Animals
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Attention

Strange animal behaviour; dolphin leaps into boat, breaks woman's ankles off Dana Point, California

Laylan Connelly
The Orange County Register
Thu, 02 Jul 2015 14:49 UTC
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For a few moments, it was pure bliss as dolphins swam alongside the Frickman family's small boat, leaping toward the sky and doing flips.

The Frickman family had been enjoying a sunny afternoon June 21 - the first day of summer, Father's Day and also Dirk and Chrissie Frickman's 18th wedding anniversary - when they came across the pod of dolphins as they were heading back to the Dana Point Harbor.

Tristan, 12, and Courtney, 16, edged toward the bow of the 21-foot Boston Whaler as the dolphins swam along their boat. The entire family was cheering.

That's when the pleasant afternoon turned to pure chaos. A dolphin leaped out of the water, hit the rail of their boat and flopped right inside with the family.

At first, it might have resembled a wacky Sea World trick, or a fun Flipper moment.

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Red Flag

Farmer killed after vicious attack by swarm of bees

Nora Salinas
valleycentral.com
Mon, 29 Jun 2015 22:41 UTC
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It was a regular Sunday for Rogerio Zuniga, a third generation farmer in the small community of Lozano, according to his sister Lisa Zuniga.

He was plowing the field on his tractor before hitting an irrigation pipe filled with hundreds of bees. "He got off the tractor and ran and apparently they caught up to him and he collapsed, and they stung his body to death," Lisa Zuniga said.

Family members saw his stalled tractor and ran to look for him, but by the time they found him through the tall, thick brush, it was too late. "He had gaping wounds, the bees shredded him basically. It was horrible," Lisa Zuniga said.

Family members and neighbors told Action 4 News they now fear for their own safety after hearing about the fatal incident.

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Attention

7th shark attack reported off NC coast this summer, victim transported to hospital

Tribune Media Wire
WTVR
Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:34 UTC
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© Stephen Lee
Another shark attack was reported on Wednesday off the coast of North Carolina, according to officials. The shark attack happened on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks, according to Hyde County EMS. A lifeguard called 911, according to an emergency worker. The victim was taken out of the water and airlifted to a nearby hospital. There is no word on the victim's condition.

Hyde County tweeted a statement, saying "a person swimming at the NPS day use area on Ocracoke sustained a bite from marine life" and the incident is still being investigated. Wednesday's attack marks the seventh incident on North Carolina beaches in June and July. Last year, there were only four reported in the state through the summer.

Comment: See also:

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Cloud Precipitation

1,255 wild animals found dead after floods in Bhanvnagar, India


The Times of India
Wed, 01 Jul 2015 20:08 UTC
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© Source: PTIA lioness takes her cub to a safer place after heavy rainfall caused floods at forest in Amreli on Saturday.
The forest officials have recovered carcasses of 1,255 wild animals including four lions and 1,225 blue bulls and 14 chittals from three talukas of Bhanvnagar district. These animals had swept away in river Shetrunji during flash floods last week.

Following a massive search and rescue operation, the Bhavnagar forest department on Tuesday issued a statement giving the details of the wild animal that died in the floods.

"Our 30 teams searched for wild animals dead or alive in mud filled water and muck for one week. We found bodies of total 1255 wild animals including four Asiatic lions which had swept away in flood waters and reached down-stream of Shetrunji River in Bhavnagar area," G S Singh, deputy conservator of forests, Bhavnagar, told TOI.

Singh said that the bodies were found from Palitana, Gariyadhar and Talaja talukas of Bhavnagar.
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Info

Study: Microplastics in the ocean are moving up the food chain

Randy Shore
blogs.vancouversun.com
Wed, 01 Jul 2015 19:24 UTC
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Microplastics

Plastic fibres and particles in West Coast waters are being consumed and passed up the food chain by tiny marine creatures that apparently mistake them for food, according to a new study from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre.

Researcher Peter Ross and his colleagues found plastic litter in the digestive systems of two key species of plankton that are eaten in large numbers by salmon and baleen whales.

Adult salmon returning to the Strait of Georgia may be consuming up to 91 plastic particles a day by eating plankton, and juveniles leaving fresh water up to seven particles a day, while a humpback whale could ingest more than 300,000 particles a day, according to the researchers' estimates.

Several recent studies have documented ingestion of plastics in the wild by fish, bivalves and crustaceans. Plastic particles have also been detected in the scat of marine mammals.

"Most salmon species feed heavily on (plankton) during their juvenile and adult life stages," said Ross. "These particles could pose a serious risk of physical harm to the marine animals that consume them, potentially blocking their gut or leaching chemicals into their bodies."
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Attention

Wild elephant kills man in Anekal, India


Deccan Herald
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 18:37 UTC
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Asian elephant
A wild elephant trampled a 48-year-old farmer identified as Venkatesh, on Sunday, at Kanaveshivapura forest road in Anekal.

The incident occurred when Venkatesh was passing through the road at night on his way home after working in his field. He went too close to the pachyderm when the scared elephant attacked him. On hearing his screams, other farmers in the vicinity rushed to the spot.

They contacted the forest officials and the patrolling staff rushed Venkatesh to St John's Hospital for treatment where he was declared dead on arrival. The farmer, a resident of Malur taluk, Kolar, had an agricultural plot in Anekal. He is survived by his wife and two children.
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Wolf

Heatwave dog attack warning after 6 children hospitalised in 3 days in Sussex, UK

Richard Wheatstone
Daily Mirror, UK
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 18:09 UTC
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Warning: Police say they were called to a string of dog attacks earlier this month
Police sounded the alert after a string of dog attacks on children - including one where a 12-year-old girl needed 11 stitches in her face

Parents and dog owners have been warned heatwave conditions could trigger a spike in dog attacks after a series of incidents involving young children.

Police sounded the alert after a string of dog attacks on children over a three-day period - including one where a 12-year-old girl needed 11 stitches in her face after being attacked by her families Fox Terrier.

Animal charities have also warned dogs can become more irritable in extreme heat and that attacks are likely to rise as dogs and children play outdoors in the sunshine.

Sussex Police revealed it had been called to six serious dog bite incidents in just three days over the weekend of 19-21 June.
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Question

Remains of mysterious sea creature washed up in far east of Russia

Anna Liesowska
The Siberian Times
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 14:08 UTC
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© SakhalinMediaJudging from the remains the creature was giant and about twice the length of a human, and it had a huge nose like a bird’s beak.
With fur on its tail and twice the size of a human being, no one yet knows what the animal is.

The remains of an unidentified sea animal with fur on its tail have been washed ashore in the Far East. Found near the airport at Shakhtersk, on Sakhalin Island, its appearance is unlike anything ever found in Russia.

Judging from the remains the creature was giant and about twice the length of a human, and it had a huge nose like a bird's beak.

Pictures of the carcass have created a stir on social media after being taken by local people and posted online.

Some have claim the remains belong to a Ganges River dolphin from India, because of the long body and narrow beak nose. But the presence of fur on the tail and also its size - twice that of the Indian dolphin species - has created a mystery.
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Eagle

Cheeky crow hitches lift on bald eagle in mid-flight

David Raven
Daily Mirror, UK
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 13:55 UTC
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© Phoo Chan / Media Drum World Taxi: The cheeky crow on board the bald eagle as he piggy backs mid-air
This chance-meeting was captured by an amateur photographer while the much larger predatory bird was trying find itself an early morning snack

This cheeky crow was pictured hitching a lift on a bald eagle's back.

Fancying a free ride, the brave black bird landed on the wings of the much larger predator mid-flight.

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© Phoo Chan / Media Drum WorldHitchhiker: The crow performs a flawless landing in these incredible pictures
The surprise guest interrupted the bald eagle who was searching for an early morning snack.

Miraculously, the predator didn't even flinch and carried on as if nothing had happened.
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Cow

Cattle auctioneers admit to just talking shite half the time


waterfordwhispersnews.com
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 19:45 UTC
Cattle Auction
© waterfordwhispersnews.com
Auctioneers at livestock markets across the country have finally confirmed what people have suspected for years; that when it comes to selling cattle, the man with the microphone is basically talking high-speed gibberish for no good reason.

"We've been just throwing in fibbiddy bibbiddies for the laugh," said Con Harding, one of the country's most sought-after cattle auctioneers.

"Just for the fuck of it. Anytime you hear an auctioneer get up to full pelt, you're listening to about 20% information about the animal in the ring, 20% bidding, and 60% of made up words that we just throw in for the craic".

The admission has shocked livestock traders up and down the country, who for years have prided themselves on being able to understand an auctioneer, with many claiming to "know exactly what he's saying" despite today's revelation that they are in actual fact just talking pure shite.

"I feel kinda foolish right now," admitted Kieran MacCaughan, a dairy farmer from Laois who regularly attends livestock markets.

"Whenever the auctioneer started up with the 'hoobiddyboobiddythreehundredfourhundred', I'd nod along as if I was following him word for word... to learn now that they were just taking the piss out of us is pretty annoying, to be honest".

Following their admission, the cattle auctioneers association of Ireland have promised to quit the messing and just speak English when selling livestock.

Comment: Have a listen!



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