Animals
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The vegan lobby - Meat-free diet for everyone


Waterford Whispers News
Thu, 07 Feb 2019 22:26 UTC
Vegans
© Waterford Whispers News
IT has never been a more dangerous time in human history to be a meat eater AKA someone who doesn't have their head in the feckin' clouds.

Meat eaters run the daily risk of being attacked by savage, feral vegans who will stop at nothing until every single one of us is dead, or worse, converted to veganism.

Now is the time to stay vigilant as the Big-Vegan lobby, hellbent on ruining your dinner with thoughts of how it got to your table, find ever more disgusting ways to plot a meat-free diet for everyone.
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Attention

Large tiger shark bites surfer in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii


Star Advertiser
Mon, 04 Feb 2019 17:47 UTC
SHARK
A surfer was bitten by a large tiger shark off Kauai this afternoon, prompting the closure of Hanalei Bay.

The shark bite happened shortly before 1:45 p.m. as the man was surfing at a spot known as "the bowl," according to Kauai ocean safety officials.

He suffered multiple cuts to his leg and was taken by medics to Wilcox Hospital, officials said. His condition was not immediately released.

Lifeguards have posted "Shark sighted" and "No swimming" signs along Hanalei Bay and are warning people to stay out of the water, officials said.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources was notified, officials said, and lifeguards will reassess the water Tuesday morning to determine if it is safe for swimming.
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Binoculars

Wrong place, wrong time: Songbird that should be wintering in Mexico turns up in Ottawa, Canada

Tom Spears
Ottawa Citizen
Wed, 06 Feb 2019 16:32 UTC
A Lazuli Bunting, photo by Bruce Di Labio on February 4, 2019.
© BRUCE DILABIOA Lazuli Bunting, photo by Bruce Di Labio on February 4, 2019.
When Denise Smith spotted a songbird on her backyard feeder, she wasn't prepared for how rare it would turn out to be, or for having her home staked out by enthusiastic birders.

The lazuli bunting is a little fluffball from the southwestern United States. It is the eleventh time the species has been spotted in Ontario, and its first time in winter anywhere in Canada. It should be in Mexico now.

Now the power of listservs — an electronic mailing list for subscribers — has kicked in, bringing birders from all over Ottawa with cameras and binoculars.
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Attention

600 dead Olive Ridleys turtles wash ashore in two days in Odisha, India


The New Indian Express
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 16:08 UTC
Dead and dying turtles
Dead and dying turtles
Carcasses of around 600 Olive Ridley turtles and two dolphins washed ashore have been recovered by forest officials in the last two days. The carcasses were found on the beach from Hukitola to Eakakula in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary areas.

It is suspected that the turtles were killed after being hit by fishing trawlers or entangled in nets in the sea. Though there is a prohibition on fishing in 20 km distance from the beach in Gahirmatha, the trawler operators take fishing illegally there, alleged Hemant Rout, an environmentalist and secretary of Gahirmatha Marine Turtles and Mangrove Conservation Society.

The forest and wildlife officials have been hoodwinking the State Government and the people by providing less numbers of dead turtles to the authorities to save their skins. The death of nearly 1.7 lakh turtles over the past 17 years is sure to adversely affect the population of endangered marine species, he added.
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Attention

Hundreds of starfish wash ashore in Kinmel Bay and Prestatyn, Wales

Suzanne Kendrick
Rhyl Journal
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 15:51 UTC
starfish
Hundreds of starfish have been found washed up on the beach in Kinmel Bay.

The sad sight, which also included fish, was spotted on Monday, January 28.

A resident, who asked not to be named, was out walking with her sister at about 1pm when they stumbled across the "horror".

She said: "We were shocked and terrible saddened.

"The weather the night before was terrible and so windy. I actually walked to the sea wall and didn't realise that, while I was taking in the view, all those creatures were being thrown around.

"I've recently moved to the area and one of the reasons why is because I love this coast and the wonderful wildlife here."
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Attention

Eight more dolphins found stranded in Lee County, Florida

Jake Allen
Naples Daily News
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 15:40 UTC
A dead dolphin is washed up on the beach south
© Roger JacobsenA dead dolphin is washed up on the beach south of Lowdermilk Park close to North Lake Drive in Naples on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.
Eight dolphins were found stranded in Lee County during the government shutdown, but the shutdown's effects on the federal program that helps study the cause of the deaths are unclear.

Some of the eight animals were too decomposed to be identified with certainty, but it's likely all of them were bottlenose dolphins, said Kim Amendola, a communications supervisor for the fisheries division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

No stranded dolphins were found in Collier County, Amendola said. She could not be reached for further comment about where in Lee County the dolphins were found.

The discovery of the eight dolphins comes after 42 dolphins were found dead on beaches in Collier and Lee counties Nov. 21-30.

Comment: Agencies overwhelmed as over 127 dead dolphins wash up on Southwest Florida shores in 2018

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Fish

Thousands of dead fish wash up on beach in Western Australia

Chris Leitch and Stuart Horton
Perth Now
Wed, 06 Feb 2019 12:02 UTC
dead fish
© Carle Rothero-Maree
Thousands of dead fish - all of the same species - have washed up along several hundred metres of coast in Rockingham this morning.

The Department of Fisheries is investigating what caused the deaths of the fish, which officers said were scaly mackerel.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's Brad Tilley said a report was first received about seven dead fish near Palm Beach jetty on Tuesday but no dead fish were observed by officers.

Mr Tilley, DPIRD's acting compliance manager, said officers returned to the beach after more reports came in on Wednesday morning.

"Fisheries officers attended and took water and fish samples around the Palm Beach jetty, and Rockingham yacht club jetty areas, which are about 500-600 metres apart," he said.

"The numbers of fish were estimated to be more than a thousand.

"The species of fish is scaly mackerel, with no other fish species observed among the dead fish.
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Black Cat

Mountain lion attacks jogger near Fort Collins, Colorado

Keith Coffman
The Irish Times
Wed, 06 Feb 2019 11:32 UTC
A cougar
© DreamstimeA cougar
A Colorado jogger strangled a juvenile mountain lion in the foothills of Horsetooth Mountain northwest of Denver, acting in self-defence after the predator attacked him, authorities said on Tuesday.

The man, who was not identified, survived the life-and-death struggle in the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, a mountain park less than 110km (70 miles) from Denver, officials said.

The man was running on a trail when the juvenile cougar attacked him from behind, biting and clawing his face, back, legs and arms, state and local officials said in a joint statement late on Monday.

During the struggle, the man strangled the wild animal with his bare hands, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Rebecca Ferrell said by phone on Tuesday.


Comment: Two of the 20 rare fatalities noted above occurred in 2018: Mountain lion kills biker near North Bend, Washington

Cougar blamed for fatal attack on woman in Oregon park - first for the state

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Attention

Mass seabird deaths baffle researchers, thousands wash up on Dutch beaches


DutchNews.nl
Tue, 05 Feb 2019 16:19 UTC
seabird
© Depositphotos.com
As many as 20,000 guillemots have died in Dutch waters in the past few weeks, baffling researchers, broadcaster NOS said on Tuesday. The sea birds, which breed on cliffs and live on fish and crustaceans, are being washed up dead on Dutch shores from the Wadden Islands to Zeeland.

In addition, hundreds of weakened birds have been taken to animal shelters for treatment. 'The death total is very high. We have not seen such mass deaths since the 1980s and 1990s,' marine biologist Mardik Leopold from Wageningen University told NOS.

No-one yet knows the cause of the deaths. Some have speculated that plastic from the hundreds of containers which fell from a cargo ship last month could be responsible. Others have suggested paraffin washed up on the beaches could be to blame.

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Attention

Signs and Portents: Rare piglet born with two heads, two snouts and three eyes in the Philippines

Bhvishya Patel
Daily Mail
Mon, 04 Feb 2019 16:25 UTC
The rare piglet is held in front of locals in the village of Calian, Sultan Kudarat, Phillippines
The rare piglet is held in front of locals in the village of Calian, Sultan Kudarat, Phillippines
A piglet in the Phillippines has left villagers astounded after she was born with two heads, two snouts and three eyes.

The footage, captured in the village of Calian, Sultan Kudarat, on January 31, shows the rare animal, who was the last to be born in a little of eight, being held by her owner Adelita Dalipe.

The unusual piglet, who has been named 'Mara Clara', is being kept in a separate enclosure for her own safety and is being provided with constant care.

In the clip, Mara Clara's owner holds her piglet in front of locals as the animal wriggles in her arms.

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