Animals
S


Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 108 goats, sheep in Rajouri, India

Sumit Bhargav
Greater Kashmir
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:23 UTC
dead goats
An official said the nomadic families camping in Kund Karyote area were on way to their homes in Lamberi and Teryath areas of district last night when lightning struck, killing 108 goats and sheep.

Over 100 goats and sheep were killed by a lightning bolt in Kund Karyote village area of Thanamandi tehsil of Rajouri district, officials said on Friday.

An official said the nomadic families camping in Kund Karyote area were on way to their homes in Lamberi and Teryath areas of district last night when lightning struck, killing 108 goats and sheep.

There was no report of any human loss in the incident, he said.

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Attention

Signs and Portents: Sheep gives birth to two-headed lamb in farm on Karnataka, India


Asianet
Sun, 28 Oct 2018 20:08 UTC
FREAK SHEEP
A lamb was born with two heads at a farm in Gadag, Karnataka.

The sheep that gave birth to this mutated lamb belongs to Devappa Sanganala.

The people of Itagi village rushed to Sanganala's farm to have a look at the lamb.

A vet hasn't been consulted yet, and the lamb's medical condition hasn't been confirmed yet.

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Heart - Black

Circus horror: Watch as lioness attacks 4 year old girl during show


RT
Mon, 29 Oct 2018 11:44 UTC
lion attack child circus
Screenshot from a YouTube video of the incident.
A traveling circus performance in Russia was interrupted in a horrible way after a lioness suddenly attacked a 4-year-old girl through the fence around the arena.

The terrifying incident, which was caught on video, happened in Uspenskoye, a town of some 12,000 residents, located in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. The footage, filmed by one of the spectators, shows the lioness lying on the floor after instructions from the tamer. She then suddenly rushes across the arena and reaches out at a small girl standing with her back to the animal at the first row of seats. Cries of horror are heard as circus workers rush to save the child.

The girl, with claw and bite wounds on her face and chest, was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. According to medics, her life is not in danger, but she is to be transferred to the regional capital, where a better child trauma center will continue her treatment.

Comment: Those who visit circuses that beat animals into submission to be used for entertainment shouldn't be surprised to find that the animal is still actually wild. Although it does seem that animals are going on the attack more frequently these days:

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Doberman

1-year-old dies a week after family dog attacks her in Edgecombe County, North Carolina

Ed Crump
abc11.com
Tue, 30 Oct 2018 11:07 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
The Edgecombe County 1-year-old injured after her family dog attacked her has died.

The attack happened Oct. 22 on the back porch of the family's home about six miles outside of Rocky Mount.

The mother of the child said she tried to stab the dog to get it off her baby.

"This animal was strong and she did try to stab it, beat it, and get him off and it did not work," said Edgecombe County Sheriff Cleveland "Clee" Atkinson Jr.

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Attention

'Unprecedented' number of dead whales have washed up in Scotland and Ireland - 10 times usual number

Tom Metcalfe
Live Science
Mon, 29 Oct 2018 10:29 UTC
This dead Cuvier's beaked whale
© Margaret Mulrooney/Irish Whale and Dolphin GroupThis dead Cuvier's beaked whale was found in Sligo Bay in Ireland on Aug. 9, 2018.
A total of 80 deep-water whales have been found dead on the Atlantic coasts of Scotland and Ireland since early August — more than 10 times the usual number over that time in previous years.

Marine mammal scientists say the presence of the washed-up whales suggests an "unusual mortality event," or UME, that could have killed up to 1,000 Cuvier's beaked whales in the North Atlantic Ocean in recent months.

The cause of the whale deaths is unknown, but scientists fear they may be the result of warships using active sonar to hunt for enemy submarines, or naval anti-submarine exercises.

Simon Berrow, a marine biologist who heads the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), a conservation NGO, told LiveScience that 30 dead beaked whales had washed up on Ireland's west coast since Aug. 4.
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Attention

Rare Sowerby's beaked whale washes up on beach in Brighton, UK


The Argus
Sat, 27 Oct 2018 10:14 UTC
dead whale
A rare whale washed up on a beach last night (Friday) in what has been described as a once-in-a-century event.

The 4.2m long Sowerby's beaked whale is thought to have become stranded at Saltdean shortly before 8pm.

Newhaven Coastguard was called to the scene where they found the dead whale.

They said in a statement: "The team were tasked to investigate a stranded whale on the beach at Saltdean.

"When the team arrived the 4.2 metre long Sowerby' beaked whale was deceased.

"The whale was pulled approximately 120 metres to the promenade using salvage equipment supplied by Cutts Marine."
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Attention

Endangered 60-foot fin whale washes up on Belgian beach


NDTV
Thu, 25 Oct 2018 09:23 UTC
Carcass of a large fin whale stranded on the beach in De Haan.
© AFPCarcass of a large fin whale stranded on the beach in De Haan.
An 18-metre (60-foot) fin whale washed up overnight on a Belgian beach after dying offshore, in what the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences called a rare event.

The male whale, which weighed 35 tonnes, was first spotted at sea on Wednesday before its body drifted to the Coq beach near Bruges, the first time such an event has occurred in 21 years, local media said.

Fin whales are a protected species and are the world's second biggest mammals after blue whales.

The huge carcass was to be cut up and moved to a site where specialists will try to determine the cause of death.

On its Twitter account, the institute asked spectators to keep their distance while the operation was ongoing.
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Doberman

Pit bull terrier brutally attacks schoolgirl, mother in Turkey


Hurriyet Daily News
Wed, 24 Oct 2018 10:54 UTC
dog attack
An eight-year-old schoolgirl and her mother were seriously injured on Oct. 23 when a pitbull attacked her in Turkey's Central Anatolian province of Kırşehir.

The girl, identified as Hatice Aydoğdu, was waiting for her school shuttle when a pitbull accompanied by a stray dog ran up to her and bit her repeatedly.

Sinem Aydoğdu, the girl's mother, quickly tried to save her daughter but could not stop the dog for several minutes.

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Attention

Bryde's whale found dead near Cape Town, South Africa

Lucinda Dordley
capetownetc.com
Tue, 23 Oct 2018 09:36 UTC
dad whale
Cape Town's sea life has had a trying time this week, as an eight-metre long Bryde's Whale was discovered floating in the waters near Glencairn in Simon's Town.

According to Wayne Dyason, City of Cape Town Law Enforcement spokesperson, the whale was dead on discovery. "The cause of death is unknown but an autopsy will be done to determine the cause of death," he said.

Law Enforcement officers in Melkbos Strand were also successful in foiling the plans of illegal fishers.

Two men were observed entering the waters of Melkbos in full diving equipment, and officers suspected that they were fishing illegally. This hunch proved to be right as they were found to be in possession of undersized West Coast Rock Lobsters, as well as abalone.
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Bug

Shore of Greek lake gets covered in gigantic spider webs


Sputnik
Mon, 22 Oct 2018 10:10 UTC
A man carries a branch as spider webs blanket shrubs at the banks of Lake Vistonida, Greece, October 19, 2018.
© REUTERS / ALEXANDROS AVRAMIDISA man carries a branch as spider webs blanket shrubs at the banks of Lake Vistonida, Greece, October 19, 2018.
The shores of Lake Vistonida in Greece were transformed into a truly surreal landscape as they became blanketed in massive spider webs.

This peculiar phenomenon was apparently caused by unusually warm weather which led to an increase in the mosquito population and therefore triggered an overpopulation of spiders that feed on these insects.

The spiders are from the genus Tetragnatha, known as stretch spiders due to their elongated bodies.

They are known to build webs near watery habitats, with some species even said to be able to walk on water.

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