Animals
S


Binoculars

Rare group of True's beaked whales, denizens of deep water, seen for only the third time in the North Atlantic

Colin Fernandez
Daily Mail
Wed, 18 Jul 2018 12:45 UTC
An enigma of the ocean has been photographed by passengers travelling on a ferry from Portsmouth to Spain.
An enigma of the ocean has been photographed by passengers travelling on a ferry from Portsmouth to Spain.
An enigma of the ocean has been photographed by passengers travelling on a ferry from Portsmouth to Spain.

Confirmed sightings of True's beaked whales have only been made three times previously in the North Atlantic.

Science's understanding of beaked whales has mostly been made from the stranding of dead animals.

But this group of the whales - estimated at being 16 foot (five metres) long - were spotted breaching the waters off the coast off Santander earlier this month.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 44 sheep, 12 goats in Kyrgyzstan


AKIpress
Thu, 19 Jul 2018 12:01 UTC
LIGHTNING
Lightning killed livestock in Tyup district of Issyk-Kul region, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic reported.

Lightning killed 44 sheep and 12 goats on July 17 at 22:00 on the pasture "Suran" in Kuturgu village.

The local emergency department chief, district vice governor, veterinarian, workers of animal and plant protection department, 20 locals visited the place of the accident.

Dead animals were buried in a special place 6 km away of the village in presence of representatives of the civil defense commission, Turmush reports.
Lightning kills sheep
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Attention

Cannibal pigs covered in own excrement found at supplier of UK's biggest supermarket Tesco

Oliver Pritchard
Daily Star
Thu, 19 Jul 2018 08:38 UTC
cannibal pigs hogwood farm
Undercover animal rights activists recorded a sow being eaten alive at Hogwood pig farm earlier this month.

The Viva group's footage shows a pig slumped on the floor as three others, their snouts smeared with blood, gnaw at her hind legs.

Viva, which campaigns for veganism, revisited the site after originally reporting on conditions at the farm in Oxhill, Warks, last year.

Officials who investigated alleged breaches in 2017 found no wrongdoing and Tesco continued using it as a supplier.

This prompted the campaign group to revisit the site and record conditions at the 16,000-pig farm.

Comment: There are no redeeming aspects to factory farming; it destroys the health of the land, the animals and the consumer. For more, check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Dissecting the Vegetarian Myth - Interview with Lierre Keith

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Doberman

6-year-old girl dies following pit bull attack in Jacksonville, Florida

Crystal Chen
News4jax
Wed, 18 Jul 2018 11:00 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
Statistics show pit bulls are involved in most serious, fatal dog attacks

A 6-year-old girl has died days after after she was attacked by a dog in her Arlington home.

In a message to News4Jax, Jaelah Smith's father wrote:
Unfortunately my princess is no longer with us. I would like for you guys to keep my family in your prayers
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Sun

Australia's worst drought in 116 years is decimating animals and livestock

Belinda Cleary
Daily Mail
Thu, 12 Jul 2018 10:35 UTC
aus drought
The drought is getting so bad even native wildlife are starving and dying from dehydration - these animals are roadside near Broken Hill in the outback
A severe drought gripping much of rural Australia has become so intense that even native animals - fully adapted to the harsh environment - are starving to death.

It has been the worst drought in 116 years for parts of New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, leaving paddocks bare and drying up dams.

And it isn't just the sheep and cows struggling to survive in the record dry - the Australian fauna which is supposed to thrive in Australia's dry climate is being hit hard.

'This is the worst drought I have seen in 40 years. Droughts come and go but this one is severe,' the farmer said.

Tamworth has had 93.4mm of rain so far this year, which is a quarter of the average.

Comment: Meanwhile Australia's winter is bringing some some of the coldest temperatures in more than a decade. We're seeing the same patterns all around the world; seasons are increasingly erratic, droughts are increasing in severity and flooding is of epic proportions. Also check out SOTTs: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - May 2018: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Attention

Five pygmy sperm whales wash up on Māhia Beach, New Zealand in 2 weeks

Andre Chumko
Stuff
Mon, 09 Jul 2018 08:57 UTC
Two pygmy sperm whales were found washed up on Māhia Beach on Monday morning. (File photo)
© Ben Curran/StuffTwo pygmy sperm whales were found washed up on Māhia Beach on Monday morning. (File photo)
Two whales which were stranded and died at Māhia Beach are the latest in a string of whale beachings in the area.

On Monday afternoon Department of Conservation community ranger Sandra Groves said the organisation was made aware of two pygmy sperm whales which were stranded at the Hawke's Bay beach.

A young male calf was found dead on the beach, and a decision was made to euthanise the mother, Groves said.

Both whales were in a reasonable condition with no visible signs of injury.

Burial of the whales was organised in discussion with local iwi. Samples and measurements were also taken to be sent to Auckland University.
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Attention

Rare, double shark attack off Fernandina Beach, Florida

Andrew Hay
Reuters
Sun, 15 Jul 2018 11:05 UTC
shark attack
Surfers warily returned to the waters off Fernandina Beach in northern Florida on Saturday after what appeared to be a rare, double shark attack the previous day.

Fernandina Beach Fire Department got a call late Friday afternoon that a 30-year-old man was bitten by a shark. Three minutes later it got a second call that a 17-year-old had been bitten just over a mile south down the beach, according to a statement by the city of Fernandina Beach.

The beach was immediately closed but reopened on Saturday, with ocean rescue services watching the waters for "dangerous marine life."
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Question

At least 50 birds found dead around mall in Abilene, Texas

Joshua Peguero
foxsanantonio.com
Sat, 14 Jul 2018 15:31 UTC
DEAD BIRDS
Dozens of birds were mysteriously found dead around the Mall of Abilene.

The mall's general manager, Steven Niles, told KTXS that his staff discovered at least 50 purple martins dead on the mall's property.

Niles said that he believes that lightning is to blame and that this was an isolated incident.

Annaliese Scoggin, a district biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department based in Taylor County, drove around the Mall of Abilene on Friday to see where the dead birds were found.

Scoggin said that she first learned of the dead birds found at the mall on Thursday.
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Black Cat

Leopard killed after 21 people are mauled to death over 3 years in Uttarakhand, India

Maya Oppenheim
The Independent
Fri, 13 Jul 2018 13:18 UTC
Stock image of leopard
© Getty
A leopard has been shot dead in India after 21 people were mauled to death over the last three years.

The wild cat was killed by forest officials in Haridwar's Rajaji National Park near Delhi.

"This is the 21st incident and this is happening since 2014," the director of Rajaji Sanatan Sonkar, Director, Rajaji Park told Indian newspaper Business Standard.

"We have either tranquillized or shifted five leopards from here.

"We had found human DNAs in two of them. We were neither able to capture this leopard in cage or by some other means. The last option with us was to shoot the leopard."

This comes after footage emerged showing the moment a leopard jumped out of a house in India as officials tried to catch it in March.
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Attention

Signs and Portents: Mutant calf born with two heads born in Brazil

Bridie Pearson-Jones
Daily Mail
Fri, 13 Jul 2018 11:18 UTC
The animal, which has four eyes and two mouths, can be seen lying on the ground. in a video clip, as workers at the farm feed one of its mouth with milk using an modified bottle
The animal, which has four eyes and two mouths, can be seen lying on the ground. in a video clip, as workers at the farm feed one of its mouth with milk using an modified bottle
A mutant calf has shocked locals after being born with two heads at a farm in Brazil.

An astonishing video of the two-headed cow has emerged from the farm in Caiaponia, Brazil.

The animal, which has four eyes and two mouths, can be seen lying on the ground. in a video clip, as workers at the farm feed one of its mouth with milk using an modified bottle.

Zica Soares, the wife of the farm-owner, said: 'I never imagined a calf like that would be born on the farm, we are surprised.'

The calf was hand-fed milk for five days by workers at the farm before dying.

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