Animals
S


Wolf

Wolves seen on the outskirts of Rome for the first time in more than 100 years

Gareth Davies
Daily Mail
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:07 UTC
Two wolf cubs are picked up on hidden cameras in the nature reserve of Castel di Guido near Rome, which is run by run by LIPU, the Italian League for the Protection of Birds
Two wolf cubs are picked up on hidden cameras in the nature reserve of Castel di Guido near Rome, which is run by run by LIPU, the Italian League for the Protection of Birds
Wolves have been spotted on the outskirts of Rome for the first time in more than a hundred years.

The predators were seen roaming through the Castel di Guido, near Leonardo da Vinci airport, walking close to a three-lane motorway.

Scientists have welcomed the symbolic return, given that the city's symbol is two children - Romulus and Remus - suckling on a wolf.

Alessia De Lorenzis, a professor of natural sciences who is monitoring the wolf pack, told The Telegraph: 'This is the first time in more than 100 years that wolves have been found living near Rome.

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Heart - Black

Whalers in Japan kill 177 whales to 'study' if commercially hunting them is sustainable


Scroll.in
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 12:52 UTC
A dead minke whale onboard a ship that was part of a Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters earlier this year.
© Glenn Lockitch/AFPA dead minke whale onboard a ship that was part of a Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters earlier this year.
Japan is a signatory to an international moratorium on hunting whales, but it exploits a loophole that allows whales to be killed for scientific purposes.

Japan said on Tuesday said it killed 177 whales off its northeast coast, in an annual hunt that has been repeatedly condemned by animal rights activists and several governments, AFP reported.

Three ships that left port in June returned with 43 minke whales and 134 sei whales, the country's fisheries agency said.

Although Japan is a signatory to the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on hunting, it exploits a loophole that allows whales to be killed for scientific research. The studies are "necessary to estimate the precise number of (sustainable) catches as we look to restart commercial whaling", AFP quoted agency official Kohei Ito as saying.

In March, another Japanese fleet of five ships returned after killing 333 minke whales.
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Attention

Whale shark found washed ashore in Tamil Nadu, India

South Indian Crime Point
You Tube
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 12:35 UTC
whale shark
A whale shark was found washed ashore near Thoothukudi old port on Wednesday evening. Sources in Thoothukudi Wildlife Range, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, said while patrolling along the shore, the forest personnel found the carcass of the female whale shark. It weighed around 1.5 tonnes.

The injuries on its body and near the tail indicated that it was hit by the propeller of a boat engine. Veterinary surgeons carried out a post-mortem on the carcass, which was highly decomposed, after which it was buried on the shore.

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Attention

Dead whale shark washes ashore on beach in Puri, India


Odishatv
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 12:23 UTC
whale shark
Whale shark
Forest officials today recovered the carcass of a 16-ft long whale shark which washed ashore near Light House here drawing crowd in huge numbers.

Many were amused to see the carcass and were busy taking photographs before forest officials reached the spot.

The length of the schedule-1 marine creature is around 16 ft and width is 9 ft, Range Officer Asit Mishra said.

"When it was floating in the sea, we suspected that it might be the carcass of a whale. But, when it washed ashore, we confirmed that it belongs to shark species," Mishra added.

The photographs of the marine animal were sent to top wildlife experts.

The reason of casualty is not known. It can only be ascertained after post mortem, he pointed out.

The body will be buried after autopsy.
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Attention

Shark bites surfer off beach at Lake Worth, Florida

Aric Chokey
Sun Sentinel
Sun, 24 Sep 2017 11:51 UTC
Shark attacks
A shark bit a male surfer off Lake Worth beach on Sunday, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said.

He was bitten in the arm just before 2 p.m., a Fire Rescue official said.

The man, who was not identified, was treated by lifeguards before being taken to a hospital.

Zachary Johnson, of Boynton Beach, said he was on the Lake Worth Pier when he saw a surfer wash into a school of fish on a wave about 10 feet away from the pier. A shadow appeared next to the surfer, Johnson said, and he saw something quickly bite the man and swim on.

"It clearly did not want him," Johnson recalled, noting that whatever bit the surfer let go immediately.

Johnson said the surfer then paddled back to shore where others met him and wrapped his arm with a shirt.

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Wolf

Three taken to ER after pit bull terrier attacks owner and 2 others in Claremore, Oklahoma

Cydney Baron
The Claremore Daily Progress
Thu, 21 Sep 2017 20:15 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
Three people were transported to the emergency room after they were allegedly attacked by a dog.

According to Rogers County Sheriff's Office, deputies were dispatched to a Highway 20 residence where a man was said to be "running around, waving his arms and acting distressed."

"Dispatch advised that the homeowner called in and advised that they were being attacked by their pit bull," according to RCSO reports. "When a deputy was making contact, the dog was still actively attacking it's owner. The deputy used a can of pepper spray on the dog and it didn't work."

According to the report, the deputy ultimately had to shoot the dog to get it off of the owner.

"Three people had injuries from the dog biting them, and they were all transported to the emergency room," RCSO reports. "

Comment: See also this report from a day later: Pit bull attacks 5-year-old boy in Manchester, Connecticut, drags him outside home

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Attention

Woman walks into a Longhorn Steakhouse and gets bitten by a copperhead

Cathy Jett
Fredericksburg.com
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 16:03 UTC
Rachel Myrick
© Peter CihelkaRachel Myrick, with boyfriend Mike Clem, was bitten by a baby copperhead snake while walking into LongHorn Steakhouse in Spotsylvania.
Rachel Myrick's first thought as she walked through the entrance to the LongHorn Steakhouse at Southpoint II and felt a sharp pain in her left foot was that she'd been stung by a bee, or possibly a hornet.

She tried to brush it off and keep going, but said that she felt such an excruciating pain as she took the next step that she dropped her cellphone, her wallet and her 13-year-old son Dylan's hand.

"I had my fingers under my foot and that's when I felt something moving," said Myrick, a Fredericksburg Realtor.

She'd been bitten twice on her toes and once on the side of her foot by a roughly 8-inch-long copperhead that had managed to get into the Massaponax restaurant's foyer. It was still attached to her sandal-shod foot until she shook it loose.

"I freaked out," said Myrick, who recalled yelling, "I got bit! I got bit!"

Myrick had gone to the restaurant for dinner on Sept. 12 with her son, boyfriend Michael Clem and some of Clem's friends and family.
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Attention

Oil worker killed and eaten by hungry brown bears as beasts besiege towns and villages in Russia


The Siberian Times
Mon, 18 Sep 2017 18:12 UTC
The attack came amid warnings especially in neighbouring Khanti-Mansi region that people are besieged by bears seeking to stock fat before hibernation
The attack came amid warnings especially in neighbouring Khanti-Mansi region that people are besieged by bears seeking to stock fat before hibernation
Staff and passengers at Nyagan airport in fear of bear patrolling the runway and trying to break into terminal.

An oil worker was killed and disembowelled by brown bears in Yamalo-Nenets region. The eviscerated remains of the shift worker's body was found beside a road connecting oil capital Surgut to Salekhard.

The bears have covered the body with tree branches evidently intending to return.

The attack came amid warnings especially in neighbouring Khanti-Mansi region that people are besieged by bears seeking to stock fat before hibernation.

Rangers receive daily calls from all over the region asking to send patrols to protect people, according to reports.

Comment: See also: Boy mauled to death by brown bear in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia

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Attention

Boy mauled to death by brown bear in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia


The SiberianTimes
Sun, 24 Sep 2017 18:01 UTC
Locals killed the bear several hours after the attack.
© The Siberian TimesLocals killed the bear several hours after the attack.
Boy was mauled to death, his sister managed to escape and raised alarm.

The attack came in the village of Kheta on the Taimyr peninsula in northern Siberia, some 1,747 kilometres north of the regional capital Krasnoyarsk.

The twins were playing on a helicopter pad when the bear appeared. The little girl ran away and called for help as her twin brother was pulled away into bushes.

Olga Degid, Russian Investigative Committee representative, said: 'Children were playing outside when a brown bear walked towards them, grabbed a six year old boy and killed him.'

Locals killed the bear several hours after the attack, she said.

The Investigative Committee is carrying out a check on this incident.

Comment: See also: Oil worker killed and eaten by hungry browm bears as beasts besiege towns and villages in Russia

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Attention

Queensland, Australia residents warned after death of 100 yo crocodile sparks fears of power struggle among aggressive males

Hannah Osborne
Yahoo News
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 00:00 UTC
100 yo crocodile queensland australia
The death of a huge crocodile whose body was found in a river in Queensland, Australia, has sparked fears of a fight for dominance among the young, aggressive males living in the area.

The 5.2 meter-long (17ft) male, which had been shot in the head, was discovered by a member of the public, who had spotted its body floating in the Fitzroy River. Local farmer John Leaver told the Australian Associated Press it had been around 20 to 30 years since such a large crocodile had been found in Queensland.

"There may have been some others shot in the wild that we don't know about, but from my recollection, over the past three decades this would be the largest," he said, adding the largest he had ever caught measured 4.95 meters (16.2ft).

Leaver said that from the damage done to the crocodile's skull, the bullet probably came from a fairly large calibre rifle. "I would say that someone felt very threatened," he said.
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