Animals
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Attention

Body of humpback whale discovered on beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


euronews
Thu, 26 Oct 2017 11:01 UTC
Body of humpback whale
Body of humpback whale
The body of a seven tonne humpback whale has been found on a Rio de Janeiro beach.

Brazilian environmental authorities confirmed it was the same whale that had been rescued just days earlier over the weekend.

On Sunday (October 22), the four metre long (13 feet) whale beached itself on the Playa Grande beach.

Dozens of beachgoers and experts gathered to save it. They successfully managed to tow the mammal out to open water.

However, the body of the same whale was found on a rocky outcropping in the same area just two days later in a state of advanced decomposition.


Comment: See also: 103 whales have died on Brazilian beaches in 2017

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Attention

Dozens of seal pups killed during Storm Brian on the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales

Amy Coles
WalesOnline
Tue, 24 Oct 2017 19:30 UTC
A dead immature grey seal.
© The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.A dead immature grey seal.
Some of Wales' seal population is facing devastation after an estimated 50 baby pups were killed in recent storms.

Two-thirds of the total number of Atlantic grey seal pups on Skomer Island, off the coast of Pembrokeshire , perished in the wake of storms Ophelia and Brian.

Those that managed to survive sustained injuries to their heads or bodies.

Others were separated from their mums by the weather and were spotted washing up on beaches along the Pembrokeshire coast.

Unless they are found by their mums they will likely starve to death.
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Attention

Six baby whales found dead on Yasawa, Fiji

Semi Turaga and Lena Reece
Fijivillage.com
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 09:05 UTC
People take photos of the beached whales
People take photos of the beached whales
Six baby whales were hauled up on a beach near Bukama village in Yasawa yesterday.

One of our reporters Gary Volau says all the baby whales were dead by the time any of the villagers saw them.

He says there are only five dead whales left on the beach after one was taken by sharks.

When contacted by Fijivillage, the Ministry of Fisheries has confirmed that they are not aware of the incident as no report of the incident has been lodged.
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Attention

Man killed by bear in Mizoram, India


The Business Standard
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 19:11 UTC
bear print
A 55-year-old man was attacked and mauled to death by a bear in the jungle near the Mizoram-Myanmar border at Kawlbem village in Champhai district on Monday, police said.

A police report said Thangchhuana, a Grade IV employee at the Government High School in Kawlbem village, was attacked by the bear which ran away after he shot at it with a gun. The bear also died of bullet injury.

Hearing the gunshot, Thangchhuana's friend came to his rescue and found him lying on the ground with serious injuries.

Thangchhuana succumbed to his injuries while he was being taken to his village.

When the villagers went back to look for his gun, they found the bear lying dead a few metres away.

Comment: Another recent report from India: Elderly man critical in bear attack in Odisha

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Attention

Dead whale found near La Rochelle, France


The Sherbrooke Times
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 18:45 UTC
This fin whale was found stranded on a beach of the Ile-de-Ré, on October 25, 2017
© Observatoire PelagisThis fin whale was found stranded on a beach of the Ile-de-Ré, on October 25, 2017
It is a fin whale, a length of about 20 meters. The observatory of marine mammals and birds Pelagis, located in La Rochelle, intervened on Wednesday morning, following the beaching of the animal over a range of Ars-en-Ré on the Ile de Ré.

"According to our first observations, the whale weighed less than 15 tons, or one-third of his normal weight, and it was in very bad physical condition," explains Willy Dabin, of the observatoire Pelagis. "His death goes back at least 48 hours, and we can assume that it has failed alive, and that he has agonized over the beach. "

"We can exclude a collision with a boat"

The cause of death will be known with precision due to sampling that will be performed on the animal this Thursday, on the occasion of his butchering. "The operation is expected to begin around 13 hours, with the material of construction obtained on requisition from the prefecture. "

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Frog

Signs and Portents: Mutant frog with 7 legs found in kitchen in China

Tiffany Lo
Daily Mail
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 14:36 UTC
A mutant frog with seven legs was found in a kitchen in northeast China
A mutant frog with seven legs was found in a kitchen in northeast China
A chef was shocked to see a frog with extra limbs in his kitchen in northeast China.

Video footage shows an assistant showing the mutant frog with three extra legs growing on the right side of its body.

The green amphibian can be seen moving about on the chopping board.

The video was filmed in Jinzhou, Liaoning Province on October 15.

It's unclear what the frog's species is, however, it was found by a chef in a restaurant's kitchen.

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Wolf

Woman killed by her own pit bull terrier in Canberra, Australia

Benedict Brook
news.com.au
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 13:34 UTC
Tania Klemke’s dog Simba killer her in a vicious attack on Wednesday morning.
© Nine NewsTania Klemke’s dog Simba killed her in a vicious attack on Wednesday morning.
The dog that horrifically mauled its owner to death in Canberra early on Wednesday morning was known to the authorities and had attacked before, it has been revealed.

Tania Klemke was reportedly killed by her dog, while trying to save a male visitor the animal was attacking, around 4am in the suburb of Watson in the city's north.

Police were forced to shoot and kill the dog after it attacked them when they were working to save the life of the woman aged in her 40s.

A man who was visiting the house is being treated in hospital for bite wounds sustained in the rampage.

ACT City Services Minister, Meeghan Fitzharris, told the ABC the dog was known to the Territory Government.

"On one previous occasion (Domestic Animal Services) did attend that household at the request of ACT police," Ms Fitzharris said.

The previous attack reportedly happened in August.
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Black Cat 2

Roads deserted, doors closed: Spate of leopard attacks near Mumbai, India

Badri Chatterjee
Hindustan Times
Sun, 22 Oct 2017 17:42 UTC
Leopard
Leopard
Every evening, an eerie silence descends on the tribal hamlets of Aarey Colony and Film City in Goregaon (east), close to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). The kutcha roads are deserted, doors locked, and windows shut tight.

Seven attacks by leopards and one death this year, the highest since 2002, have left residents of the area, mostly the Warli tribe, so helpless that they depend on adopted stray dogs to guard their homes, warn them, and sometimes, even take on the leopards.

On July 22, a two-year-old Vihaan Nilesh Garuda, whose father is an SGNP employee, was killed near Maroshipada, a hamlet near Film City.

On September 30, two women from Chafacha Pada were attacked by two leopards late in the evening on the outskirts of the village. Stray dogs attacked the leopards, and both women escaped with minor injuries.
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Attention

Europe remains a major killer of migrating birds


Deutsche Welle
Tue, 24 Oct 2017 17:08 UTC
bird of prey
Bird migration is one of nature's most fascinating charms - but for birds to reach their destinations is becoming ever more difficult. And humans have a lot to do with that.

Every year, about 25 million birds are killed across migration routes in the Mediterranean - whether shot, trapped or glued.

In addition, up to 2 million birds are killed illegally in Northern and Central Europe together with the Caucasus region, a new study conducted by BirdLife International has shown.

Surprisingly, most of the birds are slaughtered for "fun," lead author of the study Anne-Laure Brochet told DW.

In order to further improve law enforcement and raise awareness, illegal bird killings will be on the spotlight at the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP12) happening this week (October 22 to 28) in Manila, Phillippines.
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Attention

Fourth humpback whale in under a month found along East London coastline in South Africa

Barbara Hollands
Go! and Express
Tue, 24 Oct 2017 12:29 UTC
East London Museum principal scientist Kevin Cole examines an adult male humpback carcass that washed up west of Chintsa West on Sunday evening.
East London Museum principal scientist Kevin Cole examines an adult male humpback carcass that washed up west of Chintsa West on Sunday evening.
While East Londoners have been enjoying a bumper season of whale sightings over the past few weeks, a fourth humpback whale in less than a month has beached and died along the East London coastline.

East London Museum principal scientist Kevin Cole said the strandings were a new record for his cetacean database.

Yesterday, Cole examined the badly decomposed carcass of the fourth dead humpback on the rocks west of Chintsa West.

He said the body of the fully adult male had been seen floating in the ocean for a week or two.

Cole said it had washed up on the rocks on early Sunday evening.
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