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Scotland's beached whales suffered from heavy metal poisoning


The Ecologist
Mon, 15 Feb 2016 17:33 UTC
beached whales
© Patrick Down via Flickr (CC BY-NC)Beached whale in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, being removed using earth-moving equipment, September 2013.
High levels of toxins mercury and cadmium have been found in all organs of the whales recently beached on Scotland's North Sea coast, including the brain. The research shows that rising mercury levels in the oceans leads to toxic stress in the long-lived marine mammals.

A pod of whales stranded in Fife in 2012 had high concentrations of toxic chemicals, some of which had reached the mammals' brains, scientists have discovered.

The pod of long-finned pilot whales were stranded on a beach between Anstruther and Pittenweem in Scotland, on 12th September 2012.

Out of the 31 mammals which beached only 10 could be refloated and 21 - 16 females and five males - died.
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Red Flag

Shark bites boy in Ocean Reef Park, Florida

PJ Randhawa
ksdk.com
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 13:27 UTC
Shark attacks
A metro east 12-year-old is recovering from a shark bite while on vacation in Florida.

Michael Wilson was wading in three feet of water Friday at Ocean Reef Park, when a shark sunk its teeth into his foot.

He has a fracture and some scratches.

They say the entire ordeal was pretty scary but the Wilsons still caught a Cardinal's spring training game in Jupiter Sunday afternoon before heading home to O'Fallon, Illinois.

Wilson even used his injury to get the attention and an autograph from his hero Matt Holliday.

Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson
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Info

New species of octopus is discovered 4,000m under the sea near Hawaiian island

Cheyenne Macdonald
Daily Mail
Sat, 05 Mar 2016 13:48 UTC
During a recent deep-sea dive in the Hawaiian Archipelago, a remotely operated vehicle came across an unknown creature.
During a recent deep-sea dive in the Hawaiian Archipelago, a remotely operated vehicle came across an unknown creature.
During a recent deep-sea dive in the Hawaiian Archipelago, a remotely operated vehicle came across an unknown creature.

Unlike most cephalopods, the little octopus found by the NOAA Deep Discoverer lacks pigment, making it ghostlike and mysterious, and every bit adorable.

At more than 4,000 meters below the surface, this is the deepest observation ever published of this type of cephalopod, and researchers say its cartoonish appearance has social media users pushing to name it 'Casper.'

The discovery was made during the first operational dive of Okeanos Explorer's 2016 season on February 27.

Researchers planned to collect geological samples from the Necker Ridge in order to determine its possible connection with Necker Island (Mokumanamana).

But, during its mission, the remotely operated vehicle called Deep Discoverer found something extraordinary - a small octopus sitting on a rock.

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Attention

Whale shark found dead at Palghar, India

Vijay Singh
Times of India
Fri, 04 Mar 2016 14:20 UTC
a whale shark
A whale shark
A 7.3 metre long whale shark washed ashore off the Palghar coast, near Mumbai today. The Maharashtra forest officials rushed to the site to take measurements of the dead fish which attracted many curious locals to the area.

"The whale shark was found dead near the Palghar shore. We will have to ascertain the cause of its death. It is a matter of concern that so many big sea creatures like whales, dolphins and now whale shark are being found dead on the coasts so frequently," said the chief conservator of forests (mangrove cell) N Vasudevan.

He added that two days ago, a 10 feet long dolphin was found at Vasai, while on Tuesday this week, an over six feet long dead dolphin was found at the Gorai coast of Mumbai.

Dead whale shark
Dead whale shark
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Attention

Rare albino whale spotted off coast of Mexico

Adam Justice
International Business Times
Sat, 05 Mar 2016 13:20 UTC
Albino whale
Albino whale
A rare, albino grey whale has been spotted off Mexico's Pacific coast. Marine biologists from the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) captured footage of the magnificent, white mammal swimming with her normal-coloured calf during an annual census off the coast of Baja California.

The bright white whale, which actually belongs to the grey whale species, or Eschrichtius robustus, has been given the nickname Gallon of Milk. Gallon of Milk was first spotted during the 2008/09 season as a juvenile with characteristics of albinism, hence the name. The whale and her calf were sighted in the area known as Isla Alambre, in la Laguna Ojo de Liebre.

Albinism is a genetic disorder caused by mutations, resulting in a reduction or complete absence of the pigment melanin. This condition has been recorded in different mammals, birds and reptiles, both in wildlife and in captivity. However, there are few documented records of albino marine mammals.

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Attention

Southern right whale found dead on beach in Cape Town, South Africa

Monique Mortlock
Eye Witness News
Fri, 04 Mar 2016 18:51 UTC
Southern-Right whale
© Louise Geldenhuys/iWitness A 10-metre long Southern-Right whale has washed up on Melkbosstrand beach. The carcass was spotted early on 4 March 2016.
A 10 metre long southern right whale has washed up on Melkbosstrand Beach.

The carcass was spotted early this morning.

The City of Cape Town's Gregg Oelofse said, "The has initiated and mobilised its whale removal protocol and all teams are heading in that direction and we'll try and remove the carcass as effectively and efficiently as we can.

"The national government from the department of Environmental Affairs is also on their way take samples from the carcass."
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Attention

Cold weather movement? Dozens of sharks gather close to shore at New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Ben Hooper
UPI
Thu, 03 Mar 2016 15:10 UTC
Lemon sharks
© Kem McNair Lemon sharks
Visitors to a Florida beach said they were surprised to discover the water filled with dozens of baby lemon sharks.

Beach-goers in New Smyrna Beach said they first spotted the shark pups Monday. The sharks have since been swarming near the shore, surprising swimmers and surfers.

"They went under me and it like hit my board and I was like 'oh my gosh!'" surfer Ava McGowan, 10, told WKMG-TV.

Photographer Kem McNair estimated there could be up to 40 baby sharks swimming around the beach.

Comment: See also: Tens of thousands of sharks seen migrating off Palm Beach, Florida

Around 500 manatees crowd into a Florida spring to stay warm

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Attention

Three dead dolphins found in two days along Mumbai coast in India

Badri Chatterjee
Hindustan Times
Thu, 03 Mar 2016 19:53 UTC
A 10-foot-long dolphin was found on Wednesday morning at Bhuigaon beach in Vasai.
© Hindustan Times A 10-foot-long dolphin was found on Wednesday morning at Bhuigaon beach in Vasai.
Bodies of three Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins have been found at different locations along Mumbai's coast in the past two days.

A 10-foot-long dolphin was found on Wednesday morning at Bhuigaon beach at Vasai. Residents from the area spotted the mutilated carcass around 6.30am and informed local municipal authorities and the forest department.

"The dolphin had several injuries on its head, body and tail," said Mecanzy Dabre, a local.

"The carcass remained on the beach even in the evening since nobody took it away."

On Tuesday, the body of a six-and-a-half-foot dolphin was washed ashore at Gorai beach and was seen by locals around 10am.
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Attention

Signs and Portents: Farmer in China discovers chicken with extra set of legs

Ben Hooper
UPI
Wed, 02 Mar 2016 19:20 UTC
Chicken has an extra set of legs
Chicken has an extra set of legs
A farmer in China said one of his chickens escaped being slaughtered when he discovered the bird was born with an extra set of legs and feet.

Li Guanglin, 67, a chicken farmer in Hefei area, said he was preparing to slaughter the hen last month when he discovered it had four legs and four feet.

The chicken, born last August, walks on two legs while the others are folded near its bottom.

The farmer said he is keeping the chicken in its own separate living quarters to prevent it from being bullied by the other chickens.

Li said he has been offered more than $100 for the chicken, but he decided to keep the unusual animal and have it continue to produce eggs, which he believes could prove especially valuable.
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Sheeple

Signs and Portents: Lamb born with seven legs in Kyrgyzstan

Kara O'Neill
Daily Mirror
Thu, 03 Mar 2016 19:07 UTC
Bizarre: The lamb was born with two penises and seven legs
Bizarre: The lamb was born with two penises and seven legs
A bizarre mutant lamb born with two penises and seven legs has been trampled to death by its own flock after other animals refused to accept it.

Farmer Batyrbek Sulaymanov was stunned when he went to help a ewe giving birth and found that the lamb he pulled out had more than four legs.

However, he found that the newborn was able to walk easily around his farm in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan.

It also appeared to be healthy apart from three extra non-functioning legs.

The man from the village of Kyzyl-Ay then decided to put it back with the rest of the flock after feeding it fresh milk.

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