Animals
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Attention

Signs and Portents: Four-legged chicken born in Brazil (VIDEO)


RT
Fri, 24 Mar 2017 13:47 UTC
four-legged chicken
© RuptlyThe chick was expected to die within hours of being born.
A Brazilian chicken has no shortage of legs to samba dance with after being born with four of the extremities. Despite bleak predictions that the chick would die within hours of being born, it has defied all odds, strutting with pride for ten days so far.

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Attention

Signs and Portents: Two-headed lamb born in Conwy, Wales

Andrew Forgrave
Daily Post
Thu, 23 Mar 2017 12:44 UTC
A lamb was born with two heads amid a rise in cases of Schmallenberg virus
A lamb was born with two heads amid a rise in cases of Schmallenberg virus
Farmers urged to get livestock tested for Schmallenberg virus (SBV), which is on the rise in the UK

Farmers are being warned to test their livestock for a virus that causes birth defects in livestock.

Lambing flocks across the country are experiencing higher than normal losses from deformed lambs, while early calving herds are also yielding calves with congenital defects.

The birth - at a farm in Conwy - comes amid growing concerns about the rise of Schmallenberg virus (SBV). The lamb was put down shortly after birth.
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Wolf

Family dog kills 8-month-old boy in Lusby, Maryland

Jack Pointer
wtop.com
Thu, 23 Mar 2017 11:17 UTC
Dog attack
A family dog fatally mauled an 8-month-old boy in a Lusby, Maryland, home Thursday afternoon.

According to the Calvert County Sheriff's Department, deputies were dispatched to Prancer Court in Lusby after the attack was reported just after 1 p.m.

Deputies arrived within one minute of the initial call, the department said, and saw the dog still attacking the child. They shot the dog to stop the attack and immediately determined that the boy had died.

The attack reportedly occurred while a family friend was watching the child.

An investigation is ongoing, and a news conference with Sheriff Mike Evans is scheduled for noon Friday.

Comment: Other recent reports of serious dog attacks within the last 3 days: Child taken to hospital following dog attack in El Paso County, Colorado

Pit bull in NJ 'viciously' bites 5 people, including child

North Carolina woman critically hurt after being attacked by great danes

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Attention

Signs and Portents: Two-headed calf born in Krabi, Thailand


Phuket Gazette
Sat, 18 Mar 2017 19:04 UTC
The calves were born with two heads, six legs and two tails.
© SanookThe calves were born with two heads, six legs and two tails.
A two-headed calf born in Krabi yesterday has risen to fame after the owner said the animal brought her luck while in the womb, reports Sanook.com.

The conjoined twins were stillborn with two heads, six legs and two tails at the house of Ms Samrong, 47, who resides in Klong Thom district in Krabi.

Ms Samrong said that she had already won prizes in the lottery three times while the calves were in the uterus.

Visitors saw the creature laid out amid flowers, candles and incense. People were already praying to it for the next round of lottery numbers.

Ms Samrong says she plans to have it stuffed, treated with formalin and put in a four sided glass case to be kept at Wat Tru Toey.
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Camera

Confirmed sighting of Night parrot in Western Australia for first time in 100 years

Calla Wahlquist
The Guardian
Thu, 23 Mar 2017 18:47 UTC
This photo of a rare night parrot, thought to be extinct in Western Australia, was captured in the state’s arid inland region by a team of bird enthusiasts.
© Bruce Greatwich This photo of a rare night parrot, thought to be extinct in Western Australia, was captured in the state’s arid inland region by a team of bird enthusiasts.
Birdwatchers 'elated' after snapping photo of the endangered species in state's arid interior in discovery that could significantly impact on mining developments

A night parrot has been photographed in Western Australia, adding another twist to the mysterious history of the species that was presumed extinct until it was rediscovered in Queensland four years ago.

It is the first verified sighting of the bird in WA for almost 100 years and follows a history of unverified sightings, disbelieved reports and futile ecological surveys that rivals the hunt for the (presumably still) extinct Thylacine in Tasmania.

The discovery was made by a group of four friends from Broome who have dedicated the better part of seven years to locating the bird, examining detailed maps, trekking into likely habitats, and spending evenings in the state's arid interior listening for unusual bird calls.
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Wolf

Stray dogs and monkeys turn on residents of Gurugram, India

Piyush Ohrie
Millennium Post
Wed, 22 Mar 2017 18:33 UTC
Dog attack
The citizens of Gurugram are on high alert after incidents of attacks by stray animals in various residential areas of the city took a steep rise.

Already plagued with rising number of strays in the residential areas, now a large number of dog bite cases are being reported from various colonies of the Millennium City.

The dog bites are being coupled with attacks launched by monkeys residing in these areas of the city. The complaints of such attacks have been reported from private residential colonies like DLF township, Sushant Lok, South City, Valley View and several HUDA sectors.

The reports showcases, six such cases of dog bites from Sector 17 area. In the latest incident, a pack of dogs attacked an elderly person in the same sector.
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Wolf

Los Angeles killer pit bulls euthanized...are dog attacks now an epidemic?

Phyllis M Daugherty
City Watch
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 18:33 UTC
PIT BULLS
ANIMAL WATCH-GM Brenda Barnette announced at the LA Animal Services' Commission meeting on March 14, that the two Pit Bulls impounded after the tragic attack which killed Valentin Herrera, 76, and his small dog last month have been euthanized.

Mr. Herrera and his 5-year-old Pomeranian were walking in the 2600 block of Lincoln Park Blvd. near his home on February 2, when two male Pit Bulls which had escaped from a nearby yard grabbed the tiny dog, "shredding his body like a piece of material," according to a neighbor. An eyewitness said that the owner of the Pit Bulls saw the dogs attacking but took no action to stop them.

When he tried to save his best friend, Mr. Herrera was also attacked, suffering severe injuries to his head and arms.

He underwent surgery but remained in a coma and never regained consciousness. According to a statement by a family member on their GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses, "...after about 3 weeks of being in the hospital the doctors have told us that his brain is no longer functioning. The family and I have decided to let him go and rest, because we know he has been through so much."

Mr. Herrera died on February 28, just before a scheduled hearing on the attack by the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services on March 1.
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Attention

Dead whale found near Port aux Basques, Canada


The Gulf News
Tue, 21 Mar 2017 13:55 UTC
A dead whale washed ashore near Port aux Basques on Friday and was carried out to sea by winds and tide later in the evening.
© Harold StricklandA dead whale washed ashore near Port aux Basques on Friday and was carried out to sea by winds and tide later in the evening.
A dead whale was spotted in the waters surrounding Port aux Basques on Friday morning.

The bloated carcass was carried out to sea by winds and tide until it disappeared from view sometime later that evening, according to local coast guard reports.

The species of whale is uncertain. It was estimated to be about 50-feet long.
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Attention

Dead baleen whale found at the mouth of Yangtze River in China

Zhang Ningning
Shanghai Daily
Wed, 22 Mar 2017 13:36 UTC
Fishermen were alarmed to see the creature had no head
Fishermen were alarmed to see the creature had no head
A dead whale, found at the mouth of Yangtze River by fishermen, will be preserved as a specimen.

The local agricultural commission said yesterday that the cause of death was still under investigation and dissection would take place.

The male baleen whale, some 22 meters in length, was missing its left fin and had been dead for more than 10 days, experts with Shanghai Ocean University and Shanghai Science and Technology Museum said after a preliminary study yesterday.

The body was highly decayed, they said. The remains were taken to a port in Pudong's Nanhui area on Monday.

"We first noticed the whale on Sunday afternoon," Lu Haibing, 59, captain of the boat that spotted the whale, told Shanghai Daily. "At first we thought it was an overthrown yacht and then realized it was body of a big creature."

Comment: See also: Stranded sperm whale with 'mouth full of garbage' dies in Guangdong, China

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Easter Egg 2

A sign? Men cut open an anaconda's belly and found - another anaconda

Andrew McDonald
Daily Star
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
anaconda cannibalism

A starving anaconda was found attacking one of its own after it struggled to find food in the jungle.

Three ramblers discovered the monster snake unconscious while enjoying a stroll with their pet dog.

And - despite the dangers - the trio decided to investigate what creature lay inside the creature's belly.

In terrifying footage - available above - the giant snake lies in sand and grass paralysed.

Hoping the killer creature is of no danger, one of the men approaches it with a large knife.
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