Animals
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Attention

Dead Bryde's whale discovered near Mumbai, India


mid-day.com
Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:24 UTC
The whale's head washed ashore at Colaba pumping station, and the tail was found 500 m away, near Afghan church
The whale's head washed ashore at Colaba pumping station, and the tail was found 500 m away, near Afghan church
Parts of a Bryde's whale's carcass were found near Colaba on Monday. The whale could have washed ashore day or two ago. A marine researcher who had gone to the spot told mid-day it is difficult to state the exact age of the creature or the cause of its death.

"The head of the whale washed ashore at Colaba pumping station, while the tail was found 500 metres away, near Afghan Church. The tail could not be measured, as it was inaccessible. The other half measured around 7.8 meters," said the researcher.

Speaking about the total length of the whale's body, the researcher said, "Without the actual measurement of the tail, it is difficult to tell the complete length of the animal. But Bryde's whales grow up to a maximum length of 50 ft."

50 ft

Maximum length of a Bryde's whale
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Attention

16th North Atlantic right whale discovered dead off Cape Cod, Massachusetts


CBC News
Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:11 UTC
The carcass of a North Atlantic right whale has been found on the coast of Nashawena Island
The carcass of a North Atlantic right whale has been found on the coast of Nashawena Island
A sixteenth North Atlantic right whale has been found dead off the coast of Massachusetts this week, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The organization announced late on Monday that the right whale was found dead on a beach near Cape Cod.

There are only about 500 North Atlantic right whales left in the world. The 16 confirmed deaths in U.S. and Canadian waters this year represents about three per cent of the population.

The IFAW said they plan to work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine the cause of the whale's death.
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Attention

Shark attacks kayaker off Takapuna beach, New Zealand


New Zealand Herald
Sun, 22 Oct 2017 10:33 UTC
shark
A shark attack has rattled investigative journalist David Lomas.

He was targeted three times by the creature as he paddled his kayak off the Takapuna coastline yesterday.

The shark only stopped bumping and shaking his boat as its jaws tried to get a grip on the plastic when Lomas stabbed it with his paddle.

"Once you know it's attacking the boat you have that image of it coming out of the water and having a go at you.

"I just gave it a good stab down with my paddle. It stopped and disappeared under my boat, heading backwards.

"I started paddling as fast as a I could without trying to splash too much."
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Cloud Lightning

35 sheep struck dead by lightning bolt in Tamil Nadu, India


The Times of India
Tue, 24 Oct 2017 19:24 UTC
LIGHTNING
Thirty five sheep were struck dead by lightning near Vedasandur in Dindigul district on Sunday.

Police said, Balasubramanian, 55, of Renganathapuram near Vedasandur, had a herd of sheep and as it was raining on Saturday, he had locked the animals up in a thatched shed and gone home.

He returned on Sunday to find all his animals struck dead by lightning and only one sheep had escaped.

Village administration officer Alagesan came to the spot and inspected the goats with the help of a veterinary doctor.
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Binoculars

Did Storm Ophelia bring a hawfinch invasion to the UK?

Stuart Winter
Daily Express (UK)
Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:24 UTC
Hawfinches
Hawfinches
Days before Tropical Storm Ophelia was drowning the countryside with an eerie, orange lustre, the skies flashed with clues of oddities to come.

The heavens would soon be swirling with Saharan sands and the ashy fallout from Portugal's wildfires.

Looking upwards last Sunday, flickering wings were catching the eye.

Small squadrons of birds the shape of badly-crafted paper planes trickled over inland hilltops ever westwards, signalling their flights with the sounds of sharp nails driven into granite blocks.

Hawfinches were on the move, white wing-bars and stubby tails shining bright and formations communicating with high-pitched call notes on the very edge of human hearing.

For those listening below it was an unprecedented experience of shock and awe.


Comment: See also: Wrong place, wrong time: Red-billed quelea from Africa turns up in Scotland; storm driven?

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Attention

Man and girl injured by bear in central Romania


Irish Independent
Mon, 23 Oct 2017 12:22 UTC
Bear attack
Two people have been taken to hospital after they were attacked by a brown bear in central Romania.

A 39-year-old man was scratched all over his body and a 14-year-old girl was bitten and scratched during the attack early on Monday in the mountainous city of Fagaras, a spokesman for Romania's emergency services said.

They were both treated at the municipal hospital.

The spokesman said the bear had left the forest and had come to the city in search of food. The animal ran off, frightened by the screams.

He said there were occasional attacks on humans in the Brasov area, home to many of Romania's bears.

Romania has between 5,000 and 6,000 wild bears.

Source: Press Association

Comment: See also this July report: Two shepherds mauled by bear in Romania; 7th attack for the country this year

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Attention

Shark knocks teen girl off kayak near Normanville, South Australia

Lizx Walsh and Jill Pengelley
The Advertiser
Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:20 UTC
Girl knocked off kayak by shark
Girl knocked off kayak by shark
A courageous father has saved his teenage daughter from a rampaging four-metre great white shark off Normanville, declaring that if he'd taken 10 seconds longer, "I'd have one less child".

Chris Williams, 56, said his family was kayaking and squidding in the pristine waters of Lady Bay on Sunday.

But the perfect afternoon quickly turned into a nightmare when Sarah, 15, alone in a double kayak, was suddenly flung into the air.

Sarah said she had been messing around with her brother and singing songs when the attack began.

"The next thing I know, a shark was hitting my kayak from below," she said. "It flipped my kayak ... as soon as I hit the water, I saw the fin and the tail and I thought: 'This is like the Jaws movie'."

Sarah said her feet touched the shark's body as she scrambled back into her kayak. "I basically used the body weight of the shark to get back up," she said.

The ferocious attack left teeth marks on the underside of the kayak. Watching it unfold only metres away in a small aluminium tinny were Mr Williams, his son Mitchell, 22, and daughter Misty, 33.
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Wolf

Boy killed by 2 pit bull terriers in Lowell, Massachusetts

Aaron Curtis
The Lowell Sun
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 11:40 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
A 7-year-old boy was killed after a dog attack in The Acre section of the city on Saturday night.

A preliminary investigation suggests the attack took place when the unidentified child entered a fenced-in area on Clare Street that housed two pit bulls, according to a press release from the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.

Authorities received a call about the attack at around 6 p.m. and arrived on scene to discover the deceased child, the release states.

Following the attack, one of the pit bulls escaped the enclosed area. The animal has been located and euthanized. The other pit bull is in custody of Lowell Animal Control.


Comment: A sample of other serious dog attacks on people in October (and not previously reported on Sott) include the following:-

Pit bulls who mauled 10-year-old Aurora boy euthanized

Man Attacked By Pit Bull In Middletown

Dog attack man flown to Perth

Pit Bull Euthanized After Biting Off Chunk of 6-Year-Old Girl's Arm

Loose dog reportedly attacks multiple people near Hanscom Park

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Attention

Over 80 seabirds found dead on beaches in Albany, Western Australia


The West Australian
Fri, 20 Oct 2017 20:48 UTC
A CCWA volunteer with dead seabirds near Albany.
A CCWA volunteer with dead seabirds near Albany.
More than 80 sea birds have washed up dead on Albany beaches, according to the Conservation Council of WA.

The flesh-footed shearwaters were found washed up dead on Goode and Fisheries Beach on the western side of King George Sound, south of Albany.

Conservation Council of WA Nic Dunlop said the kills may be caused by purse-seine fishing.

"The timing of this Shearwater kill is unusually early, but in every other respect fitted the now familiar pattern of these seabirds being drowned in the purse-seine nets used by the Albany-based South Coast Purse-seine Fishery," Dr Dunlop said.

"The Flesh-footed Shearwater is a species that has recently shown a dramatic decline in all three of its populations. The species is known to be particularly susceptible as bycatch in a variety of commercial fisheries, to the ingestion of plastics, and to changes in marine climate.
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Eye 2

Deadly vine snake eating green snake alive photographed in South Africa


The Expresss
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 20:15 UTC
Shocking sight as deadly poisonous vine snake eats green snake alive
© Richard MckibbinShocking sight as deadly poisonous vine snake eats green snake alive
The impressively camouflaged vine snake, at times barely visible due to its tree-like markings, gorged on a harmless Eastern natal green snake for a whole half hour.

At first, the green snake coils its thin body around its attacker in a vain attempt to escape.

But as the little serpent succumbs to the vine snake's deadly poison, the predator is shown wrapping its girth around its prey to gobble it down - head first.

The awesome sighting was captured by photographer Richard Mckibbin while he was out with a butterfly walk group on October 15 at the Zimbali Coastal Resort, South Africa.

Mr Mckibbin, 37, from Umhlanga Rocks, South Africa, said: "It was incredibly exciting to see. I see these vine snakes often, but I have never seen anything like this.
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