Animals
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Fish

Fish winterkill strikes several Central Alberta sites

Paul Cowley
Red Deer Advocate
Mon, 14 May 2018 18:59 UTC
Thousands of dead fish have surfaced in three Central Alberta ponds and lakes because of winterkill.
© Rory O’ConnorThousands of dead fish have surfaced in three Central Alberta ponds and lakes because of winterkill.
Thousands of dead fish have surfaced in three Central Alberta ponds and lakes because of winterkill.

In Crimson Lake, thousands of perch died and collected around the shoreline.

While not pleasant for lake visitors to look at or smell, winterkill is a natural phenomenon.

"They're very common in Alberta," said Jessica Reilly, senior fisheries biologist out of Alberta Environment and Parks Rocky Mountain House office.

In Central Alberta, winterkill was also reported at Dickson Trout Pond and Pine Lake.

"Basically what happens is the plants and algae in the lake over winter die and decompose. When they decompose they use up oxygen."

The longer the decomposition, the more oxygen is used up. That is exacerbated in a long winter because oxygen can't be replenished while the water is covered by ice.

Comment: See also: Thousands of dead fish found at lake in Alberta

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Attention

10-year-old boy suffered heavy blood loss after shark attack at Hilton Head, South Carolina

Joan McDonough and Mandy Matney
The Island Packet
Mon, 14 May 2018 18:40 UTC
Jei Turrell, 10, was bitten by a shark while swimming at a Hilton Head Island beach on Sunday, May 13, 2018. He is recovering at the Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah.
Jei Turrell, 10, was bitten by a shark while swimming at a Hilton Head Island beach on Sunday, May 13, 2018.
A shark bit 10-year-old Jei's right forearm while he and his older brother were splashing in waist-deep water Sunday, his mom Tonya Turrell told the Island Packet.

They had only been at the beach for about an hour when Tonya heard her younger son screaming and made out the word "shark!" That's when she saw the blood, she said.

Jei was airlifted to the Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah. The rest of the family followed in their car.

"That was the longest hour of my life, driving here," his mom said. They didn't know how bad his injuries were. They didn't know what to expect. All they were told was that getting him to a trauma center was the first priority.
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Frog

Scientists discover the origin of the amphibian 'apocalypse' that's killing more than 200 species

Mollie Cahillane
Daily Mail
Thu, 10 May 2018 14:30 UTC
Scientists have traced the origin of the chytrid fungus to the Korean peninsula.
Scientists have traced the origin of the chytrid fungus to the Korean peninsula. It has driven more than 200 amphibian species to extinction or near-extinction
Scientists have traced a deadly fungus responsible for killing frogs, toads and newts worldwide to the Korean peninsula, sparking new calls for a halt to the international amphibian pet trade.

A dangerous infectious disease with the potential to drive species to extinction, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is also known as chytrid fungus.

It has already decimated more than 200 amphibian species and rewired echo systems all over the world.

Chytrid is passed from animal to animal and spreads rapidly in the wild, causing catastrophic mortality and declines in some species, while others are less affected.
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Wolf

Feral dogs kill another girl in Sitapur, India - death toll rises to 13 in 7 months

Rohit K Singh and Chandan Kumar
Hindustan Times
Sun, 13 May 2018 13:10 UTC
Villagers chasing away dogs in Sharfapur village in Sitapur on May 1.
Villagers chasing away dogs in Sharfapur village in Sitapur on May 1.
In yet another fatal attack, a pack of feral dogs killed another child in Sitapur district's Maheshpur Chilwara village on Sunday, taking the toll to 13 in the last six months, officials said.

District magistrate, Sitapur, Sheetal Verma said the 12-year-old girl Reena was attacked by a pack of seven dogs when she was going to the fields alone at around 7 am on Sunday.

"The girl died on the spot. I have asked the senior administrative officials to visit the village and meet the girl's family," she added.

Agitated over the death, at least 300 villagers blocked traffic for about half an hour on the national highway and demanded action to rein in feral dogs. The administration deployed police force near the highway to ensure law and order.
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Attention

Sick brown pelicans mysteriously turning up in Southern California

Angie Trumbo
MSN News
Fri, 11 May 2018 12:35 UTC
Devin Hanson, a rehabilitation technician with International Bird Rescue, examines a young, hungry and anemic brown pelican at a wildlife rehabilitation center in San Pedro.
© Angie Trumbo / APDevin Hanson, a rehabilitation technician with International Bird Rescue, examines a young, hungry and anemic brown pelican at a wildlife rehabilitation center in San Pedro.
The number of sick and dying brown pelicans along the Southern California coast has mysteriously surged in the last week, a wildlife organization said Thursday.

More than 25 pelicans have been brought to a wildlife rehabilitation center in the San Pedro, International Bird Rescue said.

The big birds are showing signs of emaciation, hypothermia and anemia, the organization said.

It's normal to receive recently fledged baby pelicans this time of year, but the current wave includes many second-year birds, said Kylie Clatterbuck, the center's manager.


Comment: Pelican attack sparks graduation ceremony chaos

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Attention

Raging bear attacks 4 villagers in Chhattisgarh, India

Alex Green
Daily Mail
Fri, 11 May 2018 11:50 UTC
The bear closes in on the villager in the town near Bhanwaradadar in Gomarda area Raigad District in Chattisgarh
The bear closes in on the villager in the town near Bhanwaradadar in Gomarda area Raigad District in Chattisgarh
Shocking footage shows a bear which had just attacked four villagers knocking over a man as it runs to hide up a tree.

The bear wandered out of a forest and reached a village near Bhanwaradadar in Gomarda area Raigad District in Chattisgarh, in India.

At about 5am the bear attacked an elderly man - who managed to escape by jumping into water next to a dam.

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Attention

Bear mauls a man to death who tried to take a selfie with it in Orissa, India

Connor Boyd
Daily Mail
Fri, 11 May 2018 11:26 UTC
The man became trapped underneath the animal before a mob of men with sticks came to his rescue Facebook
The man became trapped underneath the animal before a mob of men with sticks came to his rescue
Dramatic footage shows a bear being beaten by a crowd of men with sticks and spears after the animal mauled a man trying to take a selfie with it.

The unidentified victim, 27, was saved by locals in Orissa, India, who sprung to his defence when the distressed animal pounced on him.

Video footage captured by one of the bystanders shows the bear attacking the man as he struggles to escape its grip.


Comment: The latter incident: Man mauled to death by bear after trying to take selfie with it in Odisha, India.

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Wolf

Woman killed by pack of 7 dogs in Ardmore, Oklahoma

McKenna Eubank
KTEN News
Fri, 11 May 2018 10:38 UTC
canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
Officials said a woman was attacked and killed by a neighbor's dogs on Thursday night.

Carter County Sheriff Chris Bryant said the victim -- whose name has not yet been released -- was attacked by seven dogs and later died from her injuries.

Bryant said the incident happened before 10 p.m. at a residence just east of Ardmore on Banyon Road. He said one of the dogs was a pit bull; the others were medium-sized dogs of other breeds, all with the same owner.

"Once we were notified that this female had succumbed to her injuries, the owner of the dogs decided to put the dogs down," Sheriff Bryant said.

Comment: A week earlier in the same state a pack of 4 pit bull terriers attacked 2 people in Oklahoma City.

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Life Preserver

Chlamydia is killing off Australia's koala marsupials

Mindy Weisberger
Live Science
Wed, 09 May 2018 16:39 UTC
Koala bear in Australia
© Shutterstock
One of the leading killers of Australia's endearing koalas is a debilitating bacterial infection: chlamydia.

The idea of koalas with chlamydia - a common sexually transmitted infection in people - recently drew chuckles on HBO's "Last Week Tonight," but the disease, which is affecting koalas in epidemic proportions, is hardly a laughing matter.

Chlamydia-infected koalas made the news on Sunday (May 6) when the show's host, John Oliver, mentioned the dedication of a new koala ward at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, called the John Oliver Koala Chlamydia Ward, to treat the sick marsupials.

But chlamydia is no joke to koalas. Surveys have shown that some wild populations demonstrate a 100 percent rate of infection, which frequently leads to blindness, severe bladder inflammation, infertility and death. And treatment with antibiotics could create further problems for the marsupials, upsetting their gut microbes and making it difficult for them to digest the eucalyptus leaves that are a staple of their diet, researchers recently discovered.
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Attention

Signs and Portents: Study published on ultra-rare two-headed deer discovered near Freeburg, Minnesota


cbslocal.com
Thu, 10 May 2018 19:30 UTC
Two-headed deer
© University of Georgia
A Minnesota mushroom hunter's one-of-a-kind discovery is now the subject of scientific research.

According to the University of Georgia, a two-headed fawn was discovered near the town of Freeburg in 2016. Scientists with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the University of Minnesota and the University of Georgia published a study on the animal last month. They say the conjoined twin fawns are the only ones known to have been carried to full term in the wild.

The mushroom hunter discovered the fawn about a mile from the Mississippi River and called the DNR right away. Experts say it looked like the mother had cleaned the two-headed doe, though testing on the animal's lungs confirmed it never breathed air — it was stillborn.
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