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Black bear attacks and wounds hiker at Douthat State Park, Virginia

Jeff Sturgeon
The Roanoke Times
Sun, 09 Aug 2015 17:13 UTC
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© Jess ThompsonBlack Bear
A black bear attacked and injured an adult hiker at Douthat State Park on Saturday.

Her wounds, which required stitches but were not life-threatening, represent Virginia's first ever bear-inflicted injury on a human that didn't involve hunting, said Jim Meisner, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Unprovoked bear attacks are unheard of, Meisner said. Officials tracked and killed the animal they believe is responsible for the attack. It was shipped off to be tested for rabies and to compare its DNA to bear saliva left on the victim's clothes.

The woman belonged to a party of five, possibly all in one family, who explored the area around Tuscarora Overlook on the west side of the park near Clifton Forge on Saturday afternoon. About 6 p.m., the group startled a bear and group members ran, Meisner said. The bear followed the woman and, in what he said was "an incredibly rare occurrence," knocked her down and bit and scratched her on the leg and back, causing lacerations.

Other members of the party returned and scared off the bear , he said.
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Attention

Bear mauls two in Kashmir, India


Greater Kashmir
Sun, 09 Aug 2015 19:02 UTC
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Two persons were seriously injured after a bear attacked them at Watelab in Raithan forest range of Khansahab in central Kashmir's Budgam district yesterday evening, police said.

Locals said they had gone to bring their cattle back from the woods when the attack took place.

The duo, identified as Farooq Ahmad Lone s/o Ghulam Nabi Lone and Shakeel Ahmad Teqkhri s/o Mohmmad Shafi are both residents of Katchwari.

Nomads rescued them after they raised an alarm.

Tehsildar Khansahab Ali Mohmmad Malik said that one of the injured Farooq Ahmad was shifted to SKIMS Soura for specialised treatment.
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Eye 2

Alligator rips off woman's arm near Wekiva Island, Florida

Christopher Bucktin
Daily Mirror, UK
Sun, 09 Aug 2015 16:33 UTC
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Attack: The woman was in waters that are known to be home to alligators
A female swimmer lost her arm after it was ripped off by an alligator in a popular Florida river.

Nearby canoers and kayakers heard screaming and realised the reptile was attacking the 37-year-old.

The attack happened near Wekiva Island on Saturday afternoon.

One started hitting the alligator with a paddle as it bit into the women's midsection witnesses said.

Her rescuers were able to get the unidentified woman to shore and called 911.

"You just saw some blood and some bone. There wasn't anything else there," said Richard Ward.

Jakob Frick said he was canoeing with friends when they saw the woman swimming in the water.


Comment: See also these other recent alligator attacks -

Father, grandfather rescue boy from alligator attack at Lake Charlotte, Texas

Alligator kills man swimming at marina in Orange, Texas

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Attention

Signs and Portents: 4 rare albino green sea turtles born on Vamizi Island, Mozambique

David Strege
grindtv.com
Fri, 07 Aug 2015 14:52 UTC
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© Joana TrindadeTwo of the four rare albino green sea turtles survived to find their way into the ocean from Vamizi Island.
Four rare albino green sea turtles hatched on Vamizi Island for the first time since a green sea turtle monitoring program began on the small, crescent-shaped island off northern Mozambique in 2003.

The Vamizi Conservation and Research team was surprised to discover the albino green sea turtles on a morning patrol of the island. The discovery was made on May 25, but news of it is only now starting to gain widespread attention.

The four albino green sea turtles, two of which survived to make their way into the ocean, lacked pigmentation in their eyes. Their red eyes indicated the hatchlings were true albinos.

"Albinism is often associated with other malformations, which is why most animals die a few hours after being born, so having two true albino hatchlings surviving and having no apparent external malformations can then be considered quite rare," Joana Trindade, conservation and community manager on Vamizi Island, told GrindTV.

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© Joana TrindadeThe albino green sea turtles surprised researchers on Vamizi Island.
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Attention

Hiker killed by grizzly bear in Yellowstone; body found partially eaten


myfox8.com
Sat, 08 Aug 2015 10:08 UTC
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Grizzly bear
A preliminary investigation into a hiker's death in Yellowstone National Park suggest the man was attacked by a grizzly bear.

While the exact cause of death has not been determined, investigators said they identified what appear to be defensive wounds on the victim's forearms, Yellowstone National Park said in a statement Saturday. A forensic autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

The victim, whose name has not been released, was found Friday in a popular off-trail area less than a mile from Elephant Back Loop Trail — an area he was known to frequent. His body was partially eaten and covered.

Based on partial tracks found at the scene, it appears that an adult female grizzly and at least one cub were present and likely involved in the incident near Yellowstone Lake, the statement said.

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Attention

Charging boars kill man in Sicily

Gavin Jones
Reuters
Sat, 08 Aug 2015 19:43 UTC
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© AlamyWild boar
A 77-year-old Italian man was killed by a group of wild boars on Saturday as he tried to defend his dogs from the charging animals near his home in Sicily, local police reported.

Salvatore Rinaudo was walking his dogs in the countryside outside the town of Cefalu, near the Sicilian capital of Palermo, when he was attacked and bitten to death despite his wife's attempt to save him, police said. She was also injured in the attack by the wild animals, which can weigh up to 150 kg.

The mayor of Cefalu said he had repeatedly warned of the dangers of the local boar population but his calls for a cull had been rejected by regional authorities.

Italian agriculture lobby Coldiretti described the uncontrolled spread of wild boars that destroy harvests, kill farm animals, cause road accidents and increasingly put human lives at risk as a "national emergency".

"It's no longer just a question of claiming for damages, it has become a question of safety for people who live in the country," Coldiretti said in a statement.
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Info

Predator or prey? The shape of animals' eyes holds the key, study reveals

Tom Bawden
The Independent, UK
Fri, 07 Aug 2015 21:18 UTC
Predator or Prey
© The Independent, UKThe eyes might just be a window into an animal's soul.
It is often said that the eyes are a window to the soul and now research suggests that their shape can be used to distinguish between predator and prey in the animal kingdom.

A study by the University of California and Durham University found that animals with pupils shaped like vertical slits are more likely to be ambush-predator species such as cats and crocodiles.

Meanwhile, plant-eating "prey" species such as sheep and goats tend to have horizontal, elongated "letterbox" pupils. And circular pupils are linked to "active foragers" - animals that chase down their prey rather than creeping up and ambushing them.

The analysis of 214 species, which appears in the journal Science Advances, suggests that there are good evolutionary reasons for these differing optical designs.

Tests showed that eyes with horizontal-slit pupils offered an expanded field of view. Located on each side of the prey animal's head, they provide a panoramic visual display that improves its chance of spotting approaching danger.

The slits also have the added advantage of limiting the amount of dazzling light from the sun, making it easier to see the ground.

"The first key visual requirement for these animals is to detect approaching predators, which usually come on the ground," said the report's lead scientist, Professor Martin Banks of the University of California at Berkeley. "They need to see panoramically on the ground with minimal blind spots. Once they do detect a predator, they need to see where they are running. They have to jump over things."

The research found that vertical slits, meanwhile, give the predator the improved depth of field and the ability to judge distances that helps them secure their prey.
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Attention

26 dead dolphins have washed up on the shores of Bulgaria in 2015


The Sophia Globe
Fri, 07 Aug 2015 17:54 UTC
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© oytun 73
Summer 2015 is again seeing numbers of dead dolphins washing up on the shore of Bulgaria's Black Sea coastline, with violence suspected as the cause of death in some cases, but as in all previous years, there is no clarity on what causes the phenomenon.

In some cases in previous years, there have been allegations of dolphins being shot or otherwise killed by fishermen protecting their nets.

None of these allegations has been proven and no one has been arrested in connection with the killing of a dolphin along Bulgaria's Black Sea coast for years. Activists have alleged that police show scant interest in investigating the cases.

There are three species of dolphins in the Black Sea off Bulgaria - the short-beaked common dolphin, the harbour porpoise, and the common bottlenose dolphin - all of them protected by law. The penalty for killing a dolphin from any of these species is 5000 to 20 000 leva (about 2500 to 10 000 euro) and imprisonment of up to five years.

Bulgaria's Biological Diversity Act also bans harassing, chasing or capturing dolphins from these species, and says that if a dead dolphin is washed ashore, it should be moved until examined by the Regional Enviroment and Water Inspectorate to establish the species and to report on the death of the Minister of Environment and Water.
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Binoculars

Rare endangered albatross seen off Maryland coast

Rachael Pacella
delmarvanow.com
Fri, 07 Aug 2015 09:38 UTC
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© Clive HarrisA yellow-nosed albatross
The albatross is the most romanticized and least seen bird along Maryland's coast.

The legends are foreboding. The birds are perceived as the souls of lost sailors. Spotting one means a storm is coming and killing one, even accidentally, is bad luck.

But July 15 when one flew by Capt. Monty Hawkins' boat 20 miles out in the Atlantic, it didn't bring any ill. It brought excitement.

"I knew I'd seen something vastly different," he said.

Hawkins sent a message to birder Mark Hoffman and was able to identify the bird as a yellow-nosed albatross, an endangered albatross species with a wing span of 6 1/2 feet and a life span of 30 years, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Seeing an albatross off Maryland is very rare, Hoffman said.

Comment: The bird involved above maybe the same individual seen further north earlier in the same month off Iceland, see also: Lost yellow-nosed albatross from the South Atlantic turns up near Reykjavík, Iceland

Another albatross species turns up in the wrong hemisphere, this time on Suffolk coast, UK

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Attention

Muskox attacked tourist in Norway


newsinenglish.no
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 17:12 UTC
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Moskus have roamed the mountains of Dovre for many years.
One of the large, horned musk ox that roam the mountains of Dovre in central Norway attacked a German tourist near the Kongsvoll mountain lodge on Friday. The tourist, a man in his 70s, was rescued after an ambulance, helicopter and police rsponded to the call for help.

There had been reports earlier in the day of the normally shy musk ox (called moskus in Norwegian) spotted along the E6 highway that runs over the mountains. Another hiker in the area reported seeing moskus on a trail in the area as well, according to wildlife authorities.

The extent of the German tourist's injuries were unclear, "but the man was conscious," emergency operations lader Wiktor Pederson of the Sør-Trøndelag Police District told state broadcaster NRK.
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