the Southwest Waterfront as cherry blossoms reach stage three of their development: extension of florets.

The varmint was spotted Friday near the Wharf in Southwest D.C., scrounging on a piece of wood and staring into the distance.

The scaly tailed rodent, nicknamed "Justin Beaver" by the people who spotted it, could be a bad sign for the District's cherry blossoms: 20 years ago, a beaver wreaked havoc on the cherry blossoms.

Attention

Strange virus may be killing turtles in St. Johns River, Florida

Softshell turtles in Florida may be dying to a virus.
© Tim Shortt / FLORIDA TODAYSoftshell turtles in Florida may be dying to a virus.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says an unknown virus may be to blame for hundreds of turtles dying in the St. Johns River.

According to a spokesperson for the commission, scientists at the University of Florida have identified a novel virus in 18 dead turtles discovered along the river. They say the virus seems to be a common link in the samples.

Since last March, FWC says more about 300 fresh-water softshell and cooter turtles have been reported dead or sick in the massive river. Experts say it doesn't appear the toxic algae is contributing to the deaths, nor do any other types of animals seem to be affected.

The commission says they will continue to take samples and study the virus in order to learn more about what's going on.

Comment: Mysterious freshwater turtle die-off in at least 3 counties of Florida


Cow

As many as a million calves lost to devastating flooding in Nebraska

FLOODS
"This is the biggest disaster, as far as damage, we've ever experienced in our state," says Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts.

You've got to watch this video!


Attention

Dead whale washes up at San Onofre Beach, California

A dead whale washed up at San Onofre
© Missy SandersA dead whale washed up at San Onofre State Beach on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
TJ Cruz was out surfing the waves at San Onofre State Beach on Wednesday morning, March 20, when he noticed a lifeguard boat close to shore.

It was only after he got to shore that he realized why the boat was there — to haul a dead whale carcass off the beach.

"At first, we didn't know what was going on, some of the guys started pointing at it," Cruz said.

The whale, which Cruz estimated was about 30 feet long, tumbled around in the shorebreak of the rocky beach between the surf breaks Old Man's and Dog Patch. The first attempt by State lifeguards to haul it away was unsuccessful, with the line tangling. On the second attempt, they were able to take it far offshore, away from the beach.


Doberman

75-year-old mauled to death by family's 6 pit bull terriers in Thailand

PIT BULL ATTACK
A family have returned home to find the 75 year old grandmother had been attacked and mauled by the family's six pit bull terriers.

The woman, named Iat, was lying in a pool of blood outside the house in Bang Bua Thong, Nonthaburi, on the west side of the Chao Phraya, Bangkok.

Sanook reports that she had been bitten all over suffering dozens of bites was already deceased.

Fish

Giant sunfish washes up on beach in South Australia: 'I thought it was a shipwreck'

Fishermen find rare giant-sized sunfish
Fishermen find rare giant-sized sunfish
A rare giant sunfish has washed ashore at the mouth of the Murray River in South Australia.

Linette Grzelak posted a picture on Facebook of the sunfish, which was spotted by a couple of fishers on the beach at the weekend.

"My partner was out with his work crew and he thought it was a piece of shipwreck at first," she told Guardian Australia.

This ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is a rare find for that location, said Ralph Foster, the fish collection manager at the South Australian Museum.