Animals
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Question

Tens of thousands of nesting birds desert colony on Seahorse Key, Florida


News and Record
Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:21 UTC
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© John RaouxIn this Friday, June 19, 2015 photo, Vic Doig, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist observes empty bird nests in Seahorse Key, off Florida’s Gulf Coast
The din created by thousands of nesting birds is usually the first thing you notice about Seahorse Key, a 150-acre mangrove-covered dune off Florida's Gulf Coast.

But in May, the key fell eerily quiet all at once.

Thousands of little blue herons, roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, pelicans and other chattering birds were gone. Nests sat empty in trees; eggs broken and scattered on the muddy ground.

"It's a dead zone now," said Vic Doig, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. "This is where the largest bird colony on the Gulf Coast of Florida used to be."

For decades, Seahorse Key has been a protected way station for myriad bird species. It's part of the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1929 as a sanctuary for birds devastated by decades of hunting for their colorful plumage. Accessible only by boat, today it's a rare island off Florida not dominated by human activity and development.
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© John RaouxIn this Friday, June 19, 2015 photo, a broken bird egg shell is seen in Seahorse Key, off Florida’s Gulf Coast.
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Wolf

Teenage fisherman fights off coyote in Spotswood, New Jersey

Susan Loyer
mycentraljersey.com
Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:11 UTC
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A teen fisherman reported a run-in with a coyote in Spotswood.
A 17-year-old fisherman reported a run-in with a coyote Sunday evening in the borough.

Anthony Bonsante, of South River, was fishing for catfish in a stream of DeVoe Lake, between Domino's Pizza and Immaculate Conception, an area that came highly recommended by his dad, who fished there in his youth.

"As it started to get dark, I lit my lantern," Bonsante said Monday afternoon. "As soon as it really got dark all around me, I heard something walking around. I thought it was something small like a rabbit or something."

But the noise kept coming closer. Bonsante said he picked up his lantern and started to look around.

"I saw two big yellow eyes in the small patch of woods nearby," he said. "I held my lantern up and it started walking towards me. It bowed its head and started to growl at me. It started to circle up on me. I was panicked for a second. I thought, "What do I have to defend myself?' "

He saw a big stick a few feet away and, without turning his back on the animal, he grabbed the stick.
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Attention

Bottlenose dolphins seen near Aarhus, Denmark for the first time in 7 decades


thelocal.dk
Mon, 29 Jun 2015 17:53 UTC
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© Gregory Smith/FlickrBottlenose dolphins, shown here near the Galapagos, are rare near Denmark.
The Bay of Aarhus has some new playful and curious inhabitants in the form of a breed of dolphin that hasn't been spotted in more than seven decades.

Bottlenose dolphins are usually a rare sight in the waters surrounding Denmark but in the past week there have been several spotted swimming near the nation's second-largest city, Aarhus.

Rowers and boaters in the Bay of Aarhus have had unusual company over the past week or so. Several Danes have reported that they have seen dolphins swimming in the bay and a handful of videos are starting to circulate around the internet.

Marine biologist Carl Christian Kinze told TV2 Østjylland that the recent sightings of bottlenose dolphins are incredibly rare.

"They haven't been seen in the Bay of Aarhus with certainty for more than 20 years," he said.

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Attention

Humpback whale washes up on Danish shore for first time in over 100 years


thelocal.dk
Tue, 07 Jul 2015 17:44 UTC
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© Asger Ladefoged/ScanpixThe whale's remains were brought to the Natural History Museum on Monday.
For the first time in over a century, a humpback whale has washed up on Danish shores. Making the discovery even more interesting is the fact that its cranium had "fallen out".

Something seems to be happening in the waters around Denmark.

Not only are bottlenose dolphins now being found frolicking in the Bay of Aarhus, but now humpback whales seem to have arrived off Danish shores as well.

A five-metre long humpback washed up on a beach near Thy last week, creating a bit of a mystery because the corpse lacked a cranium and the whale's tail had been wrapped in rope.

Researchers from the Natural History Museum of Denmark spent Monday cutting the corpse into manageable-sized chunks for further examination in hopes of clearing up the strange find.

"This is huge. Humpback whales aren't normally seen in Denmark. There are only a few times per year that we need to cut a whale up and last summer it was a couple of sperm whales," the museum's Morten Tange Olsen told BT.
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Sheeple

Hay bale-jumping sheep show off woolly acrobatics

Ben Hooper
upi.com
Tue, 07 Jul 2015 16:44 UTC
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Sheep jumping from bale to bale
A YouTube user shared footage of a talented flock of sheep showing off their acrobatic skills by leaping from hay bale to hay bale.

Karen McKovuson posted a YouTube video showing a trio of sheep on a farm jumping between hay bales in a display of woolly athleticism.

The video is believed to have been filmed in Ireland.

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Attention

8th recent shark attack reported along North Carolina coast


abc11.com
Mon, 06 Jul 2015 18:30 UTC
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Shark
According to reports a Marine was injured over the weekend in the eighth shark attack along the North Carolina coast so far this season.

WITN-TV says a spokesman for the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune said the victim was brought into the hospital Saturday.

The bite happened in Surf City and the victim was treated and released.

WWAY reported that Pender County Emergency Management and Surf City Police received no calls of shark bites in the area, so the location of the incident is unknown.

Seven other people have been attacked by sharks along the North Carolina coast in the past three weeks. The most recent was Wednesday when a 68-year-old man was injured off Ocracoke Island.
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Attention

Hippo kills woman in Botswana

Esther Mmolai
allafrica.com
Mon, 06 Jul 2015 17:40 UTC
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Hippo
Maun police are investigating an incident in which a 56 year old woman was attacked and killed by a hippo at Khwae village on Sunday (July 5).

In an interview with BOPA, Superintendent John Kelebeng of Botswana Police said the woman together with her 32 year-old daughter went to the river to fetch a traditional vegetable, Tswii when she met her fate.

He said the deceased sustained serious injuries on the waist, head and thighs. He said they received a report from a police officer in Khwae who heard someone screaming from the river as he met the daughter running for her life while the mother was attacked.

Superintendent Kelebeng said the deceased was rushed to Letsholathebe Memorial hospital and was certified dead upon arrival. He said the hippo had been killed by wildlife officials.

Source: Botswana Daily News
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Red Flag

Skinnydippers in Scotland are caught out when red kites steal their underpants and socks to build their nests

Imogen Calderwood
Daily Mail, UK
Sun, 05 Jul 2015 13:25 UTC
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Surprise!: Baffled skinnydippers were stunned to discover their missing underwear in the nest of a pair of local birds of prey
Skinnydippers at a Scottish beauty spot were left completely stumped when their underwear vanished while they were swimming.

But a gamekeeper at the popular bathing spot near Glen Esk in Angus, Scotland, solved the mystery when he chanced upon the nest of a local pair of red kites.

The birds of prey had stolen the swimmers' underpants and socks to help make their nest .

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Comfy home: Two red kites were discovered in the nest at the Scottish beauty spot, Gannochy Estate
The gamekeeper took photographs of the nest, which had been built with a selection of socks and a pair of navy underpants.

'Our trainee gamekeeper discovered the nest and we rang the RSPB to have them ringed and tagged,' said Dave Clement, head keeper at the Gannochy Estate.

'What was really interesting was to see socks and underwear from a popular swimming spot actually in the nest and the surrounding trees.
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Attention

Elephant kills researcher in Zambia


Zambia Daily Mail
Sun, 05 Jul 2015 12:03 UTC
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Elephant looking slightly annoyed
A 29- year-old researcher from the USA has been killed by an elephant in the Kafue National Park in Mumbwa, the police have said.

Margarita Metallinou was in the company of two male American researchers when the animal attacked them and killed her.

Central Province police commissioner Lombe Kamukoshi said in an interview yesterday that the elephant killed Ms Metallinou near Hook Bridge on Tuesday around 13:30 hours when the trio ventured in the park without game rangers.

Ms Kamukoshi said when Ms Metallinou saw the animal, she screamed and it charged at her while her colleagues managed to run away.

She said Jeffrey Weinell, 24, one of the male researchers, gave a statement to the police in Mumbwa about the incident and the death of Ms Metallinou.
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Attention

Sick pygmy whale dies following stranding on Surfside Beach, Texas


khou.com
Fri, 03 Jul 2015 16:37 UTC
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A sick Pygmy whale washed ashore on Surfside Beach Friday morning.
A sick Pygmy whale washed ashore on Surfside Beach Friday morning, much to the surprise of nearby beachgoers.

People rushed to save the whale, but responders determined the whale was too sick to be transported and had to be put down.

Officials with the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network said that if you encounter a beached whale or dolphin, call 1-800-9-Mammal and follow the instructions of the staff until a rescue team can arrive on scene.
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