Animals
S


Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 15 sheep in Miles City, Montana

Maritsa Georgiou
nbcmontana.com
Sat, 23 Jun 2018 09:22 UTC
dead sheep
© Klaboe Livestock
A Miles City rancher is warning other livestock owners about severe weather this summer. He says lightning killed 15 of his best producing ewes earlier this week. He says it happened in a matter of seconds, just a few hundred feet from his front door.

The owner of Klaboe Livestock says it's one of the most devastating events they've encountered in 50 years raising livestock.

You can see the original Facebook post below. The ranch owner says it's been viewed and shared thousands of times already.
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Cloud Lightning

No sacred cows: Lightning bolt kills 17 cattle in Assam, India


Nagaland Post
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 20:33 UTC
LIGHTNING
Seventeen cows were killed after they were struck by lightning at Longki Teron village in Balipathar locality of Bokajan subdivision on June 20.

According to local people, the incident took place late Tuesday night.

"Our family is devastated and especially at this time when tilling of paddy field is in full swing. We don't know what we will do and how are we going to till our land," the owner said.
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Black Cat 2

Rats as big as cats flood northern Swedish city


RT
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 16:00 UTC
rat eating bread
© Reuters
A Swedish city is battling a merciless enemy, rats 'the size of cats', prompting authorities to call on residents to keep doors and windows closed and pre-schoolchildren inside during breaks.

"There aren't the normal rats you see in the forest. They're as big as cats," Benny Sagmo from the planning office of Sundsvall city in northern Sweden, explained to the national TT news agency.

The rats have already spread out towards a residential area, according to Sagmo. "If we don't put a stop to it, they can get bigger and bigger...Those who live there can't even have their front doors or balcony doors open. I've told pest control that we're going all in!" he added.
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Attention

Swarms of mosquitoes terrorize southwest Russia after record breaking floods - Residents post footage online


RT
Sun, 17 Jun 2018 17:31 UTC
mosquito russia
© ildusdavydov / Instagram
Hordes of mosquitoes are laying siege to Russia's Voronezh region with many people too scared to go outside amid reports of domestic animal deaths. Authorities are struggling to stop the bloodsucking insects as numbers grow.

Hot weather and record-breaking floods have created ideal conditions for mosquitoes, helping to multiply their population to overwhelming numbers. The insect invasion has affected at least six areas in the Voronezh region.

People are suffering from itchy bites and swelling and say that it's "impossible" to leave their homes. Children are refusing to go to school as they are immediately "eaten alive" by the insects. Even at home people find scant refuge, as the tiny menaces manage to crawl through any crack they can find. Outside is far worse, as roads cannot even be seen through mosquito hordes, according to local media.

Comment: While some creatures numbers appear to be collapsing, other, less loveable creatures seem to be seeing a resurgence:

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Butterfly

Butterfly numbers in the UK's woods have dropped by nearly 60% since 1990 in the latest sign of an 'ecological Armageddon'

Joe Pinkstone
Daily Mail
Fri, 22 Jun 2018 14:27 UTC
Butterfly numbers in the UK are in decline
Butterfly numbers in the UK are in decline, and yet again it seems agriculture is to blame. Since 1990, butterfly numbers have declined by 27 per cent in farmland and by 58 per cent in woods, the government report found. The Common Blue (pictured) is one in decline
Butterfly numbers in the UK are in decline due to poor land management, a new report has warned.

Since 1990, butterfly numbers have dropped by 27 per cent in farmland and by 58 per cent in woods, the government study found.

In response to the report, charities have claimed that reform is needed to the country's farming laws in order to protect the environment in the wake of Brexit.

They say the latest figures offer more evidence to support expert predictions of an 'ecological Armageddon'.

Comment: UK's butterflies have one of their worst years on record following gloomy wet summer in 2017

2016 could be worst year on record for UK butterflies, experts warn

Record low number of UK butterflies a 'shock and a mystery'

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Doberman

Woman dies following dog attack in Calvert County, Maryland

Megan Cloherty
wtop.com
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 13:57 UTC
The dog that attacked a woman in Calvert County, Maryland, was said to be a Dogo Argentino. Dogs of this breed (shown above in a stock image) can weigh around 100 pounds.
© Getty Images/iStockphoto/SeregraffThe dog that attacked a woman in Calvert County, Maryland, was said to be a Dogo Argentino. Dogs of this breed (shown above in a stock image) can weigh around 100 pounds.
A 28-year-old Maryland woman has died after police said her fiance's dog attacked her Thursday morning.

Jenna Rae Sutphin of Huntingtown, Maryland, was pronounced dead around 5 p.m., Maryland State Police confirmed.

A driver traveling along Maryland Route 4 in Calvert County called 911 around 7 a.m. after seeing an animal attacking something, but couldn't give more details, said Elena Russo of the Maryland State Police.

When the trooper arrived at the overgrown area near the highway, which is adjacent to Sutphin's home, the dog was actively attacking her, police said.

Sources who responded to the scene said that Sutphin was bitten in the back of the head and neck. She was sent to a local hospital and then life-flighted to Medstar Washington Hospital Center. She died Thursday night.

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Attention

Three dead minke whales seen off northern New Brunswick, Canada

Shane Magee
CBC News
Fri, 22 Jun 2018 12:45 UTC
A minke whale is measured near Tiverton, N.S., in February.
© Amy TudorA minke whale is measured near Tiverton, N.S., in February.
The Marine Animal Response Society is seeking help to track down three dead minke whales floating off the coast of northern New Brunswick.

Tonya Wimmer, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University and the director of Marine Animal Response Society, said photos in recent weeks show three dead in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

She said the reports of the dead whales between the Gaspé Peninsula and northern tip of New Brunswick started in early June.

The charitable organization dedicated to marine animal conservation hopes people will report sightings of the dead whales so they can be tracked and brought to shore. That could help determine how they died.
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Attention

Hiker killed by brown bear on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska

Yereth Rosen
MSN
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 12:15 UTC
Bear attack
A hiker who had been missing for two days was found dead on Wednesday, the victim of a bear attack on the outskirts of Alaska's biggest city, Anchorage police said.

The body of Michael Soltis, 44, was discovered after a brown bear mauled one of the volunteers searching for the missing man, said MJ Thim of the Anchorage Police Department.

The cause of Soltis' death has not been confirmed and is still being investigated, but it appears that he was killed by the same bear that attacked the volunteer, Thim said.

"What we believe is the brown bear was protecting its prey, its find, which turned out to be the body of the missing person," he said.

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Doberman

Officer shoots dogs attacking her in Burnet, Texas

Kate Winkle
kxan.com
Mon, 18 Jun 2018 12:41 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A Burnet police officer shot and killed one dog and injured another after three dogs attacked her and a man on a neighborhood street.

Patrol Cpl. Alex Fidler responded when a man reported being attacked by three large dogs in the 700 block of South Vanderveer, near Burnet Elementary School, on Thursday, June 14.

The officer was checking out the man's injuries when the dogs returned.

Police reviewed body camera video footage which showed Fidler trying to get away from the dogs.

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Frog

UK toad and frog numbers collapsing with sightings down by up to two-thirds

Patrick Barkham
The Guardian
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 06:28 UTC
frog spawn
© Linda Pitkin/NPL/Getty ImagesToad numbers have fallen by more than two-thirds over a 30-year period.
People with gardens are being urged to create simple ponds or areas of long grass because sightings of frogs and toads in gardens are drying up.

Reports of toads in gardens have fallen by nearly a third since 2014, while sightings of frogs have dropped by 17% over the same period, according to the Big Garden Birdwatch, the RSPB's wildlife survey.

Frogs were the most common non-bird garden visitor, seen in 39% of the more than 174,000 gardens which took part in the survey this year, while toads were only found in one in five gardens.

These declines are mirrored by other surveys, including data from volunteer groups who help toads cross the road, which found toad numbers have fallen by more than two-thirds over 30 years.

Comment: While access to viable sources of water and pollution are surely issues, a wide variety of species are seeing their numbers collapse and the causes aren't always so obvious, so what is going on? What is clear is that we are witnessing the next massive extinction event on our planet:

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