Animals
S


Attention

Bear, cubs kill worker at remote silver mine in Alaska

Becky Bohrer
pahomepage.com
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 11:28 UTC
Bear attack
A female bear and her two cubs mauled and killed a young man working at a remote mine site on a southeast Alaska island with one of the highest bear densities in the state, authorities said Monday.

Anthony David Montoya, 18, a contract worker from Hollis, Oklahoma, died at a remote drill site accessible only by helicopter, according to Hecla Greens Creek Mine and authorities. Mine officials said workers receive training on how to deal with bears because of the large number in the area.

Alaska State Troopers said Montoya was mauled by the three bears, all of which were killed before they arrived. It was not immediately clear who killed them.

Montoya worked for Idaho-based Timberline Drilling, which provides core drilling services at Greens Creek, the mine said in a release. His body was being taken to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

Comment: In the same state, just back in June a hiker was killed by brown bear on the outskirts of Anchorage

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 23 cows in Nigeria

Ayodele Afolabi
The Guardian (Nigeria)
Wed, 03 Oct 2018 09:42 UTC
lightning
A deafening thunderstorm that accompanied a heavy rainfall recorded in some communities in Ekiti State, has killed 23 cows.

The incident, which occurred at Okeowa Eluju, a farmstead in Iloro-Ekiti, Ijero Local Government Area, it was gathered yesterday, is causing panic among residents.

Residents of the community, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said a deadly lightning from a thunderstorm killed the cows.
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Binoculars

New species of hummingbird identified in Ecuador


PHYS.ORG
Tue, 02 Oct 2018 10:40 UTC
The new hummingbird species Oreotrochilus cyanolaemus is said to be in danger of extinction
The new hummingbird species Oreotrochilus cyanolaemus is said to be in danger of extinction
A team of ornithologists in Ecuador has identified a new species of hummingbird: a lovely blue-green creature that lives in a cold, barren highland area and is danger of extinction.

Team leader Francisco Sornoza saw one of the birds through binoculars a year ago and had a hunch that it was a previously unknown species.

The bird is about 11 cm (four inches) long and has a stunning, deep blue neck, a white breast with a black stripe and greenish-blue head and body feathers.

It has been given the name Oreotrochilus cyanolaemus, or blue-throated star. The discovery was announced Thursday in a journal called The Auk: Ornithological Advances.
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Attention

Signs and Portents: Mutant turtle born with two heads in China still alive after 3 months

Scott Feng and Elaine McCahill
Mirror
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 14:03 UTC
A mutant turtle born with two heads has defied the odds to live for three months
© AsiaWireA mutant turtle born with two heads has defied the odds to live for three months
A mutant turtle born with two heads has defied the odds by surviving for three months.

The red-eared slider was given to a wildlife rescue shelter in Shangrao city in East China's Jiangxi province.

Officials say they will not release it into the wild because it may not survive on its own - and might lead to unwanted effects in the turtle gene pool.

The red-eared slider is native to the southern United States and northern Mexico, and is considered an invasive species in China and other countries in the world due to their popularity as pets.

Wildlife rescue shelter staff member Tu Jun said: "It is a red-eared slider, but its probability of survival is very low because of the mutation."

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Attention

Teen attacked by shark while diving near San Diego, California


sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com
Sat, 29 Sep 2018 13:20 UTC
Shark attacks
A 13-year-old boy diving for lobsters was attacked by a shark on the Southern California coast early Saturday but was quickly pulled from the water by others and flown to a trauma center, authorities said.

The boy suffered traumatic upper torso injuries but the attack was "nonfatal," city Lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles told reporters at Beacon's Beach in Encinitas, about 27 miles north of downtown San Diego.

The attack occurred just before 7 a.m., during the opening hour of California's popular spiny lobster season.

The boy was attacked in about 9 feet of water approximately 150 yards offshore. He was brought to shore by three bystanders, Giles said.

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Attention

3rd Minke whale this season found dead in Cape Cod waters


San Francisco Chronicle
Sun, 30 Sep 2018 13:03 UTC
Third minke whale this season found
Third minke whale this season found
A minke whale has died in Cape Cod waters, the third such whale found in area waters this season.

The 18-foot whale that was hauled ashore Saturday in Barnstable was first spotted alive Friday morning in Wellfleet Harbor.

Brian Sharp is a marine mammal research and rescue manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. He tells the Cape Cod Times rescuers escorted the whale out to sea. It was found dead Saturday east of Barnstable Harbor.

A necropsy will be performed on the 3,500-pound whale.

Minke whale deaths are under scrutiny by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has declared an unusual mortality event along the East Coast. Since the event was declared in early 2017, 42 minke strandings have occurred from Maine to South Carolina.

Source: AP

Comment: See also: 14 minke whale deaths in Canadian Maritime Provinces this year surpasses annual average

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Attention

Second dead minke whale found in Bay of Fundy, Canada in less than a month

Jordan Gill
CBC News
Sun, 30 Sep 2018 19:19 UTC
Crews from the Marine Animal Response Society,
© New Brunswick MuseumCrews from the Marine Animal Response Society, Atlantic Veterinary College, Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station and the New Brunswick Museum are performing a necropsy on a dead minke whale that washed up onshore on Grand Manan.
Discovery of dead minke whale on Grand Manan follows death of minke whale off the coast of Campobello

A necropsy is being performed Sunday on a minke whale that washed up on the shores of Grand Manan Island, N.B., making it the second minke whale found dead in the Fundy Isles in less than one month.

The first whale died after it got wrapped up in a herring weir off of Campobello Island.

Tonya Wimmer, the executive director of the Marine Animal Response Society, said they first heard about the whale on Thursday.

She said there hasn't been any obvious signs of trauma.

"There's nothing obvious from the initial external examination, but we do need to do sort of complete look at the animal from the outside in," said Wimmer.
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Doberman

Number of people being mauled by dogs reaches all-time high in the UK

Nicola Small
Mirror
Sun, 30 Sep 2018 18:43 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
There were 8,014 dog attack victims in England in just 12 months - including 1,500 kids, 527 toddlers and 42 babies

Dog attacks have hit an all-time high despite tougher sentences for owners.

Nearly 22 people a day needed hospital treatment in the 12 months to April this year.

And of the 8,014 victims in England, 1,500 were kids, 527 toddlers and 42 babies.

The overall figure was 600 up on the previous year and 27 per cent higher than in 2012/13.

The rise uncovered by the Sunday People comes despite a legal clampdown.

In 2016 the minimum sentence for a death caused by a dangerous dog was increased to six years.
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Attention

Wildlife Service ranger killed by black rhino in Kenya

Magdalene Wanja
Daily Nation (Kenya)
Sun, 30 Sep 2018 12:35 UTC
black rhino
A Kenya Wildlife Service ranger was killed by a black rhino in Lake Nakuru National Park, officials said.

The park's senior warden Catherine Wambani confirmed the incident adding that it occurred early Saturday.

"A ranger lost his life after he was attacked by a black rhino," said Ms Wambani without divulging more details.

The ranger was on patrol inside the park in company of a colleague when the lone black rhino attacked them.
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Smiley

US Senate to be replaced with room full of monkeys


The Babylon Bee
Fri, 28 Sep 2018 17:47 UTC
US Senate
© The Babylon Bee
Washington, D.C.- In an emergency, overnight referendum, the American people voted on Thursday to replace the United States Senate with a room full of monkeys throwing feces. The measure passed with 57% of the vote.

22% of voters thought the Senate should be replaced by barking seals, while 17% voted that the replacement should be the pit of venomous snakes from Indiana Jones. 3.97% voted that Senate members be replaced by screaming goats. "About 100 people" voted for the current Senators to keep their jobs, with this tiny voting bloc centered in Washington, D.C.
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