Animals
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Attention

Elephants kill villager in SW China


globalpost.com
Mon, 22 Jun 2015 17:09 UTC
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Asian elephant
A villager was killed and his wife injured by wild Asian elephants while working in farmlands in southwest China's Yunnan Province, said local authorities on Monday.

Villagers found Zhao Si dead and his wife Ming Ba injured in their own croplands Sunday morning in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. The scene was chaotic with footprints of the wild animals.

The attack happened on Saturday. Ming Ba was buried in a collapsed shed in the croplands, which saved her from further attacks by the elephants. She was sent to a hospital for treatment.

The county forestry bureau has strengthened monitoring of the wild Asian elephants nearby.

There have been several attacks in Xishuangbanna, which is home to 250 to 300 wild elephants, in recent years. In 2012 and 2013, two women died in such attacks in the area.

Source: Xinhua News Agency
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No Entry

Invasive flatworm posing threat to local wildlife just made its way to Florida

Jennifer Viegas
DNews
Tue, 23 Jun 2015 11:00 UTC
new guinea flatworm
Invasive New Guinea flatworm
One of the world's most invasive species, the New Guinea flatworm, is on the move and has just invaded six new locations, including the continental U.S. — Florida — according to a new study.

The worm (Platydemus manokwari) is on the "100 worst invasive alien species" list, and is now newly located in New Caledonia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Puerto Rico and Florida, according to the study, which is published in PeerJ.

Although the snail lives on the ground, it is able to climb trees to follow and consume prey.

Jean-Lou Justine of the Sorbonne's National Museum of Natural History and his international team of colleagues identified the dreaded worm at the various sites based on observations, DNA sequencing and other techniques.

Because the worm feasts heavily on native mollusks, threatening their populations, the researchers write that "the newly reported presence of the species in mainland U.S. in Florida should be considered a potential major threat to the whole U.S. and even the Americas."
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Attention

Woman injured following pot-belly pig attack in Nampa, Idaho


Idaho Press-Tribune
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 19:31 UTC
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© DPA, AFP/Getty ImagesCanyon County spokesman Joe Decker says the woman was attacked by the pig Thursday morning.
A woman has unknown injuries after she was knocked down and bitten by a pot-bellied pig in Nampa on Thursday morning, Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker said.

The pig escaped from its enclosure on the 3000 block of Karsten Court, he said, but was corralled back onto the property by its owner. That, Decker said, is when it attacked a neighbor who was on the owner's property.

The victim suffered a bite wound and may have sustained additional injuries from the fall.

The owner took the pig to a local veterinarian, and it was euthanized, Decker said. A sheriff's office animal control officer plans to retrieve the animal's head on Friday and take it to the Idaho Department of Agriculture to be tested for rabies.

Because the incident was reported to the sheriff's office via telephone — no officers responded at the time — Decker said the size of the pig and the full extent of the woman's injuries are unknown.
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Attention

Dead fin whale carcass to be left to decompose near Harwich, UK


BBC
Mon, 22 Jun 2015 17:58 UTC
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The whale was dragged in on the front of a cargo vessel, a strandings investigator said
A dead whale thought to have been hit by a ship is to be left to decompose off the Essex coast, experts have said.

Two thirds of the fin whale's carcass, measuring 10m (33ft), was found on RSPB land near Harwich.

It was dragged in on the front of a cargo vessel but experts believe it may have been hit by another ship.

The decision has been taken between scientists and landowners to leave the remains in place as it is not considered a public health hazard.

The body was found last week on private land with no public access, said Rick Vonk, site manager of the RSPB Stour Estuary site.
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Roses

Baby girl undergoing facial surgery after being mauled by family dog in Sydney, Australia

Louise Cheer and Freya Noble
Daily Mail Australia
Sun, 21 Jun 2015 17:22 UTC
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The baby was bitten on the face in a horrific dog attack by the family's Alaskan Malamute (pictured) in Campbelltown
A seven-day-old girl is undergoing surgery for 'significant' facial injuries after she was mauled by her parents' pet dog as she slept in her bassinet at the end of their bed.

First-time parents Aaron and Jessica Graham were sleeping when they heard their baby cry out just before 3.30am on Monday and woke to find their Alaskan Malamute biting their daughter on the face in their Hoddle Avenue home in Campbelltown, in Sydney's south-west.

Outside the young family's home, a chilling warning - 'beware dog on premises' - is seen fastened on their letterbox as two dogs are seen running around the backyard.

Paramedics were called to the home and the baby girl was taken to Campbelltown Hospital for treatment to facial wounds before being moved to The Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick, in Sydney's east, with her parents by her side.

Inspector Jason Insker said the first-time parents are very distraught over the incident.

Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening and she is undergoing facial surgery, 9News reported.

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Bug

Capitol Hill abuzz after 15,000 honey bees gather at Senate entrance

Ted Barrett
cnn.com
Mon, 22 Jun 2015 12:40 UTC
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A swarm of bees took to the main Senate entrance of the U.S. Capitol Building on Friday, frightening onlookers before they were captured.
In an unusual sight on Capitol Hill Friday afternoon, beekeepers were called in to capture and remove about 15,000 honey bees that had swarmed around the main Senate entrance of the U.S. Capitol Building, frightening onlookers before landing in a tree.

Three volunteer beekeepers, including one who is a top congressional aide, worked carefully but without protective suits to capture the queen and her thousands of offspring.

The bees had been out of their nest in search of a new, larger home, according to Rachel Perry of Capitol Bee Care, an organization that works to protect honey bee colonies that, for a variety of reasons, are dying off in large numbers. Wearing just a scarf hanging over her head, Perry sat patiently beneath the tree luring the bees into a hole in a medium-sized cardboard box that was sealed with gaffers tape, gently nudging with a brush the last stragglers inside.
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Info

Pakistan's fishing methods leave 12,000 dolphins dead annually

Ibriz Sheikh
plenglish.com
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:19 UTC
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© WWF-Pakistan12,000 dolphins are killed annually in Pakistan waters
Pakistani waters can no longer be deemed safe for dolphins as a staggering 12,000 dolphins are killed annually as a result of tuna gillnet operations along the coast.

A recent study conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) and funded by the Australian Marine Mammal Centre, found that dolphins were frequently getting enmeshed in tuna gillnets due to Pakistan's fishing practices.

The study- An Assessment of Cetacean Mortality in the Tuna Fisheries of Pakistan ,found that the use of tuna gillnets in fishing practice was marred with high bycatch of dolphins, turtles and other cetaceans; due to operations which are non compliant to United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) regulations which prohibit the use of large scale driftnets on high seas.

Tuna fishing in Pakistan is based on large scale gillnets which increases the interaction between dolphins and the gillnet. Between Iran and Pakistan, it is estimated that there are more than 7,000 operational gillnets.

With approximately 500 vessels dedicated to catching tuna along the coast, the length of the gillnet was observed to be longer than 2.5 kilometres, much higher than the average, and large scale gillnetting is more harmful to non-target species especially cetaceans.
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Attention

Rare Irrawaddy dolphin washed ashore dead in Pengkalan Balak, Malacca

Jason John
New Straits Times
Sun, 21 Jun 2015 15:07 UTC
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© Rasul Azli SamadA 2.13 metre long male dolphin, weighing about 100 kilograms, was found dead and washed ashore on the beach of Tanjung Serai, Pengkalan Balak, Malacca.
A male dolphin, weighing about 100 kilograms, was found dead and washed ashore on the beach of Tanjung Serai, here, on Saturday evening.

The 2.13 metre long dolphin, a rare species was found with wounds in its mouth and bruises on the bottom right flipper.

A chalet owner who found the dead dolphin is said to have brought the mammal to the Turtle Management and Information Centre in Padang Kamunting in Pengkalan Balak.

State Fisheries Department head of Fisheries Extension Division, Mohd Azam Jusoh said the department received information about the discovery of a dead fish at about 6pm on Saturday and immediately went to the scene along with four department staff.

He said the dolphin, a Irrawaddy Dolphin, was endangered and rare species is believed to have spent the last few days without food based on the wounds in the mouth caused by ulcer.

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Attention

Portents and signs: Piglet born with two heads in the Philippines

Denis Agcaoili
abs-cbnnews.com
Wed, 11 Mar 2015 14:52 UTC
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© Denis Agcaoili, ABS-CBN News IlocosA two-headed piglet was born in Dingras, Ilocos Norte.
A piglet with two heads was born in Barangay San Marcos, Dingras, Ilocos Norte on Tuesday evening.

The piglet, which had four eyes, two noses and three ears, died around nine hours after it was born.

According to Crisanta Sabug, the two-headed piglet was the fourth to be born by her pet pig on Tuesday night.

Sabug narrated that they helped her pet pig during delivery after they noticed that it was having difficulty giving birth to the fourth piglet.

She said they were surprised when they saw that the piglet had two heads.

It was the only one born with defects among 10 piglets, she said.

Sabug said they immediately brought the two-headed piglet to their house and fed it milk.

Comment: Other freak animal births so far in 2015:

Portents and signs: Pig born with two heads and three eyes in Columbia

Portents and signs: Piglet born with 2 heads in China

Portents and signs: Dog with two bodies and eight legs born on Tonga

Portents and signs: Mutant pig born with strange features and appendage in China

Portents and signs: Mutant pig born in Scotland

Portents and signs: Calf born with 2 heads at Florida farm

Portents and signs: Lamb born with face like an 'angry old man' in Dagestan

Portents and signs: 5-legged lamb born in Wales

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Attention

Portents and signs: Pig born with two heads and three eyes in Columbia

Kara O'Neill
Daily Mirror, UK
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 14:35 UTC
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© CENBizarre: Two headed pig becomes local celebrity
A pig born with two heads and three eyes has baffled a farm owner - who could be set to earn big money from the disfigured animal.

The tiny piglet, who has two snouts and three eyes, became an instant celebrity almost as soon as it was born.

And the farmer has also been flooded with offers from people who want to buy it to use as an attraction to pull the public into their own businesses.

The animal was a huge hit on social media as pictures of the strange looking newborn went viral.

Hundreds of locals from Robles, in Colombia, have also flocked to see the little piggy who has normal black spots and pink skin.


Comment: Other freak animal births in 2015:

Portents and signs: Piglet born with 2 heads in China

Portents and signs: Dog with two bodies and eight legs born on Tonga

Portents and signs: Mutant pig born with strange features and appendage in China

Portents and signs: Mutant pig born in Scotland

Portents and signs: Calf born with 2 heads at Florida farm

Portents and signs: Lamb born with face like an 'angry old man' in Dagestan

Portents and signs: 5-legged lamb born in Wales

Read More...