Animals
S


Attention

Elephant herd tramples man to death in Dhepapalli, India - third fatality in 15 days


The Times of India
Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:09 UTC
Image
Elephant on a bad day.
A herd of elephants trampled Kasi Nath, 70, to death at Dhepapalli, 80 km from here, under Ganjam district's Sorada forest range yesterday.

Patra was going to catch a bus to Sorada when he confronted the wild elephants. He died on the spot, said divisional forest officer (DFO), Ghumusar South, R K Mallick. He said the kin of the deceased would get Rs 3 lakh as compensation in tune with government policy.

The herd also damaged maize crops. This was the third death in the district by elephants in last 15 days. A wild tusker crushed two persons to death at Dolaba, 40 km from here, near Digapahandi on March 4. While one died on the spot, the other succumbed to his injuries at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here the next day.
Read More...
Attention

Farmer killed by elephant near Gudalur, India


The Hindu
Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:02 UTC
Image
Asian elephant.
A man was killed by an elephant near Gudalur on Thursday. Forest sources told The Hindu that the animal attacked Baapu Kutty alias Hamza (72),a farmer of Pakkanna, when he came out of his house early morning.

In the darkness, he failed to spot the elephant. People in the vicinity raised an alarm, but he did not hear them.

The elephant pushed him down before moving away.

The pachyderm was seen in the area a few times recently.

Nilgiris Collector P.Sankar handed over a cheque for Rs. three lakhs to the family of the victim. - D.Radhakrishnan
Read More...
Arrow Down

Dead gray whale found off Torrey Pines State Beach, California

Monica Garske
nbcsandiego.com
Thu, 19 Mar 2015 18:27 UTC
Image
© Thomas MelvilleA backhoe drops a whale carcass into a dump truck on the west side of Fiesta Island at about 3 p.m. Thursday, March 19.
A dead gray whale was found floating in the waters near Torrey Pines State Beach Thursday morning, San Diego Lifeguard officials confirmed.

The young whale -- measuring approximately 15 to 20 feet in length -- was discovered about 250 yards off the shore. Lifeguards confirmed the animal was dead when they reached it just before 10 a.m.

Aerial video showed dozens of birds hovering over the carcass, which was floating belly up in the water.

San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Lee Swanson said lifeguards were waiting to see if the whale would drift to the shore before beginning any recovery operations. Swanson said officials were trying to determine if the whale would wash up on a city or state beach in order to then decide who would then be responsible for getting rid of it.

Read More...
Attention

Security guard attacked by hippo in South Africa

Zunaid Ismael
news.iafrica.com
Fri, 20 Mar 2015 18:15 UTC
Image
© AFPHippo in water.
A security guard at a KwaZulu-Natal game reserve cannot believe that he is still alive after he was attacked by a hippo while on patrol.

Bongani Makhanya said that he had been patrolling near the Paperbark Lodge at the Tala private game reserve just before his shift ended on Thursday morning, when the startled animal attacked him.

"I did not know that there was a hippo sleeping behind a tree when I walked by. My footsteps obviously disturbed the animal. It came straight at me and was after my head but I blocked it with my arm, so it bit that instead," Makhanya said in a TimesLive report.
Read More...
Wolf

Dog viciously mauls a two-year-old girl in Suwannee, Florida

Amber Vann
Suwannee Democrat
Thu, 19 Mar 2015 19:40 UTC
Image
UF Health in Gainesville.
A two-year-old girl was viciously attacked by a dog on Wednesday, March 18, marring her face and upper body with severe wounds that may require cosmetic surgery, according to reports. The attack happened near the intersection of 177th Rd. and 120th Rd. in Western Suwannee County. The girl, Marina Aldama, was treated by medics at the scene until she was life flighted to UF Health in Gainesville. She was in stable condition when she was transported, according to Public Safety Director James Sommers.

"It was a significant dog attack," said Sommers. "She will probably need cosmetic surgery to reattach everything. Her face, shoulders, upper torso, and back of the head were wounded."

According to a report from the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office, Marina was with her mother in a van with the side door open waiting for her father to get lunch around 1 p.m. on Wednesday. Marina was pulled out of the van and attacked by a dog, the report states. The attack was unprovoked, according to the report.
Read More...
Wolf

Wolf attacks a dog in Duluth, Minnesota

Kevin Jacobsen
northlandsnewscenter.com
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 18:34 UTC
Image
A wolf.
A Duluth woman has a warning for pet owners after she says her dog was attacked by a wolf.

Maureen Zupancich says her 11-year-old dog Max was attacked Tuesday morning at their home on the Portage Road in Piedmont Heights.

She says the pooch suffered puncture wounds and bruises and had to get stiches and staples.

Zupancich says her husband saw the dog being carried away by the wolf.

Read More...
Health

Tourist attacked by polar bear in Arctic Norway


townhall.com
Thu, 19 Mar 2015 17:56 UTC
Image
Arctic campsite.
A Czech tourist suffered minor injuries when a polar bear attacked the tent he was sleeping in on the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norwegian authorities said Thursday.

Police spokesman Vidar Arnesen said the man was among a group of six that was on a combined ski and snow scooter trip on the remote islands more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the Norwegian mainland. The group was camping north of the main town of Longyearbyen.

The man, Jakub Moravec, told local media he hoped to be out of the hospital later Thursday.

"Now I am fine. I have some scratches in the face, on one arm and on the back. But I feel fine," he told the Svalbardposten newspaper.
Read More...
Fish

Large fish kill and dolphin stranding reported on Outer Banks beaches, North Carolina

Becca Mitchell and Todd Corillo
wtkr.com
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 19:31 UTC
Image
© Corolla Beach MusicDead dolphin.
A large number of dead fish and a dead dolphin have washed up on the beaches of the Outer Banks over the past few days.

Locals have reported that the stretch of dead fish runs for approximately three miles in the Corolla area.

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources manages fish kill activity in the state.

Environmental Senior Specialist Jill Paxson with the Division of Water Resources says she hasn't seen the fish kill nor gotten reports of it, but says they are typically caused by one of two factors.
Read More...
Binoculars

Spectacular lost hummingbird rediscovered after 69 years in Colombia

Richard Emblin
The City Paper
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 19:15 UTC
Image
© Carlos Julio Rojas (ProAves)Blue-bearded Helmetcrest was recently split from the other forms of helmetcrest, becoming a seriously endangered full species.
Conservationists Carlos Julio Rojas and Cristian Vásquez were trekking through the high altitude wetlands of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta when they were stopped in their tracks by a rare and beautiful find.

Given their location in the coastal range home to the "Lost City" (and many yet to be discovered archeological sites), these biologists working at the Reserva Natural de Aves 'El Dorado,' a scientific research station of the ProAves Foundation, managed to capture with a camera the Colibrí Barbudito Azul, or Blue-bearded Helmetcrest.

For bird lovers around the world, the spotting of a Blue-bearded Helmetcrest is important news, as the last time this hummingbird was seen by humans, was back in 1946.

"I saw the flash of a bird screeching past me and it perched on a bush nearby. I managed to take a quick photo of it before it flew off. I then reviewed the photo in the camera and immediately recognized the strikingly-patterned hummingbird as the long-lost Blue-bearded Helmetcrest," explains Cristian.
Read More...
Health

Man in serious condition following attack by his pet zebra in Searcy, Arkansas

Danielle Kloap
arkansasonline.com
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 18:49 UTC
Image
Zebra
A Searcy man is still at a Little Rock hospital in serious condition after his pet zebra attacked him Sunday night, police say.

Officers were called to the White County Medical Center about a man who had been attacked by his own zebra, Searcy Police Department spokesman Cpl. Steve Hernandez said.

The man had already been transported to the UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock by the time police arrived, Hernandez said.
Read More...