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Thousands of jellyfish wash up on beach in Wales

Ted Ranosa
Tech Times
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 00:58 UTC
barrel jellyfish
Beachgoers spotted hundreds of barrel jellyfish washed up at Cefn Sidan sands in South Wales.
Thousands of barrel jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo) have washed ashore on a beach in Carmarthenshire in the United Kingdom.

The sea creatures were found on Cefn Sidan Beach over the weekend, with 50 more jellyfish spotted at the harbor of Burry Port.

Members of the Carmarthenshire council believe the barrel jellyfish, which can grow to about 35 inches in diameter, were drawn to the area en masse because of the warm temperatures of the sea. The condition provides a suitable feeding ground for the jellyfish, as plankton are known to thrive in warm weather.

While the sea creatures do not pose an immediate threat to humans, beachgoers are still advised not to disturb or touch the jellyfish.
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Evil Rays

Mobile phone towers in Hyderabad, India are driving migratory birds crazy

Siddharth Tadepalli
The Times of India
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 18:27 UTC
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Birds near phone tower
Increasing radiation from thousands of mobile phone towers in Hyderabad is playing havoc with the natural flight paths of migratory birds, experts said on Monday. Rare species of birds are unable to find their way back home after winter, they added.

While migratory birds use the geomagnetic field as a compass to track their route from Europe to the Indian sub-continent every year, radiation emitted from these mobile phone towers (6,000 of which came up in just two years) is damaging their brain cells and sense of direction, several environmentalist groups said.

Thousands of birds from 800 different species visit the lush environs of Osmansagar and Safilguda lakes every year. But bird-watchers say hundreds of birds they tracked about a year ago have not found their way back home. Instead, they are found to be circling the city and heading back to the city lakes.
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Cloud Precipitation

16,000 pigs drowned after monster rainstorms in China

Daniel Miller and Edward Chow
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 14:33 UTC
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Catastrophe: Some farmers in the region were able to get their livestock to safety, but at the pig farm in Dahua Yao the water rose too fast
Thousands of pig carcasses have been washed up on farmland in southern China after days of continuous and torrential rain sparked devastating flash floods.

Health and safety authorities in south China's Guangxi region are removing and sterilizing an estimated 16,000 pig carcasses after filthy, algae-filled floodwater swamped the large farm, drowning most of its animal inhabitants, according to People's Daily Online.

The pig farm is situated in a valley in the autonomous county of Dahua Yao walled by steep mountains on either side which caused the water levels to rise rapidly following the relentless downpour.

Pictures of the remote valley with the farm buildings flooded have been quickly shared on Chinese social media showing thousands of pig carcasses floating among the rubbish and debris.


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Aftermath: A total of 16,000 pigs drowned at the farm in south China's Guangxi region after heavy rainstorms caused devastating flooding
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Binoculars

Black bear spotted in Indiana for the first time in over 140 years

Brendan O'Brien
Reuters
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 22:36 UTC
black bear Indiana
Wildlife officials say a wandering Michigan black bear has arrived in Indiana.
A black bear has been spotted in Indiana for the first time in more than 140 years, state wildlife officials said on Tuesday.

Paw prints and a scat pile found in northwest Indiana were left behind by a young male black bear that likely walked into the state from Michigan within the last week, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said in two statements.

"It's quite unusual and exciting for a Michigan lakeshore black bear to move this far south," said Mitch Marcus, an Indiana DNR wildlife official.
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Attention

Elephant gores man to death at beach side restaurant in Thailand

Euan McLelland
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 13:44 UTC
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The five-year-old elephant is led away after causing the death of a man who was out eating with friends
A man died in hospital after being gored through the chest by an elephant that was being used to beg for money on a beach in eastern Thailand.

Weeranat Yoodee succumbed to his brutal injuries yesterday following the Monday night attack as he ate dinner with friends at a seaside restaurant in the tourist hub of Rayong, south of Bangkok.

The 28-year-old was speared by the four-ton animal's tusk after it was spooked by nearby commotion - thought to be loud music and passing traffic.

In doing so, it rammed Yoodee and charged into the telecoms worker's friend, Thongpoon Boonraksatrakul - leaving him with severe bruising to his chest and rib cage.

Police rushed to the scene in Tambon Noen Phra, with the two men taken to Krungthep Rayong Hospital.

Yoodee died on Tuesday.

The elephant's keeper - known as a mahout - was identified locally as Surin native Wittawat Aundoungdee, 21. He's been charged with violating animal welfare legislation, recklessness causing death and injury, transporting animals without permission, and using animals in inappropriate work.

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Black Cat

Georgia police in Tbilisi shoot tiger that killed man after zoo escape

Andrew North
The Guardian
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 13:30 UTC
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Animal that escaped in Tbilisi after severe flooding is shot dead but officials say other animals might be on the loose
Police in Tbilisi say a tiger that broke loose after severe flooding at a zoo in the Georgian capital over the weekend has been shot by marksmen after it killed a man and wounded another..

It has now emerged that other animals may still be on the loose, amid conflicting statements from the government and zoo officials.

The man who died is believed to be in his 40s. The tiger reportedly attacked him around midday as he and two others entered a flood-damaged building near Tbilisi's central Heroes Square, a few hundred metres from the zoo.

It brings to 20 the number of people killed in the disaster, with most of the casualties residents of homes that were flooded by the sudden deluge on Saturday night. At least six people are still reported to be missing.

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Fish

Ice age warning? Ocean near Iceland unusually cold, no mackerel

Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir
Iceland Review
Wed, 10 Jun 2015 20:37 UTC
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© Páll Stefánsson. A West Iceland beach.
The Icelandic Marine Research Institute's annual spring expedition from May 18 to 30 concluded that the ocean temperature off Iceland has not been lower in 18 years, or since 1997. The number of krill is below average and not a single mackerel was caught.

"In the past years we have always caught some mackerel, and especially last year. But now we didn't see any," Guðmundur J. Óskarsson, one of the institution's specialists, who took part in the expedition, told Fréttablaðið.

Guðmundur stated that the ocean temperature from Southeast Iceland to the West Fjords has dropped by one to one-and-a-half degree Celsius. However, it can quickly increase if the air temperature increases substantially, he added.

Last month was the coldest May in Iceland in decades.

The expedition is part of the institute's long-term study of the condition of the ocean around Iceland, the vegetation, krill and fish which exist there. Samples were taken in 110 locations.
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Fish

More dead fish wash up on shore in Riverhead, New York

Kristin Thorne
WABC
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 16:23 UTC
Dead Fishes
© WABCFor the second time in weeks, a large number of dead fish have washed up to the shoreline in Riverhead.
There's a dead fish mystery on Long Island.

For the second time in weeks, a large number of dead fish have washed up to the shoreline in Riverhead.

"Just look, the smell, oh my God, it's terrible," a resident said.

And that's putting it mildly.

"It's just a shame. A lot of guys who own these boats they don't even want to come down here now because of the smell. And the flies, you got flies, you got all kinds of bugs down here now," said Dan Battaglia, of Moose Lodge 1742.

It's just the latest massive fish die off around Riverhead. Just two weeks ago, thousands of the same bunker fish washed up around Flanders Bay.

And a few weeks before that there were more than 100 diamondback terrapins found dead around the same area. And now there's this die off along the Peconic River.
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Attention

Thousands of tiny red crabs continue to wash up on California beaches

Melissa Pamer and Dave Mecham
ktla.com
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 18:25 UTC
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© Credit: KTLAThousands of dead or dying red crabs washed up onto the sand at Huntington Beach on June 15, 2015.
Thousands of small crabs native to the waters off Baja California have washed up on beaches in Orange and San Diego counties, coating the sand in a spiky layer of red.

The crustaceans — Pleuroncodes planipes, known as red crabs, or tuna crabs — began appearing in great numbers last week. Out of the water, they become stranded and typically perish, leaving their bodies to decay on the beach.

The crabs were first reported in San Diego and then ventured up the coast, with thousands appearing as far north as Huntington Beach on Sunday. They were also reported in Newport Beach in January, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Wolf

Phoenix family dog attacks 4-year-old girl; dad kills it and gets arrested

Nohelani Graf
abc15.com
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 17:55 UTC
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The 4-year-old girl mauled by a pit bull terrier.
A Phoenix girl is recovering after being mauled by the family dog and her father is facing a list of charges for shooting the animal after the attack.

Nevaldo "Chris" Ford said his 4-year-old was in the backyard playing with family when he heard screaming. He ran outside to find his dog, Toben, biting his daughter's head.

Ford said he wrestled the dog off the girl, threw the animal to the ground and ran his daughter into the house.

While family tended to the little girl and waited for an ambulance, Ford went back into the yard with a rifle.

"I didn't even know him at that point; he wasn't the dog I raised. " Ford said, "I just knew he was going to attack someone else."

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