Animals
S


Ice Cube

Record number of 600 turtles rescued from ocean following cold snap in North Carolina


witn.com
Thu, 07 Jan 2016 13:39 UTC
Turtle
Cold-stunned turtle
State biologists now say a record number of turtles were rescued earlier this week from our coast.

In all, 600 cold-stunned turtles were caught in frigid waters near the shore, as they were not able to swim.

The North Carolina Aquariums took in nearly 450 turtles, including the one at Pine Knoll Shores. Many of the turtles have made a quick recovery, but others need additional time and care before they can return to the ocean.

State officials say about 200 of the turtles will be transported to South Carolina & Georgia beaches tomorrow where they will be released into warmer waters. The rest will stay here for a couple of weeks for rehabilitation.
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Black Cat

Signs and Portents: Cougar with odd head deformity shot near Weston, Idaho


khq.com
Fri, 08 Jan 2016 19:05 UTC
Deformed mountain lion
© Idaho Fish and GameThis Dec. 30, 2015, photo released by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), shows a deformed mountain lion with teeth growing out of its forehead. Biologists are trying to determine what caused the strange growth on the animal, which was legally killed by a hunter in southeast Idaho near the Utah border.
Idaho Fish and Game officials were left a little perplexed when a conservation officer sent photos of a mountain lion's odd deformity to them last week.

The cougar was shot near Weston by an unidentified hunter and appears to have a separate set of teeth growing out of its head. It's simply something Fish and Game biologists have never seen before.

There's no clear consensus about what the abnormality is, but there are a few theories.

First, it could be a teratoma, a rare type of tumor capable of containing hair, bone, teeth and even parts of limbs or organs.
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Fish

Rare deep-sea ragfish found dead on coast of Gustavus, Alaska: 4th for the state in 3 years

Yereth Rosen
Alaska Dispatch News
Thu, 07 Jan 2016 13:43 UTC
ragfish
© NOAA A ragfish is shown in this undated photo from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
A type of big, deep-ocean fish rarely seen at the water's surface was found washed ashore Thursday in Gustavus in Southeast Alaska, the National Park Service reported.

A ragfish, measuring 65 inches long, was spotted near the dock in Gustavus, the town that serves as the headquarters for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, officials said.

The discovery was made by a state transportation worker, said Craig Murdoch, a Park Service fisheries biologist.

"He was checking the dock and he noticed what he thought was a halibut," Murdoch said. "He went and checked it out, and it was a fish he had never seen before."

Comment: See also: Rare ragfish washes up on Alaskan Beach

Creatures from the deep signal major Earth Changes: Is anyone paying attention?

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Binoculars

Wrong time, wrong place: Rare tropical bird found dead in South Dakota

Jonathan Ellis
Angus Leader
Thu, 07 Jan 2016 19:19 UTC
Great Kiskadee
© Terry SohlThis photo of a Great Kiskadee was taken on December 2nd, 2015 near Volga, South Dakota
Members of the state's birding community were astonished in November when they spotted a in South Dakota, the first confirmed sighting in the state.

The bird is plentiful in Mexico and the tropics and typically found in the United States in only extreme southern Texas.

The sighting in South Dakota was near Volga during the South Dakota Ornithologists' Union fall meeting in Brookings, so there was no doubt about its veracity. Members of the community speculated about how it ended up here, and in the story above, South Dakota State University ornithologist K.C. Jensen predicted the tropical birds wouldn't have a good chance to survive South Dakota's brutal winter.
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Arrow Down

Human organs grown in pigs and sheep by US research farm

Micki Hogan
Digital Journal
Thu, 07 Jan 2016 19:34 UTC
Pig Used for Organ Growing
© MIT Technology ReviewA pig at the swine unit of the University of California, Davis. Scientists hope to grow human organs in such animals.
United States Research Farms are moving ahead with attempts to grow human organs inside living animals such as pigs and sheep.

United States Research Farms have decided to continue their efforts to grow live human organs inside animals like pigs and sheep. The process has been under fire regarding the issue's ethics and concerns stemming from crossing animal DNA with human organs. The human-animal Chimeras are stirring ethical and health debates in many venues regarding the studies. The term Chimera was coined after years of experiments have taken place, as explained in the 2013 article on the Slate website by Daniel Engber.

The recent MIT Technology Review article details efforts to grow organs like hearts, livers, and lungs. According to the article at least 20 pig pregnancies containing human DNA have been confirmed. Although the pregnancies took place, no experimental publications have been published and none of the pregnancies have made it to full term.
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Attention

Over 7,800 dead murres counted on beaches of Whittier, Alaska

Zaz Hollander
Alaska Dispatch News
Tue, 05 Jan 2016 18:43 UTC
Dead murres line a beach in Prince William Sound
© David Irons / USFWS
Dead murres line a beach in Prince William Sound the first week of January, 2016.

Thousands of dead common murres are washing up on the beaches of Whittier, an unprecedented die-off that has scientists wondering how many more thousands remain uncounted throughout Prince William Sound.

A recently retired federal biologist doing beach surveys in Whittier over the weekend estimated there were more than 7,800 dead murres along a little over a mile of beach. That's nearly five dead birds per meter of beach, officials say.

The scale of the die-off is unprecedented along the Sound, longtime residents say.

"It's just mind-boggling," said David Janka, a Cordova charter owner who passed along reports of dead birds from there as well as Valdez, Tatitlek and Chenega. "I just took a picture a few minutes ago of an eagle with a murre in its talons."

Comment: See also this earlier report: Dozens of starving seabirds found grounded inland in Southcentral Alaska

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Attention

Washed-up minke whale removed from shore in Invergordon, Scotland


Ross-Shire Journal
Thu, 07 Jan 2016 18:12 UTC
Minke whale lies on beach
The remains of the young Minke whale lies on the beach
A dead 12ft minke whale washed up on the beach at Invergordon has been removed - after council officials had to rethink how to do it.

The carcasse appeared on the town's shore on Monday and the Highland Council's environmental health officers hoped to use a crane to take it away.

But a council spokeswoman said because of the dead mammal's location, they had not been able to use conventional lifting equipment.

Instead, a special crane was sent for and it was lifted off the beach on Wednesday.

The spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that the whale has been uplifted and has been taken away by the specialist contractor for disposal.

"The environmental health officer said there was no health hazard to the public if it was left just a little longer.
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Attention

Boy in stable condition after shark attack on Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Rod McGuirk
news.yahoo.com
Tue, 05 Jan 2016 16:48 UTC
Shark attacks
An 11-year-old boy was in a stable condition in hospital on Wednesday after he was mauled by a shark on the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian east coast, officials said.

The boy was attacked by a black tipped reef shark on Tuesday afternoon as he waded off a beach at the Heron Island tourist resort northeast of the coastal town of Gladstone, Queensland Ambulance Service paramedic Brad Lawson said.

Officials have not released the victim's name or commented on media reports that he is an Italian tourist on vacation with his family.

He sustained a significant injury to his right calf, ambulance service spokesman Krathyn White said.

The boy's father helped him from the water and took him to the resort's nurse who treated his wounds, Lawson said.

Comment: See also: Man survives gruesome shark attack off the coast of Queensland, Australia

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Attention

Dead minke whale found washed up on Shoebury beach, UK

Sean Axtell
Echo (Shoebury, UK)
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:45 UTC
35ft minke whale
35ft whale found on Shoebury beach
A whale, the length of a bus, has been found washed up in Shoebury.

Coastguards discovered the 35ft minke whale near East Beach, on the Ministry of Defence base in Shoebury yesterday.

Experts from the Natural History Musuem, London, arrived at the scene to inspect the mammal, usually found in waters off Canada, Iceland and occasionally Scotland.

It is believed to have died after being hit by a boat.

Coastguards received reports of the mammal, weighing up to ten tonnes, floating in the estuary on Monday afternoon. It was finally tracked down by 2pm yesterday.

A spokesman for Thames Coastguard said beached whales were very uncommon.
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Windsock

Storms blow little auk seabirds from the Arctic into Falkirk, Scotland

Scott McAngus
The Falkirk Herald
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:24 UTC
Little auks
© SSPCA Little auks
Stranded Arctic seabirds similar to penguins have been found in Falkirk after being blown inland by the recent storms.

Several little auks, which usually winter far out at sea in Europe and North America, were found in the Falkirk area, including in Callendar Park, this week.

The SSPCA say they were "weak and thin" when officers rescued them after being contacted by members of the public.

The cute birds usually live on the open sea, however, it is believed they have been swept ashore by recent storms Eva and Frank.

Colin Seddon, manager of the Scottish SPCA's National Wildlife Rescue Centre, said, "We have rescued many little auks from all over Scotland this past week, including several found in the Falkirk area, which have been caught out by the recent storms.

"These birds normally winter far out to sea and have been blown inland. The little auks we have rescued were found weak and thin and would have had great difficulty taking off once grounded."
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