Animals
S

Snowflake

Cold weather stops migrating storks in their tracks in Europe


thenews.pl
Sat, 04 Apr 2015 18:46 UTC
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© Wikimedia commons/K.Billington Still on the way.
A cold snap has stopped storks on the way back for the summer in Poland in their tracks.

The birds have halted their advance from Africa and are weathering the cold snap in Romania and Bulgaria, researchers reported.

The few storks that have already made their way to Poland are struggling to find food and are getting nearer to human settlements than usual. But storks are equipped to deal with harsh weather and the scientists have asked for people to refrain from feeding them.

The overwhelming majority of storks have, however, been put off by the cold, snow and strong winds.

"They are not far," ornithologist Ireneusz Kaล‚uga said. "We believe two or three days of better weather will be enough for them to turn up."
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Fish

Large number of poisonous porcupine fish found dead on Taranaki beach, New Zealand

Ryan Evans
stuff.co.nz
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:17 UTC
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A poisonous porcupine fish washed up on a New Plymouth beach.
A wave of poisonous porcupine fish have washed up on a New Plymouth beach.

Ted Burrows said he was out walking between the Waiwhakaiho groyne and Fitzroy Beach on Monday morning and estimated up to 50 of the fish had washed ashore.

Burrows said he had seen the fish washed up before, but only two or three at a time.

Department of Conservation marine ranger Callum Lilley said the fish were present in Taranaki waters and he had encountered them on the beach two or three times over the past 10 years.

He said the fish, a close relative of pufferfish, were poisonous and DOC would dispose of them. He said they might have washed up on other beaches as well.

"We do have them offshore out here and occasionally we do have a whole lot wash ashore," he said.
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Ice Cube

Elk herd of at least 31 perishes after breaking through ice on Palisades Reservoir, Idaho

Mike Koshmrl
Jackson Hole News and Guide
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 16:58 UTC
Image
© John StephensonAt least 30 elk crashed through the ice of Palisades Reservoir recently and drowned.
An eye-opening cluster of dead elk is decaying on the shores of Palisades Reservoir after an unusual but natural occurrence of a herd venturing onto thin ice and breaking through.

The elk crashed through the ice on March 21 near where the Snake and Greys rivers meet at the southeast corner of the reservoir, which straddles the Wyoming-Idaho border, Wyoming Game and Fish Department regional supervisor Tim Fuchs said. The elk were later pulled to shore.

Warden Todd Graham responded to a call the day of the event and found 31 dead elk floating, Fuchs said.

"They kind of straddled the state line," Fuchs said. "Twenty-five were on the Idaho side and the remainder on the Wyoming side."

There were likely more dead elk that had drifted off, he said โ€” potentially as many as 50 total.

Comment: See also: 100 cows die after falling through lake ice in South Dakota

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Fish

Thousands of dead fish turn up off Lantau Island, Hong Kong

Timmy Sung and Eddie Lee
South China Morning Post
Sat, 04 Apr 2015 16:35 UTC
Image
© Gary StokesDead fish floating near Discovery Bay.
Thousands of dead fish have been found floating in rubbish between Peng Chau and Discovery Bay.

One scientist said they could have been killed by an algal bloom that starves fish of oxygen, or waste dumped in the water.

Pictures seen by the South China Morning Post showed some had washed up on a beach in Peng Chau, off the northeast coast of Lantau Island.

Islands District Councillor Josephine Tsang Sau-ho said: "The fish are around half the size of a palm. There were thousands of them when they washed up and they really smell."

She said fishermen had told her trawling was not to blame.

The fish were found on Thursday and workers later cleaned up the beach. The Marine Department said around 80 catties of dead fish were cleaned up from water in the area yesterday.
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Wolf

Grey wolf attacks woman's dog in Lake Forest, Illinois

Tim Moran
patch.com
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 15:30 UTC
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Wolf
A 100+-pound grey wolf attacked a pet in Lake Forest last month, a local resident told MySuburbanLife.com.

In the early morning hours of March 11, Mary Kong let out her two dogs in her fenced backyard but one came running back immediately. While using a flashlight to search for Scottie, a 17-pound mixed former shelter dog, Kong spotted what she says was a 100- to 120-pound grey wolf.

"He had Scottie all the way in his jaw, both sides," Kong said.

The animal dropped Scottie upon being noticed and Kong was able to guide herself and both dogs back to safety fairly quick.

Thankfully, Scottie has made a full recovery. He suffered two deep lacerations on either side of his chest.
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Fish

Rare deep water Polka-dot ribbon fish caught off Charna Island, Pakistan

Sameer Mandhro
The Express Tribune
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 20:42 UTC
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© WWF-P Fishermen caught a rare marine species, a polka-dot ribbonfish.
A rare marine species known as polka-dot ribbonfish was caught off Charna Island by some local fishermen on Wednesday.

The fish, scientifically known as desmodema polystictum, was spotted in Murray Ridge after the last sighting nearly five years ago. This is the first time the fish was caught in a fisherman's gillnet as it is usually found in deep, circumtropical waters.

The fisherman, Nakhuda Nisar Hussain, has been trained by the World Wide Fund-Pakistan (WWF-P) to make sure they do not harm endangered species. He was working in the area where the water was at least 1,034 metres deep when he caught the specimen. The fish measured 32 inches with flashing red fins and faint polka dots all over the body. After taking photos of the ribbonfish, he released it back into the water.
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Attention

Elephant kills border guard in Bangladesh


Dhaka Tribune
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 20:09 UTC
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Elephant charging.
A member of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has been killed in an attack by wild elephant in Pechar Dwip Pahari area under Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar district.

The deceased is Md Habibur Rahman, 43, son of Abdur Rashid Gazi, of Kandi village in Jhalakathi.

Cox's Bazar BGB 17 Captain Khondokar Saiful Alam said: "A BGB team conducted a special drive in the area early Thursday to catch the passengers and brokers who use the route to intrude into Malaysia."

He said Habibur got injured when wild elephant attacked him.

Meanwhile, other BGB members fired three rounds of ammunition to bring the elephant under control.

Later, the duty doctor declared Habibur dead when he was taken to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital.

Comment: Interestingly, from the same region of Bangladesh came the following report just 5 days ago: Elephant attacks 2 children and kills boy in Bangladesh

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Attention

Elephant gores owner to death in Kerala, India - 4th mahout from the region to die in a fortnight


english.manoramaonline.com
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 19:41 UTC
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Elephant gores owner to death. Picture for representational purpose
An elephant owner was gored to death, while he was trying to pacify it. The man killed has been identified as Babu Thomas (49), Ozhakkal, Poonjar, one of the owners of Pala Timbers.

The tusker called Shekharan alias Kichan, had been chained at Babu's property during the last few days as he was not well. Shekharan again showed symptoms of 'musth' when he was moving timber at Muppathekkar, Mangalagiri, near Theekkoy. Babu, who came to know about it, arrived at the spot and went near the elephant with some fruit to placate it. The elephant gored Babu who died on the spot. Although the first mahot, also named Babu, was riding the elephant, he wasn't able to control the violent animal.

The animal then ran back to the place where he was chained in the morning through the road. Although the mahot, and Shaul from Erattupetta chained the elephant again, it kept on trying to break free. It even uprooted rubber trees near it. After that, the elephant let the mahout come down. The animal was calmed down after a tranquilliser shot was fired at it by Dr. Sabu Issac of Elephant Squad, Kottayam.

Comment: See also: Get off my back! Elephant tramples another mahout to death in India - third killing in less than a week

Second mahout to be killed by elephant within 5 days in Kerala, India

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Binoculars

An above average winter for sightings of snowy owls in Northeast America

Paula Tracy
wmur.com
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 18:34 UTC
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Snowy owl.
A snowy owl was spotted on Mount Moosilaukee this past week, likely migrating northward.

It was seen on this White Mountain peak on Wednesday, March 25.

This winter, there have been sporadic sightings of the majestic arctic owl in places like the Seacoast and near airports in the southeastern part of the state.

But their numbers were far from those seen in 2014.

According to Cornell University, "last year's blizzard of snowy owls in the Great Lakes states, the Northeast, and down the Atlantic coast was epic, an unprecedented irruption."

Comment: See also: SOTT Exclusive: Snowy owls flee northern latitudes for unprecedented fourth consecutive year - Sign of impending Ice Age?

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Wolf

Family dog mauls 4-year-old boy in Lacey, Washington


q13fox.com
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 17:48 UTC
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© Getty Images American Pit Bull
A 4-year-old boy viciously attacked by his family dog is in stable condition at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, the Thurston County Sheriff's Office said.

At about 11:16 a.m. Wednesday, deputies received a call of a 4-year-old boy being severely bitten by a 1 1/2-year-old dog.

When deputies and medical staff arrived at the home, they found the boy with severe bite wounds to his face.

Joint Animal Services Officer Kenneth Maynard was called to seize the dog. He said it became a tense situation.

"I wasn't sure what he was going to do," Maynard said late Wednesday. "He had that look like he was going to attack me, and you're going into a situation where the dog just attacked a kid."
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