Animals
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Attention

Wild boar attacks sunbathers on beach in Karwia, Poland

This is the moment an enraged wild boar (pictured) charged at sunbathers relaxing on a beach after it emerged from a nearby forest in Karwia, northern Poland
This is the moment an enraged wild boar (pictured) charged at sunbathers relaxing on a beach after it emerged from a nearby forest in Karwia, northern Poland
This is the moment an enraged wild boar charged at sunbathers relaxing on a beach after it emerged from a nearby forest.

Incredible footage showed the beast knocking people over their chairs and sand castles before taking down nearby women and children.

The animal appeared to be on a rampage, even chasing panicked tourists into the sea at the beach in Karwia, northern Poland.

The animal appeared to be on a rampage, even chasing panicked tourists into the sea at the beach
The animal appeared to be on a rampage, even chasing panicked tourists into the sea at the beach
Various video excerpts on social media show the wild animal charging at people and tipping them over their wind blockers.



Attention

Dead beaked whale found in Basco, Philippines

Dead beaked whale
© Bfar PO BascoDead beaked whale
The carcass of a beaked whale was found on the shore in Basco, Batanes, the office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the province has reported.

The beaked whale was found by some residents at around 8 a.m. on Friday, GMA News' Unang Balita reported on Monday.

According to BFAR, the beaked whale sustained stabbed wounds in different parts of the body, mostly in the ventral region, or the abdomen area.

The bureau also noted that there is an estimated 20-25 kilograms of missing flesh in the dorsal area, or the back portion of the beaked whale.

The authorities tried to perform further examination on the carcass but was unable to do so because of the early decomposition of the dead beaked whale.

Black Magic

Man's best friend - reborn: South Korean cloning facility promises to bring back your dead dog

cloned dogs

Sooam Biotech Research Foundation has cloned over 800 dogs since 2006, offering the service to bring your dead dog back for $100,000. Apart from their popular dog cloning service, they also clone cattle and pigs for medical research and breed preservation.


GRIEF RELIEF


The Sooam Biotech Research Foundation can reincarnate your dead dog, a service that would delight pet lovers—for $100,000.

"These people have very a strong bond with their pets... and cloning provides a psychological alternative to the traditional method of just letting the pet go and keeping their memory," said Sooam researcher and spokesman Wang Jae-Woong.

Comment: The shady past of wolves in sheep's cloning


Fish

Dead fish wash up on Okaloosa Island, Florida

Dead fish on Okaloosa Island
© Michael LedfordDead fish on Okaloosa Island
Michael Ledford walked the beach Saturday morning like he does every morning at 5 a.m. to pick up trash and take photos of the sunrise.

Recently he has been taking photos of dead fish that have washed up onto the beach.

"It's like it happened overnight," Ledford said about Saturday morning's dead fish.

The fish were all mostly small, and there were some pompano mixed in as well, he said.

The Daily News published a story earlier this week addressing the dead fish issue.

Bekah Nelson, spokeswoman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in that story that the agency took samples earlier in the week but did not find any blooms.

Some fish kills are the result of natural events.

Wolf

Woman killed by her own pit bull terrier in Detroit, Michigan

pit bull
A 71-year-old southwest Detroit woman was attacked and killed by her own pit bull dog Saturday night, police said.

Authorities said Elizabeth Rivera died in the attack. She died of a crush injury to the neck, said Lloyd Jackson, a spokesman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office. He said that the manner of death was accident. An autopsy was performed today.

The incident happened about 8 p.m. at her home in the 2000 block of Ferdinand, near Vernor Highway, according to Sgt. Michael Woody of Detroit Police.

Woody said the dog, one of four in the home, bit the woman, knocking her down, and then bit her throat, severing her jugular vein. She died at the scene.

Health

Two farmers critically injured by bear in India

Sloth bear
Two farmers were critically injured after a bear attacked them in Kathiripalli area on Friday morning. The farmers are undergoing treatment at the Krishnagiri government hospital.

Meanwhile, the forest officers, who sighted the bear later on Friday, managed to chase it into the Kariyanapalli forests, said sources with the forest department.

The injured farmers have been identified as 80-year-old Munusamy and 64-year-old Ganesh Rao. They owned land abutting each other in Bheemantapalli.

On Friday morning, the duo from Kathiripalli and a neighbouring village went to their respective farms at 5.30am to start the day's work. Hardly five minutes later, a large bear came charging out of the forest area surrounding their farms and pounced on Munusamy.

In the attack,Munusamy sustained several wounds. The bear also bit his legs badly.

According to Krishnagiri police, when the bear noticed Rao's movement in the neighbouring land, the animal left Munusamy and chased Rao and pounced on him too. Rao also sustained severe injuries.

Attention

Whale carcass washes up on beach in Malacca, Malaysia

A carcass believed to be that of a beached whale calf was found at Pantai Puteri
A carcass believed to be that of a beached whale calf was found at Pantai Puteri
A carcass believed to be that of a beached whale calf was found at Pantai Puteri here yesterday.

The carcass, measuring about two metres, was found by a Civil Defence Department (JPAM) personnel around 1am.

JPAM personnel Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, 61, said the carcass was found by his colleague, who was on duty at a nearby lookout tower.

He said his colleague initially thought that the large object was a wooden stump washed in by the waves. "Upon further inspection, he realised that the object was a dead whale calf," he said when met at the beach yesterday.

Ridzuan said there were visible injuries on the whale, believed to have been inflicted by a ship's propeller.

It is learnt that the carcass would be collected by SWM Environment Sdn Bhd workers for disposal.

Fish

Six years after BP Gulf of Mexico spill, remaining oil more toxic than ever to fish

Three month old mahi mahi
Three month old mahi mahi
Six years after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig spilled nearly three million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, scientists have found that ultraviolet light is transforming the remaining oil into a more toxic substance that hinders the development of heart, eye, and brain function in fish. The research, led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Miami, exposed embryos and larvae of mahi-mahi from the Gulf of Mexico to what they called weathered (exposed to years of sunlight) and un-weathered oil (taken from the drilling site) from the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010. Compared to fish exposed to un-weathered oil, the fish exposed to the weathered oil experienced impaired eye and neurological function, reduced heart rates, and a buildup of excess fluid in the heart.

"To this day, we remain uncertain of the magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill effects, particularly in sensitive life stages of fish," said Daniel Schlenk, a professor of aquatic ecotoxicology, who led the study, published in Environmental Science and Technology. "We are also uncertain of whether biota exposed to the oil can recover, or have recovered, from this event. And we are still uncertain about how compounds present in oil or any other combustion byproduct or fossil fuel cause toxicity."


Attention

Black bear attacks hiker in British Columbia; 'I couldn't believe this was happening to me'

A black bear chasing a dog attacked a hiker in Okanagan, British Columbia.
© Wikimedia CommonsA black bear chasing a dog attacked a hiker in Okanagan, British Columbia.
Rachel Lautard was hiking on a trail in Okanagan, British Columbia, when she heard loud footsteps behind her. Quickly turning around, she saw a dog run past followed by a charging black bear.

The Greenwood, B.C., woman had picked up the pace and became separated on the trail from family and a friend. They were camping near Conkle Lake Provincial Park southeast of Kelowna.

Lautard told CBC News (warning of graphic photos in link) she believed the black bear was chasing the dog and attacked her instead.

"The next thing I know I was on my back with this bear on top of me," Lautard told CBC News. "I was wearing steel-toed work boots at the time and I was kicking and basically bicycling and screaming for help.

"He bit into my leg and he was holding on, but I was kicking as hard as I could...

"I couldn't believe this was happening to me."

Butterfly

2016 could be worst year on record for UK butterflies, experts warn

Many common species, such as the small copper butterfly, appear to be extremely scarce this year.
© Bob Eade/Butterfly Conservation/PAMany common species, such as the small copper butterfly, appear to be extremely scarce this year.
A deadly combination of a sunless summer, cool spring and mild winter may make 2016 the worst year for butterflies since records began, experts warn.

Sir David Attenborough is urging the public to take part in the Big Butterfly Count so that scientists can discover just how disastrous the unsettled weather is proving for Britain's 59 butterfly species.

The count, the largest insect survey in the world, begins today with people asked to spend 15 minutes recording which butterflies they see in a park, garden or countryside.

Richard Fox, of Butterfly Conservation, which runs the survey, said: "It's not looking good at all but we will only know how bad a year it's been if lots of people take part. Even if you see only one butterfly - or none - please submit these sightings because that's what we need to tell how good or bad this year will turn out to be for our butterflies."