Animals
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Attention

Weeks old dead whale found on beach in South Taranak, New Zealand

Jeremy Wilkinson and Brittany Baker
Stuff
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 11:12 UTC
Carl Linnell walked up on a washed-up whale near New Plymouth.
© Carl LinnellCarl Linnell walked up on a washed-up whale near New Plymouth.
A 14 metre whale has washed up on a South Taranaki beach.

Department of Conservation duty ranger Nathan Jones said he was called to a remote beach near Rahotu on Monday evening and said he suspected the dead mammal was a blue pygmy whale.

"The cause of death is unknown at this stage but it has probably been dead several weeks judging by the state of decay," he said.

"If it was on a more public beach we might have to cut it into pieces and get a digger involved, but because it's quite isolated we can just let nature take its course."

The whale was still at the beach on Wednesday evening and Jones asked the public to stay away from it if they saw it.

Carl Linnell said it looked like the whale had been on the beach for a few days.
© Carl Linnell Carl Linnell said it looked like the whale had been on the beach for a few days.
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Info

Cheetahs heading for extinction; only 7,100 remain in the wild

John von Radowitz
The Independent (UK)
Mon, 26 Dec 2016 15:06 UTC
The male cheetah cub spots the GoPro camera
The male cheetah cub spots the GoPro camera
Urgent action is needed to stop the cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, from becoming extinct, experts have warned.

Scientists estimate that just 7,100 of the fleet-footed cats remain in the wild, occupying just nine per cent of the territory they once lived in.

Asiatic populations have been hit the hardest with fewer than 50 individuals surviving in Iran, according to a new investigation led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

In Zimbabwe, cheetah numbers have plummeted by 85 per cent in little more than a decade.

Comment: See also: Megafauna extinction: Many of the world's largest beasts could be extinct by the end of the century

31 large carnivores declining across the world

Conservation body warns giraffes undergoing a 'silent extinction'

African elephant populations facing extinction due to hunting and poaching for ivory

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Attention

Beached Gray's beaked whale dies despite rescue attempts in Timaru, New Zealand

Liam Cavanagh
Stuff
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 11:55 UTC
Locals gather around the whale which beached itself at Caroline Bay.
© John Bisset/FAIRFAX NZLocals gather around the whale which beached itself at Caroline Bay.
A Timaru volunteer is "gutted" after trying to help save a whale beached in Caroline Bay.

It follows an incident involving a Gray's beaked whale which beached itself on Boxing Day at about 7.30pm. Despite multiple attempts by locals, the whale died later that night.

Department of Conservation (DOC) crews spent Tuesday morning co-ordinating its removal from the popular summer beach.

For trained marine medic Donna McPherson, of Timaru, it was her first real-life whale stranding since she received training in April.

"It certainly will be forever in my memory."

She first received a call-out at about 8.30pm on Monday.

The gray's beaked whale beached itself in Caroline Bay on late Monday night and had to be removed on Tuesday.
© John Bisset/FAIRFAX NZThe gray's beaked whale beached itself in Caroline Bay on late Monday night and had to be removed on Tuesday.
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Fish

6,000 dead fish found in rivers of Baltimore County, Maryland

Bryna Zumer
foxbaltimore.com
Sun, 25 Dec 2016 11:10 UTC
Fish kill
About 6,000 fish were found to have died in eastern Baltimore County waterways, according to a Maryland Department of the Environment investigation.

Preliminary results point to algae-created toxins as the likely cause of the fish kill, which was discovered last week after dead fish were first seen in rivers that include the Gunpowder and Bird, said MDE spokesperson Jay Apperson Monday evening.

The kill has affected at least nine species: yellow perch, largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, carp, black crappie, gizzard shad, spottail shiner and channel catfish.
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Attention

Two elephants destroy house and kill man in Nepal


My Republica
Mon, 26 Dec 2016 22:23 UTC
Charging elephant
© GettyCharging elephant
A person has died after being attacked by two wild elephants in Saptari district on Saturday night.

The deceased has been identified as Raghunath Khanga, 60, of Bhardaha-9 of the district, according to Area Police Office (APO) of Bhardaha.

When Khanga and his family were fast asleep in the middle of the night, two wild suddenly elephants attacked his house. Everyone except Khanga managed to escape. He was chased down and trampled to death, informed the APO. According to locals, the elephants also destroyed sheds, and crops and vegetables cultivated in the farms of some locals.

Prior to this incident, Allahdin Khan, 55, of Bairawa-8 had also lost his life after being attacked by an wild elephant on November 3.
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Black Cat

Cat attacks man unwrapping Christmas present in Macon, Georgia

Alexandra Klausner
New York Post
Mon, 26 Dec 2016 18:48 UTC
Overexcited grown man attacked by cat
Overexcited grown man attacked by cat
Paws off the Christmas presents!

Andrew Woodward, of Georgia, was enthusiastically ripping the wrapping paper off his new PlayStation 4 on Sunday when his cat pounced on him and viciously clawed at his head and neck.

Video of the incident was posted to Facebook by Woodward's friend Jessica Freeman and had been shared nearly 200,000 times by Monday morning.

"This has resulted in a trip to the doctor and stitches. We love him and genuinely hope he feels better. It's just nice to be able to laugh with your best friends," Freeman said of Woodward's injuries.

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Attention

Pilot whale washes ashore at French River, Canada

Terrence McEachern
cbc.ca
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 13:01 UTC
A wildlife officer says it isn't uncommon for whales to wash up on shore on P.E.I.
© Esther-Rose PowleyA wildlife officer says it isn't uncommon for whales to wash up on shore on P.E.I.
The carcass of a pilot whale was discovered Wednesday on a beach in French River, P.E.I., but given the degree of decomposition, a wildlife officer says there likely isn't a lot of scientific information that can be learned.

"I doubt there is much more [that is] going to be accomplished, other than just burying it," said Chuck Gallison with Forest, Fish and Wildlife.

Found near New London lighthouse

Gallison said the whale, approximately seven metres long, was probably floating in the water for a while before it washed on shore near the New London lighthouse, likely during a recent storm.
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Attention

Dolphin's cause of death uncertain off Longboat Key, Florida

Hannah Morse
Bradenton Herald
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 12:54 UTC
Marine Marine Laboratory staff and interns conduct a necropsy on a dolphin found on the shore of Longboat Key on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016
© Haley Preininger/Mote Marine LaboratoryMarine Marine Laboratory staff and interns conduct a necropsy on a dolphin found on the shore of Longboat Key on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016.

A local fisherman found a young, lifeless dolphin a half mile off of the coast of Longboat Key Monday morning.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit was called out around 10:37 a.m., where deputy John Fandozzi recovered the dolphin and took it to Ken Thompson Park, where Mote Marine Laboratory transported it to determine a cause of death.

On Tuesday, Mote's Stranding Investigations program did a necropsy on the animal and discovered it was CLA2, a dolphin who was being studied by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program that uses the "natural laboratory" of Sarasota Bay to keep track of local populations. The animal was believed to be born sometime before 2010 and had been seen 16 times in the Gulf of Mexico — most recently on Aug. 1.
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Attention

Baby girl killed at home by rats in South Africa

macprince
Time of Gist
Mon, 19 Dec 2016 15:32 UTC
Rats
A 28-year-old South African man has revealed that his baby girl has been killed by the most unlikely things - rats.

According to him, his ex-girlfriend is to blame for the horrible incidence.

Speaking with Daily Sun SA, the man said he will never forgive his ex-girlfriend for what happened to his four-month-old baby girl.

The man from Mavimbela section in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, South Africa, claims his child was bitten to death by rats while the ex-girlfriend was out drinking on Friday.

She allegedly left the baby locked in the shack until she came back the next morning.
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Attention

Dead orca found off Sunshine Coast, British Columbia

Justin McElroy
cbc.ca
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 11:07 UTC
Officials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans inspect a dead orca near Sechelt, B.C., on Dec. 21, 2016.
© Graham MooreOfficials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans inspect a dead orca near Sechelt, B.C., on Dec. 21, 2016.
A deceased adult Orca was found floating off the shore of Sechelt, B.C., on Wednesday.

The Vancouver Aquarium confirmed that members with its Marine Mammal Research Program are en route to Sechelt to work with the DFO in performing a necropsy.

"We've got the whale now on the beach, and we're actually in the middle of the necropsy," said Paul Cottrell, the DFO's marine mammal coordinator.

The whale was originally spotted on Tuesday night, said Cottrell, but it wasn't until this afternoon that it could be safely secured and brought to shore.

He credited the Coast Guard and Sechelt First Nation for being quickly available to assist with the recovery.

"The people we were able to get here quickly is amazing, and a testament to how dedicated they are," he said.

"Every day that goes by you lose information in terms of tissues and pathologies. So it's good that we acted fast in determining the cause of death for this animal."
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