Animals
S


Black Cat

Two dogs die in attacks as deep snow pushes British Columbia cougars out of forests

Brendan Kyle Jure
The Columbia Valley Pioneer
Fri, 09 Mar 2018 20:38 UTC
Cougar
Conservation Office fielding three to five calls a week in the Cariboo due to deep snow

Two pets were killed by a cougar within days in the Bridge Lake area.

"There was a dog kill on Tuesday [Feb. 27] and another dog that was killed today [March 1]," said Conservation Officer James Zucchelli. "We were able to track down and get the cat this afternoon."

The cougar was dispatched around Bell Road in Bridge Lake. Zucchelli said he believes the cougar is likely responsible for both dog deaths due to it's proximity to both scenes and it's likeness to a photo of the cat caught during the first attack.

The office is only 90 per cent sure due to the lack of DNA testing though and would like to remind the public to remain diligent in safeguarding their property and pets from cougars.

Comment: Also see: Siberian tiger rampages through Russian village killing dogs

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Water

Saving the world's albatrosses: 'The war is against plastic and they are casualties on the frontline'

Anna Tuns
The Guardian
Mon, 12 Mar 2018 19:28 UTC
Albatross ... ‘They are loving, sensitive and graceful,’ says Jordan.
© Chris JordanAlbatross ... ‘They are loving, sensitive and graceful,’ says Jordan.
Following his shocking photographs of dead albatross chicks and the diet of plastic that killed them, Chris Jordan's new film is a call to action to repair our broken relationship with planet Earth

We are living in a plastic age and the solutions may seem glaringly obvious, so why aren't all 7.6 billion of us already doing things differently? Shocking statistics don't guarantee effective change. So what's the alternative? American photographer and filmmaker Chris Jordan believes the focus should be on forcing people to have a stronger emotional engagement with the problems plastic causes. His famous photographs of dead albatross chicks and the colourful plastic they have ingested serve as a blunt reminder that the planet is in a state of emergency.

While making his feature-length film Albatross, Jordan considered Picasso's approach: "The role of the artist is to respect you, help you connect more deeply, and then leave it up to you to decide how to behave."

Comment: View as well: We are rapidly approaching an environmental catastrophe: Plastic waste in the ocean will outnumber fish by 2050

These seabirds are choking on a plastic ocean

Dead whale found with more than 30 plastic bags in its stomach off Sotra, Norway

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Cloud Precipitation

Rare hailstorm kills girl and scores of animals in Ghana


Ghana Web
Mon, 12 Mar 2018 13:44 UTC
hail
Four communities in the Krachi East Municipality have suffered from a rare hailstorm accompanied by strong winds that ravaged property, killing a girl and scores of domestic and wild animals.

The affected communities are Ayiramu, Katanga, Yabrae and Kparekpare, where Abena Manu, a six year old girl, was trapped by a falling wall, which killed her instantly with two others being injured in the millieu with broken bones..

The injured are recuperating at the Worawora Hospital in the Biakoye District.

The large ice pellets also killed ducks, fowls, goats, lambs as well as bush rabbits, grass-cutter and partridges.
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Attention

Siberian tiger rampages through Russian village killing dogs

Will Stewart
Daily Mail
Mon, 12 Mar 2018 13:20 UTC
Parents were afraid to let their children out of the house even to go to school on dark mornings as she 'was not afraid of street lights, or people shouting'
Parents were afraid to let their children out of the house even to go to school on dark mornings as she 'was not afraid of street lights, or people shouting'
A tiger terrorised a Siberian village roaming the streets and killing fierce guard dogs before dragging them away to feed her hungry cubs.

Parents were afraid to let their children out of the house even to go to school on dark mornings as she 'was not afraid of street lights, or people shouting'.

Rangers sedated and captured the endangered animal amid fears locals in the village of Aleksey-Nikolskoye, north of Vladivostok, would shoot her.

They were puzzled by the big cat's behaviour in entering a village to kill chained up dogs instead of hunting prey in the wild, as they are usually wary of humans.

Comment: View also: Two dogs die in attacks as deep snow pushes British Columbia cougars out of forests

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Attention

Rare Irrawaddy dolphin found dead in Cambodia

Mom Sophon
Khmer Times
Mon, 12 Mar 2018 12:44 UTC
The dead dolphin was found near a dam.
© Rasmei NewsThe dead dolphin was found near a dam.
An Irrawaddy dolphin was found dead on Saturday in Stung Treng province, near the border of Laos' Don Sahong region, where Lao authorities are constructing a hydropower dam.

Environmental activist Chum Huot said yesterday that villagers in the Preah Rumkel community found the dead dolphin and he suspects that it died due to a lack of food resources.

"This dead dolphin could have died due to a lack of food because of the construction of the Don Sahong hydropower dam upstream," he said. "The currents are now unfavourable and there is a lack of fish for the dolphins."

Tek Vannara, executive director of the NGO Forum, said the dam was just two kilometres upstream from where the dolphin was found dead.
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Green Light

China: Lawmakers vote to remove presidential limits


RT
Sun, 11 Mar 2018 08:03 UTC
China congress
© Jason Lee/ReutiersChina's National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China.
The Chinese National People's Congress has approved the removal of presidential term limits. The move potentially allows the incumbent leader, Xi Jinping, to remain as president for life.

The constitutional amendment that removes the previous two-term limit was passed by Chinese lawmakers on Sunday. The draft was approved almost unanimously, with only two 'no' votes and three abstentions among almost 3,000 delegates of the National People's Congress, according to Reuters.

Last month, the Central Committee of China's ruling Communist Party proposed scrapping the constitutional clause limiting the terms of office for the president and vice president. The move marks the first amendment to fundamental Chinese law in 14 years.

Comment: Different strokes for different folks. Xi is a very capable leader.

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Clipboard

Manila takes on UN rights chief: 'Psychiatric test? The world needs more Dutertes!'


RT
Sun, 11 Mar 2018 00:28 UTC
Duterte hat
© Romeo Ranoco/ReutersPresident Rodrigo Duterte
Manila has accused the UN human rights chief of being played by certain parties to "unseat" President Rodrigo Duterte, after Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called on the Philippines' leader to submit himself to a "psychiatric evaluation."

On Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called on the UN Human Rights Council to take a stand against Duterte's personal vendetta against UN rights officials, who have criticized Manila's war on drugs. "The UN Human Rights Council must take a position. These attacks cannot go unanswered," Zeid said Friday. "[Duterte] needs to submit himself to some sort of psychiatric examination. This kind of comment is unacceptable, unacceptable."

Manila hit back at "irresponsible and disrespectful" commentary by the UN official. The Foreign Affairs ministry specifically slammed Zeid's comments which "insult leaders of member-states without first giving them due process," warning that such practice could set a dangerous precedent.
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Ice Cube

Some birds migrated north looking for spring - then spring froze

Tom Spears
Ottawa Citizen
Fri, 09 Mar 2018 15:08 UTC
American Robin
© Bruce Di Labio / OTTwpAmerican Robin eating Sumac fruit since there are no worms out yet.
Birds have migrated north in large numbers in recent weeks - an early gamble that is now forcing some to do a U-turn, and others to starve.

A number of people in Ottawa have heard Canada geese fly over noisily, beginning in late February's mild spell.

"Thousands of geese showing up in eastern Ontario. A lot of them are actually still here," birder Bruce Di Labio said. But with snow covering the cornfields and freezing temperatures at night, they aren't going any farther north.
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Binoculars

Snowy owl makes 'extremely rare' visit to Norfolk, UK

Luke Powell
Eastern Daily Press
Sun, 11 Mar 2018 14:32 UTC
Norfolk Snowy Owl
© Dave Andrews ‏Norfolk Snowy Owl
A snowy owl has made an "extremely rare" visit to Norfolk this weekend - thousands of miles away from its usual feeding ground.

The birds usually live in the far north around the Arctic circle and rarely venture south of northern Scotland.

But the RSPB has today confirmed the magnificent white bird - made famous as Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig - has been spotted at Snettisham in West Norfolk.

Photographs posted on social media show the nestled in grassland.

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Attention

Signs and Portents: Rare mutant goat with two heads and four eyes born in Pakistan

Phoebe Weston
Daily Mail
Sun, 11 Mar 2018 14:06 UTC
A bizarre two-faced mutant goat with two mouths and four eyes has been born in Pakistan, a strange video reveals (pictured)
A bizarre two-faced mutant goat with two mouths and four eyes has been born in Pakistan, a strange video reveals (pictured)
A strange two-faced mutant goat with two mouths and four eyes has been born in Pakistan, a strange video reveals.

The baffling creature is shown suckling on a milk bottle in the short clip which has has been circulated online.

This unusual creature appears to have a condition called polycephaly, which derives from the Greek word poly, meaning 'many' and kephale, meaning 'head'.

Animals with this condition, also referred to as dicephalic parapagus, have two heads on one torso.

Each head of a polycephalic animal has its own brain, and they share control of the organs and limbs, though the specific structure of the connections varies between each case.
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