Animals
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Attention

Kayaker fights off aggressive hammerhead shark near Santa Barbara, California

shark attack
A California man fought off a hammerhead shark while kayaking in Santa Barbara.

The man says he was out fishing when he felt a bump on the back of his kayak.

That's when he realized it was a hammerhead shark trying to attack him.

In the video, you can see he used his paddle to make sure the hammerhead stayed away but the shark just kept on trying to attack..


Wolf

Three rottweilers kill security guard in South Africa

canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
The family of a security guard killed by three Rottweilers at a Shakaskraal stable yard recently was given R5 000 by the owners "to say sorry".

Khulekani Mthembu worked at La Maine stable yard, a few kilometres inland of Shakaskraal village, as a security guard along with his brother, Collin.

Two weeks ago, the dogs attacked and killed Khulekani - in spite of the fact that he had been feeding them for the past three months.

The yard is popular with local horse owners, stabling about 24 horses. One horse owner, who told the Courier of the attack, said he was angry that this terrible tragedy had been deliberately kept "under the radar". Speaking from their family home near Gingindhlovu, Collin Mthembu described his brother as a very friendly, helpful person.

"We were working together, saving money to build a nice house for our family at Wumbana area, between Eshowe and Gingindlovu. Now that he is dead, I have lost hope that I will achieve our dream," he said. He said his brother, who was 33 years old, has been working there for the past three months and part of his job was to feed the dogs.

Attention

Dead humpback whale found off Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland

DFO says it does not know how the whale died.
© Fred CoxDFO says it does not know how the whale died.
A dead whale floating in the waters off the Burin Peninsula is a humpback, scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans confirmed Wednesday.

Pictures of the carcass were posted to social media Tuesday and it's believed the creature is near the community of Lamaline, which had another bloated whale carcass wash ashore in 2014.

DFO said it does not know the cause of death.

Don't touch

"Situations like these are unfortunate ... we remind the public that physical contact with whale carcasses is discouraged due to the possibility of disease transmission or injury," DFO said in a statement.

The department added that Fisheries and Oceans Canada "does not have a role in the disposal of this whale."

Attention

Dead rays found on beach in Auckland, New Zealand

Dozens of dead Stingrays have washed up on St Heliers beach today in a mysterious turn of events that has puzzled locals
Dozens of dead Stingrays have washed up on St Heliers beach today in a mysterious turn of events that has puzzled locals
More than a dozen dead eagle rays have mysteriously been found washed up on an Auckland beach.

Beachgoers were shocked to find more than 15 large eagle rays scattered along St Heliers Beach on Saturday afternoon.

The eagle rays appeared uninjured apart from a few lesions caused by seagulls pecking on their flesh.

St Heliers resident Holger Boehm went down to the beach with his son on Saturday after hearing about the dead rays. He said the wingspan of the eagle rays was about 90cm.

Comment: A further 8 rays have subsequently washed at the same locality since this report, see also: Eight dead stingrays wash up on St Heliers beach


Attention

3 bottlenose dolphins found dead or dying along the Jersey Shore

A bottlenose dolphin was found dead on Monday in Sea Bright, the third dolphin to wash ashore in the past several days.
© Marine Mammal Stranding CenterA bottlenose dolphin was found dead on Monday in Sea Bright, the third dolphin to wash ashore in the past several days.
Three bottlenose dolphins were found dead along the Jersey Shore in the last week.

Bob Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, said Tuesday that the first dolphin was found washed ashore in Sea Bright, Monmouth County, a week ago. The stranding center is still awaiting test results to determine a cause of death, he said.

Another dolphin was initially alive when it came to shore in Sea Isle City, Cape May County, on Sunday morning, but it died in the surf shortly after, the stranding center said in a Facebook post.

The third dolphin was found Monday in Sea Girt, Monmouth County, and had been dead for at least a week, Schoelkopf said.

Comment: Two more were also discovered further north along the Atlantic seaboard during the same time period, see: Two bottlenose dolphins discovered dead in Amagansett, New York


Binoculars

Wrong place, wrong time: Tropical bird of prey turns up in New Brunswick, Canada

A photo taken by Mitch Doucet of a crested caracara.
© MitchDoucetA photo taken by Mitch Doucet of a crested caracara.
A colourful bird native to the mountains of Central and South America has been spotted in Hopewell Hill, N.B., prompting bird lovers to flock to the area to try to catch a glimpse.

The crested caracara is part of the falcon family and is typically found in northern parts of South America, Central America and most of Mexico. But a lone visitor seems to have found itself off-course, and is making New Brunswick its new vacation home.

Photographer Mitch Doucet and his wife Irene spotted the falcon this past weekend near Hopewell Hill and Mitch was able to grab a few shots of the black, white and orange bird on his camera.

"Saturday, as soon as we got there, he flew over when we were driving by. So we kind of followed him around to see where he would land. We didn't want to disturb him too much so we looked at him from a distance and took some photos," Doucet told CTV Atlantic.

The crested caracara has been spotted in southern U.S. states such as Texas and Florida, but rarely as far north as New Brunswick, which is approximately 3,000 kilometres away from its natural habitat.


Wolf

Family dog kills 1-year-old baby in South Korea

canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A one-year-old baby died in hospital late Monday after being attacked by her family's pet dog. She was bit on her neck by a 7-year-old Jindo dog in the living room of her apartment located in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, Friday.

According to the police, the dog had been kept inside a 60-centimeter-tall fence, which was apparently too short to prevent the dog from jumping over.

The dog attacked the baby in her mother's arm when they were just entering the living room.

The mother rushed the baby to the hospital, but she was pronounced dead four days after the attack. The baby's father, to whom the dog originally belonged, was not at home when the attack happened.

The victim's body is to be sent to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation for an autopsy. The police are investigating the exact cause of the victim's death and whether her parents took proper steps to prevent the fatal incident.

Attention

Dead humpback whale buried on beach in Ballina, Australia

whale
A dead whale which was found on the beach at South Ballina on Sunday has been buried.

A spokeswoman from National Parks and Wildlife confirmed the 5.2m baby humpback whale had been buried on Monday.

It is not known at this stage why the decision was made to bury the whale instead of removing it from the beach.

It comes less than a month after Port Macquarie-Hastings Council was forced to dig up a whale which had been buried on Nobbys Beach.

Locals had raised concerns that the carcass would attract sharks.

Attention

Suspected anthrax outbreak kills 107 hippos in a week in Namibia

Conservation volunteer Cathy Withers-Clark, 50, from Simon's Town, South Africa, took the photos whilst on a road trip around Namibia.
© Cathy Withers-ClarkConservation volunteer Cathy Withers-Clark, 50, from Simon's Town, South Africa, took the photos whilst on a road trip around Namibia.
A suspected anthrax outbreak has killed 107 hippos in one of Namibia's biggest game parks in the Zambezi region in Namibia in just one week.

The park's deputy director Apollinaris Kannyinga confirmed the deaths Sunday at Bwabwata National Park.

Kannyinga said the first 10 deaths were reported on Oct. 1 but had risen by the end of the week.

"We suspect an anthrax outbreak, but our veterinary is still yet to confirm that,'' Kannyinga said.

He also said that this was the first time such a deadly outbreak has hit Namibia. Before the outbreak, Namibia had an estimated 1,300 hippos.

Comment: See also this report from a month ago: Anthrax kills at least 42 hippos in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania


Attention

Two bottlenose dolphins discovered dead in Amagansett, New York

dead dolphin
Two bottlenose dolphins were found dead on Amagansett beaches, and biologists are trying to determine how they died.

The first dolphin was reported at about 2 p.m. Friday at the end of Atlantic Avenue by a member of the public, said Rachel Bosworth, spokeswoman for the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

The second, also reported to the society by a member of the public, was found Saturday morning at about 7 a.m. off Napeague Lane.

A team of biologists and volunteers, with assistance from the East Hampton Marine Patrol, responded to both scenes to evaluate the carcasses, she said.

Bottlenose dolphins are common in temperate and tropical waters, including off the coast of Long Island, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Adult dolphins can grow to as long as 12 feet and weigh up to 1,400 pounds.