Animals
S


Attention

Dead Humpback whale found on Corolla beach, North Carolina

Jeff Hampton
hamptonroads.com
Wed, 04 Feb 2015 20:25 UTC
Image
© Karen Clark | Outer Banks Center for Wildlife EducationA 29-foot female juvenile humpack whale was found near the Lighthouse Road beach access in Corolla, N.C.
Scientists today examined a dead female humpback whale that washed ashore Tuesday afternoon.

The juvenile was found near the Lighthouse Road beach access in Corolla with entanglement scars from fishing nets.

The whale, which was about 30 feet long and weighed 25,000 pounds, otherwise appeared healthy and had recently eaten menhaden, said William McLellan, the North Carolina State Stranding Coordinator.

Whale strandings -- especially this time of year -- are not uncommon and happen frequently on the Outer Banks, more so than anywhere else on the East Coast, he said. There have been 100 whale strandings in 15 years, he said.
Read More...
Attention

Mass die-off of hundreds of pigeons alarm biologists in California

Peter Fimrite
San Francisco Chronicle
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 16:29 UTC
Image
© Krysta RogersCalifornia's only native pigeon is the band-tailed pigeon, which spends springs and summer in the Bay Area and other parts of Northern California
An alarming increase in the number of dead and dying band-tailed pigeons along the California coast has prompted wildlife biologists to ask the public for help documenting the apparent decline of the only native pigeon left in the state.

At least 1,000 of the pigeons, which winter in Central and Southern California, have been found dead in Santa Clara and Santa Barbara counties since December, the apparent victims of a parasite spread by the common rock pigeon, said Krysta Rogers, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The sudden increase in mortality is disturbing, Rogers said, because the closest living relative to the extinct passenger pigeon has been struggling for decades to recover from rampant hunting, habitat loss and other environmental problems.
Read More...
Binoculars

Sea duck that is native to Northern Europe turns up off California coast

Candase Chambers
krcrtv.com
Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:03 UTC
Image
Common Scoter.
Bird watchers from across the country traveled to the Crescent City Harbor for the first North American sighting of the Common Scoter on Wednesday.

The Common Scoter is a sea duck that is native to Northern Europe. The rare North American Common Scoter sighting not only brought out local bird watchers, but bird watchers from North Carolina.

"This is very important for me; it's pretty much all I live for," Keith Camburn, a bird watcher who traveled from North Carolina, said.

Harbor Master, Charlie Helms of the Crescent City Harbor District, said the Common Scoter sighting brought a crowd he's never seen at the harbor.
Read More...
Wolf

As black bear attacks increase, Florida may remove hunting ban


RT
Wed, 04 Feb 2015 19:10 UTC
black bears
© Reuters / Rafael C. Torres
Black bear attacks are on the rise in Florida, prompting the state to contemplate how to keep the growing population in check. The government may remove a 20-year ban on hunting the animal as bears increasingly start to be seen as a suburban menace.

In December, two Floridians were attacked by bears. At the beginning of the month, 68-year-old Jeanne Barber was walking her dog when it spotted a bear at a construction dumpster, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The dog excitedly yanked at the leash, pulling her to the ground. Then the bear attacked, clamping its jaw around her arm. Her injuries were not life-threatening, but hers was the third attack in Central Florida's Seminole County over the past year.

Less than three weeks later, a 15-year-old was attacked in the Panhandle's Franklin County. Leah Rader was walking her dog, when it spotted a bear.

Comment: Considering that bear attacks appear to be growing globally, it is not surprising that wildlife management officials are seeking some kind of solution. The animal kingdom has been acting strangely, with all types of both wild animals and pets attacking people, often with no provocation. The articles below are just a few examples of recent bear attacks SOTT has been collecting:

Read More...
Attention

Bottlenose dolphin dies off Sunny Isles Beach, Florida

Hatzel Vela
local10.com
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:12 UTC
Image
The bottlenose dolphin seen earlier.
A bottlenose dolphin was shivering off of Sunny Isles Beach Tuesday afternoon. Three rescuers stood in the water with the mammal until it died.

The light gray dolphin was stranded on the ocean near the Trump International Beach Resort, 18001 Collins Ave. The death comes as scientists continue to study a measles epidemic of unprecedented proportions that is targeting bottlenose dolphins along the east coast.

Laura Diaz, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the bottlenose dolphin was likely suffering from measles, also known as morbilli-virus.

Comment: See also: Update: Virus has now killed over 1,000 bottlenose dolphins along U.S. East coast in 2013

High number of Bottlenose dolphins dying off northeastern USA

Read More...
Wolf

Pit bull terrier savages its female owner in Moturoa, New Zealand

Michelle Ong and Helen Harvey
stuff.co.nz
Wed, 04 Feb 2015 18:21 UTC
Image
New Plymouth animal control officers capture a dog after another dog was shot for attacking its owner.
A police officer shot a pit bull dog as it savaged its female owner in her suburban backyard yesterday.

The woman underwent surgery at Taranaki Base Hospital yesterday for lacerations to her face and arms.

A family spokesman said the woman was not only distressed about what happened to her, but was equally upset at what had happened to her dogs.

Two other dogs were not involved in the attack but were taken away by New Plymouth District Council animal control officers. Their fate was uncertain last night.
Read More...
Attention

Dead whale washes ashore on the Maldives


vnews.mv
Wed, 04 Feb 2015 17:20 UTC
Image
© Mohamed ShanThe dead whale that washed on Hulhumale' shore, last night
A dead whale, approximately 70 feet in length, has washed ashore, in the beach area connecting Hulhumale' and Hulhule.

Of a species of found in Maldivian waters, the corpse was rotten and damaged.

While it measures approximately 70-75 feet, discussions are now underway by HDC and the Police whether to bury the corpse or to take it out to open waters, as it lies at the East of Hulhumale'.

Some elderly people who have gathered to witness the event said that this is a sperm whale (the type of whale that produces ambergris). A number of people are now gathering at the beach to take a look at the whale.

Although the area where the whale has been washed ashore is not inhabited, the odor of the rotten corpse is now strong in the area.
Read More...
Attention

Thousands of dead starfish found on Pensarn beach in Wales

Suzanne Jordan
newsnorthwales.co.uk
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 15:28 UTC
Thousands of of dead starfish have washed up on a beach in Abergele after a period of stormy weather.

Image
Shocked amateur photographer, Gordon McGookin, initially thought that Pensarn beach was covered in rubbish when he went out for a walk on Sunday.

On a closer inspection, he discovered thousands of starfish and razor clams spread out across 500 metres of sand.

Mr McGookin, aged 39 who lives in Pensarn, said: "I try to get out each day usually walking on the beach. It was Sunday when I spied them, just after the tide had gone out.

"There was thousands of them. I have never seen anything like it before. I was a bit concerned but I guess the recent rough sea and high tides over the last week or two was probably the cause."

Read More...
Attention

3,000 waterbirds die at Walker Lake, Nevada

Jeff DeLong
Reno Gazette-Journal
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:14 UTC
Image
© Reno Gazette-JournalCanvasback ducks enjoy the water at Walker Lake. Thousands of ducks and other birds have died from an outbreak of avian cholera at the lake.
Thousands of birds have died at Walker Lake from a disease experts say hasn't made an appearance in Nevada in decades.

An estimated 3,000 birds - most of them American coots and ducks - have died in an outbreak of avian cholera since early December in an event that still is unfolding. As many as 10 percent of Walker Lake's ducks may have died.

"It is still an ongoing outbreak," said Peregrine Wolff, veterinarian for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The event marks the first time for an outbreak of avian cholera in Nevada since the 1980s, Wolff said.

The highly infectious and quick-killing disease is unrelated to the avian flu that has spread among waterfowl in neighboring states and which experts said last Friday was found in a duck in Nevada's Lincoln County late in January. Avian cholera poses no threat to people or dogs.
Read More...
Attention

Elephant tramples boy to death in Bangladesh


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:42 UTC
Image
© Rahula Dassenaieke
A five-year-old body was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Tonkaboti area under Sadar upazila on Monday night.

The deceased was identified as Md Tareque, 5, son of Nurul Islam of the area.

Witnesses said, a herd of wild elephants stormed into the area at around 7:30pm. At one stage, one of the elephants swooped on Nurul's farmhouse of the area and killed his son.

Nurul and his wife sustained injuries while they were fleeing the house.

Some of the houses in the area were also damaged by the elephants.
Read More...