Animals
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Binoculars

Blackpoll Warbler's nonstop 1700-mile fly-or-die journey documented by researchers


Daily Times Gazette
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 19:00 UTC
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Blackpoll Warbler
Small creatures can indeed accomplish great feats. A recent research aimed to track the migration route of blackpoll warbler, a small songbird which weighs about 12g - 15g, equivalent to AA batteries.

Researchers from University of Guelph, Acadia University, Bird Studies Canada, the University of Massachusetts, the Vermont Centre for Ecostudies and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute tracked the birds' flight by equipping them with tracking devices. They were attached to birds in Nova Scotia and Vermont in the summer. Researches also put coloured plastic bands for identification when they return. The geo-locators tracked the birds' flight path, but, because of their small size, they were not able to transmit the data remotely.

"We waited for them to return in the spring and then searched the forest to find the blackpolls with geo-locators," said William DeLuca, a research fellow at the University of Massachusetts, who led the Vermont part of the study.
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Wolf

Huge increase in dog attacks of 357% since 2012 in Kent, UK

Gareth Arnold
kentonline.co.uk
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 17:29 UTC
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Dangerous dog attacks are on the rise
Kent has seen an alarming 357% increase in dog attacks since 2012, according to figures obtained by KentOnline.

The data from Kent Police shows that in 2012 there were 100 attacks in public places which resulted in injury; in 2014 this figure leapt to 457.

But the number of people charged has decreased, with 13% of attacks resulting in a charge in 2012, compared to just 6% in 2014.

Comment: For more on this trend of increasing dog attacks worldwide, see also: Number of dog attack injuries treated at Ipswich Hospital UK have significantly increased in the last 2 years

Dog attacks on people triple over a year in Queenstown, New Zealand

Dog attacks surging in Yarra Ranges, Australia

Indore reports at least 50 dog bite cases daily, India

UK: 300 per cent rise in the number of dogs attacks in Stevenage since January

Nine people killed by feral dog attacks in Rumbek, Sudan

Dog attacks leap 48% in just 12 months in Wollongong, Australia

Cox Hospital Springfield sees increase in dog attacks, Missouri

Severe dog bites increase sharply in Arizona, study finds

SOTT EXCLUSIVE: Global canine insurrection? Another week of savage dog attack reports

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Cow

Cow makes a dash for freedom from abattoir in Lexington, Kentucky

Matt Payton
Metro (UK)
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:30 UTC
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© API want to break free, I want to break free
Maybe it's just instinct, but some animals seem to know when their time is up.

This bovine-escape artist slipped out of a university animal science building where it was due to be 'processed' - aka executed.

For just over two hours, the cow was found trotting around the University of Kentucky's campus until the former president of the college's rodeo club (yes, they have a rodeo club) was able to lasso the animal and help authorities return it to captivity.

The steer was on its way to the abattoir when it hit a gate with a faulty latch and made a dash for freedom.


Comment: See also: Cow flees slaugherhouse in Pocatello, Idaho

Cow jumps from moving truck in Russia

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Eye 2

Snake slithers its way up steps and tries to board flight to Sydney, Australia

John Hutchinson
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 13:12 UTC
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The snake was halted just inches from entering the main body of the plane by airport staff
Staff had to be on their guard at Gold Coast Airport in Australia this morning when a snake came within inches of getting onto a plane.

As passengers began to settle into their seats aboard the Virgin flight to Sydney, a green snake slithered its way up the stairs to the entry door.

Eagle-eyed passenger Stuart Robert, who rather fittingly works as the Assistant Minister for Defence, was on hand to capture the action unfold.

'The green snake had slithered up the front stairs so the passengers had to board from the back,' he told MailOnline Travel.

'It was probably enjoying the warmth of the tarmac and steel and may have made its way up there as people were boarding.

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The snake's actions were caught on camera by Australia's Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert (file photo)
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Map

3 pit bulls attack Norfolk neighborhood, four hurt

Doris Taylor, Nadeen Yanes
WTKR
Mon, 30 Mar 2015 06:06 UTC
pit bull
© www.donnad.it
Four people were hurt after police say they were attacked by three pit bulls in Norfolk. Two of them, Elijah McGuire and Damon Martin, both 11-years-old, were taken to the hospital, according to their parents.

Both Elijah's dad and Damon's mom exclusive spoke to NewsChannel 3 about the attack. "As a mother, my heart dropped," Damon's mom Duchess Martin said.

It happened just before 8 p.m. at the 700 of Denison Avenue.

"It's scary," Martin added. "I'm sitting there on the phone with my mom and I was like, 'Man, the paramedics are coming and the fire department too. What is going on?' and right after that, I get a phone call and I hear my son in the background screaming."

Comment: The same sort of attack scenarios seem to be happening on a daily basis between animals (both wild and pets) and humans, begging a more logical answer than random occurrence. Do increasing earth changes, EM frequencies and the collective human psyche play disruptive roles in the animal kingdom manifesting as aggression? If so, perhaps these elements also partly account for the steadily rising human aggression in many parts of today's world on a much larger scale than rampant neighborhood dogs.

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Attention

Man injured by wild boar with other attacks reported, India


kaumudi.com
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 19:18 UTC
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Wild boar.
A wild boar attacked a labourer at Badiadukka on Monday.

Aboobacker, 29, of Kunjar, came under the attack near his house around 11 am.

He has been admitted to the General Hospital here.

The locality has been reporting recurring attacks from wild boars in recent months.

A woman was gored to death in similar attack in the district earlier this year.
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Wolf

Elderly woman mauled by family rottweiler in Jackson, Tennessee

Tiffany Neely
wbbjtv.com
Mon, 30 Mar 2015 17:17 UTC
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Rottweiler.
Monday, a 72-year-old woman was still in the hospital after being attacked by the family rottweiler Sunday afternoon, according to neighbors.

Tawanna Wright said she heard screams from her neighbor's front yard. When she rushed out she saw her elderly neighbor being mauled by the family's rottweiler. She said the attack lasted at least 15 minutes, during which she tried to distract the rottweiler. Then family's other dog, a pit bull, would not let her get close. That is when she called 911.

"It was nerve-racking. The rottweiler had blood dripping from its mouth. I think everybody was a little freaked out," said Wright.

She said the victim's grandson returned home, and was able to get both dogs inside. She said she saw the victim had about 50 bite marks on her arms, and was rushed to the emergency room.

Residents said they are thankful no children out on spring break were nearby when the incident happened.

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Attention

100 birds found dead on roadside near Picher, Oklahoma

Melinda Stotts
Miami News Record
Mon, 30 Mar 2015 13:37 UTC
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© Gary Crow/MNRNearly 100 dead birds were seen by several travelers east of Hwy 69 and 69a junction south of Picher Friday evening.
Several people in the area reported seeing a large amount of dead blackbirds, most estimates around 100, on the highway between Commerce and Quapaw near Picher over the weekend.

According to Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Information and Education Supervisor Micah Holmes, the most likely cause of the birds' demise was natural causes or weather-related issues during their migration. Holmes said his department did not receive any reports of this specific bird kill incident, which occurred on Highway 69 and 69A south of Picher on Friday evening.

"We call them all blackbirds, but actually there's four or five different species of birds in these big flocks; Grackles, Starlings, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Cowbirds and Brown-Headed Cowbirds," Holmes said. "They're migrating from the south to the north this time of year to nest. They're in these big flocks and you see them now and in the Fall. It can be a stressful time of year for them because they're traveling hundreds and thousands of miles and weather changes can stress them out."
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Attention

Pacific seabirds dying in record numbers - 100,000 auklets

Chris Casquejo
english.cntv.cn
Mon, 30 Mar 2015 19:29 UTC
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Massive Cassins Auklet and Murre die off from Vancouver to California
Seabirds in the northwest of US and Canada are dying in their thousands, but no-one knows why.

Scientists are trying to halt one of the worst recorded catastrophies in marine bird history.

Volunteers scour the shores of Washington state for dead birds-something they do every month. November was a bad month.

"We had almost 130 of them out on our beach within about a mile stretch, plus 10 other species. It was a long day," said Kathy Freitas, volunteer bird surveyor.

So far, volunteers have found around eight-thousand carcasses of the blue-footed seabird called the Cassin's Auklet along the coast from British Columbia down into northern California.

Scientists estimate as many as 100,000 auklets - most of them young - have died. The question is why .

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Attention

Deer attacks man near his home on Guam

Masako Watanabe
Pacific Daily News
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 18:25 UTC
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Toto resident recounts attack by deer.
"If you see a deer, it's not Bambi. Don't go near it."

Those were the words of advice yesterday from a bandaged-up Toto resident who was attacked by a binadu early yesterday morning.

Mike Cepeda, 51, sported fresh bandages and a smile as he visited the Guam Police Department Hagåtña precinct following the incident. Officers needed his information for a report, he said.

Cepeda said he went outside of his Toto home after his aunt called him about a deer in the yard.


Comment: Other recent bambi attacks: Deer attacks and injures animal keeper at zoo in India

Man attacked by deer he shot with arrow

Wolf Lake man attacked and injured by elk at campground in Muskegon, Michigan

Man dies following ferocious deer attack at Slovakian farm

Deer farmer, 75, dies five days after being gored by stag in rutting season in Wales

Pet deer partially blinds owner during attack

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