Animals
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Attention

Dead pilot whale found on beach in Sarasota County, Florida

Dead pilot whale
© Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Dead pilot whale
Crews with Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium are removing a dead pilot whale that was discovered on a Sarasota County beach on Friday morning.

Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to Point of Rocks Beach around 3 a.m. after receiving reports about a 12-foot-long whale that had washed ashore.

Crews with Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium were called to help remove the sub-adult, pilot whale from the beach.

Marine biologists will likely try to determine what the whale died from.

Wolf

Woman loses fingers due to attack by hyena in Kenya

hyena
Hyena
An 80-year-old woman was admitted to hospital in Nyahururu after she was attacked by a hyena.

Dorothy Wangecii, a resident of Karaba village, Muhotetu division, in Laikipia West lost part of her left hand and three fingers in her right hand in the Wednesday attack.

She was also injured in the face and neck.


Ms Wangecii said the beast attacked her when she was driving away a neighbour's cow that had strayed on her farm.

"I was returning to my house when the hyena attacked me," she said.

She told journalists from her hospital bed that had it not been for her neighbours, who responded to her screams, the hyena would have killed her.

Attention

Boy and woman attacked by angry beaver in Schaffhausen, Switzerland

A European Beaver
© Per Harald Olsen A European Beaver
A terrified father has told of how his eight-year-old son was attacked by a vicious 'beast' while swimming in a river.

The boy was left with several nasty marks after being bitten on the shoulder and backside while swimming in the Rhine, in Switzerland, his father said.

And the culprit? A particularly aggressive beaver, the father told local news.

Speaking to 20 Minutes, he said: 'My son swam with his sister between the shore and some wooden boats shortly after 7pm when they began to scream like crazy.

'The beast bit twice - once into the shoulder and once into the buttocks.

'He was tall, about 80 centimeters long, and I could well see his distinctly broad tail.'

Attention

Woman still recovering after vicious black bear attack in Graham County, Arizona

 Black bear
Black bear
A Roanoke native now living in Tucson, Arizona, is recovering after a horrific bear attack.

It happened while Dawn Martin and her husband were camping. The couple dozed off in their chairs around a camp fire, and that's when the attack happened.

"Just as fast as he could he was coming at me. He came up behind my chair and slammed me down, and pinned me down the ground. I felt his head rip my scalp. His claws were in my arms," Martin explained.


It was a more than 300 pound black bear that stood more than 6 feet tall.

"By the time my brother-in-law got up, he was on my sister," explained Dawns sister Deborah who lives in Franklin County.


Comment: See also: Second fatal mauling by black bear in just 2 days for Alaska


Attention

Signs and Portents: Superstitious villagers living in fear after sheep gives birth to 'half-human half-beast' creature that was 'sent by the devil' in South Africa

Superstitious villagers have been living in fear since a sheep gave birth to this creature (pictured) that was said by elders to be half-human half-beast and 'sent by the devil'
Superstitious villagers have been living in fear since a sheep gave birth to this creature (pictured) that was said by elders to be half-human half-beast and 'sent by the devil'
Superstitious villagers have been living in fear since a sheep gave birth to this creature that was said by elders to be half-human half-beast and 'sent by the devil'.

Many of the 4,000 residents and farmers of Lady Frere in Eastern Province, South Africa, were convinced that bestiality and witchcraft had led to the birth of the creature.

The panic got so great that the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development sent out experts to carry out tests after pictures of it spread like wildfire through the community.

Chief Director of Veterinary Services Dr Lubabalo Mrwebi admitted that at first glance the lamb which was born dead did resemble a human being but was not part human.

Dr Mrwebi said: 'We can confirm this not a hoax photo but that the severely deformed lamb was born by a sheep in Lady Frere this week which at a glance resembles a human form.

Attention

2 humpback whales die near Chatham, Massachusetts

One of the dead whales found recently
© Ocean AerialsOne of the dead whales found recently
A team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare was on Monomoy on Wednesday investigating the death of two humpback whales.

A young humpback was reported to have washed up Tuesday on the beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, said IFAW spokeswoman Melanie Mahoney.

The team went out Wednesday hoping to visually evaluate the whale or conduct a necropsy, an animal autopsy, depending on the condition of the body, Mahoney said.

"While out examining the stranded humpback whale, our team received a report of another stranded dead whale on Monomoy," Mahoney wrote in an email. "The team was able to hike out and assess the animal. It was found to be alive and in poor condition."

Butterfly

Siberia experiences butterfly invasion

Black-veined Whites
Black-veined Whites
Since the beginning of June, the Russian cities Tomsk and Novosibirsk have been experiencing a 'butterflypocalipce:' a phenomenal amount of Black-veined White butterflies have 'attacked' Siberian regions. There are so many of them that the ground is almost shaking!

The Black-veined White is a large butterfly which often goes by the more scientific name Aporia crataegus. It has rounded white wings with clear black veins and usually feeds on fruits of the wild bird cherry and apples. The species is common in Europe, Asia and North America, but is extinct in Great Britain and northern Scandinavia, migratory in the Netherlands and retreating from France.


Black Cat 2

Cougars fear humans, run away from recorded voices

Puma
Like great white sharks and grizzly bears, mountain lions are one of the most fearsome wild animals for many Americans.

But new research shows that the lions may be more afraid of us than we are of them.

Scientists at UC Santa Cruz placed audio and video equipment in the Santa Cruz Mountains near areas where lions had killed deer and other animals. When a lion came to feed, a motion-activated device broadcast the sounds of people talking and Pacific tree frogs croaking, in addition to turning on a tiny hidden video camera.

In 29 experiments with 17 lions from December 2015 to June 2016, the lions ran away in 83 percent of cases as soon as they heard human voices — and only once when they heard the frog sounds.

Attention

Dead 12 meter-long white whale washes ashore in Hatay, Turkey

DEAD WHALE
A 12 meter-long white whale washed ashore in the southern Turkish province of Hatay on June 20, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Locals who live in Hatay's Karaağaç neighborhood noticed the dead whale due to its odor and informed the local authorities.

Following news of the dead whale, officials from the marine sciences faculty of İskenderun Technical University and coast guard crews arrived at the scene.

Officials could not remove the body of the whale due to the bad weather and sea conditions. According to initial reports, scratches and slits were also detected on the whale's body.

Wolf

Two separate attacks by pit bull terriers send children to hospital in Dallas, Texas

pit bull
Two separate dog attacks over the weekend sent two young kids to the hospital with serious injuries.

Investigators in Farmersville say a family's pitbull suddenly attacked their 4-year-old daughter early Sunday afternoon. She was bitten in the face and rushed to Children's Medical Center in Dallas.

The incident happened at the home on Windom Street near Highway 78 and 380. The dog was taken by animal control officers to the pound.

About 4 hours later, a 5-year-old boy was attacked by another pit bull less than a mile away.