Animals
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Wolf

UK hospital admissions for dog attacks up 76% in 10 years

Haroon Siddique
The Guardian
Thu, 28 May 2015 18:34 UTC
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© Dominic Lipinski/PA A pitbull. The HSCIC data showed a 6.5% year-on-year increase in the number of people requiring inpatient treatment for injuries inflicted by dogs.
Hospital admissions for injuries caused by dogs have risen by 76% in England over the past 10 years, according to official statistics.

The news has reignited the debate over whether enough is being done to tackle irresponsible owners and to protect the public.

In the 12 months from March 2014 to February this year, there were 7,227 admissions for dog bites or attacks, 6.5% up on the previous 12 months and compared with 4,110 in the equivalent period a decade ago, according to hospital episode statistics published on Thursday.

A number of high-profile deaths attributable to dogs - there have been at least 21 fatalities, including 13 children or babies, over the last 10 years - have led to a toughening up of the law, increasing the liability of owners and the potential punishments they face.
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Info

Federal program allows killing of 500,000 protected migratory birds a year

Noel Brinkerhoff, Steve Straehley
allgov.com
Wed, 27 May 2015 12:15 UTC
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© Mike Baird/ Wikimedia CommonsDouble-crested Cormorant in breeding plumage in Morro Bay, CA
Being a bird of "conservation concern" or even the oldest bird species on the continent is not enough to avoid being slaughtered under a little-known federal program that authorizes the killing of half a million birds a year.

The Center for Investigative Reporting's Reveal looked into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's "depredation permit" program, which allows businesses, farmers and others to kill members of more than 300 species of migratory birds each year. The body count during a recent three-year period totaled 1.6 million birds, or just over 500,000 a year.

Two-thirds of all the birds killed were brown-headed cowbirds, red-winged blackbirds, common grackles and Canada geese. The rest of those killed included upland sandpipers, barn owls, wood ducks, lesser yellowlegs, snowy owls, roseate spoonbills, curlew sandpipers, red-throated loons, great blue herons, white and brown pelicans, cedar waxwings, robins, belted kingfishers, mourning doves, red-tailed hawks, American kestrels, turkey vultures, mallard ducks and sandhill cranes, North America's oldest bird species
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Wolf

Jailbreak! Owners catch their dog carefully climbing a 6ft chain-link gate

Jake Polden
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 27 May 2015 15:57 UTC
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After jumping up at the gate as if appealing for help, the dog sets about climbing the 6ft chain-link fence
A dog showed off its athleticism by successfully climbing a 6ft chain-link gate so it could visit its friend next door.

In the clip, which was uploaded to YouTube, two dogs can be seen staring at each other from either side of a large metal fence.

Deciding that their distance apart is just too much, one pooch takes action, showing off its impressive climbing ability.

Initially it jumps up at the fence and appears to be appealing to the video maker for some assistance.

But before long it has a paw-hold on the chain-link gate and suddenly all four of its legs are off the ground.

Moving meticulously, the dog takes its time as it leans back and looks for the best place to put its paws while climbing.

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Attention

Hundreds of dead red crabs wash up on Tijuana beach, Mexico

John Carroll
sandiego6.com
Tue, 26 May 2015 14:10 UTC
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Red crabs.
A big stretch of Tijuana beach turned bright red today as hundreds of crustaceans washed up on the sand. The creatures are a kind of crab, better known as Langostino.

The scene Tuesday afternoon on Playas de Tijuana was surreal as hundreds of the small creatures dotted the sand, most of them dead. "I thought first of all it was like all that polluted water we have around here, especially in Tijuana, but then another theory they say is that they (were brought here) by the currents," said one woman on the beach.

"We have seen them in our samples in local waters," said Scripps Institution of Oceanography marine scientist Linsey Sala. Sala said seeing this many red crabs on the beach isn't all that unusual. "Been seeing them. We got reports as early as July 2014. This year my first report of people seeing them was on January first," she said.

But these little crustaceans aren't the only ones to have washed up on the beaches of Baja over the last several weeks. First there was a whale, then a seal and then dozens of blue jellyfish. Sala said she's not sure if all the incidents are related. "The seals and sea lions are local to these waters as are the blue and gray whales. The red crabs actually serve as a food source," she said.
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Fish

Mass fish death in Siberian lake


The Siberian Times
Fri, 15 May 2015 13:17 UTC
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Thousands of carp washed up, but who or what killed them?
Shocked locals have posted pictures of the dead fish amid suspicions they were killed by explosions as officials melted winter ice to prevent flooding.

The disturbing scene was at Lake Khatyng, in the Sakha Republic, the coldest region in Russia. The fish - believed to be carp and grouper - were seen dead en mass on 14 May.

Locals in Tulagino village blamed the dynamiting of local rivers to prevent ice causing dams on rivers, so leading to flooding of villages. But representatives of the Ministry of Emergencies in the republic, also known as Yakutia, denied being responsible for the dead fish.

A spokesperson said: 'On 13 May we did blow up the ice, but the work was near the village of Namtsy, almost 100 km from Tulagino. Even if we assume that fish died because of the explosion, it is unlikely that they were carried such a distance.'
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Wolf

Young boy mauled to death by pit bull terrier in Chicago


chicago.cbslocal.com
Tue, 26 May 2015 17:15 UTC
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Pit bull terrier
A 5-year-old boy was mauled to death by a dog Monday night in the Washington Heights neighborhood.

The boy was attacked around 9:30 p.m. in the 8900 block of South Carpenter Street. Neighbors called 911 after hearing his mother screaming for help.

"I heard the lady come out the house ... and the dog had her son's neck in his mouth, and she said, 'Oh, my God, can someone please help me?'" neighbor Bianca White said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office identified the boy as James Nevils III.

Witnesses said the attack started inside a home, and the boy's mother was able to drag the dog and her son outside, and began asking neighbors to help her get the dog off her son.

"I saw that it was a dog had mauled a baby at the neck, and like by his shoulder, and was just attacking him, and the mom was trying to get the dog off the baby, and I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, please, somebody help,'" White said.

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Footprints

Numerous sea creatures killed by the oil spill on Gaviota coast, California

Tyler Hayden
Santa Barbara Independent
Tue, 26 May 2015 13:38 UTC
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© Santa Barbara ChannelkeeperThis young sea lion was found Friday caked in oil and shivering on Sands Beach.
Since last Tuesday's oil spill, more than 20,000 gallons of death-dealing crude has sickened or killed pelicans, cormorants, grebes, dolphins, sea lions, elephant seals, bass, guitarfish, spiny lobsters, rock crabs, urchins, octopi, shrimp, muscles, sea hares, sponges, anemones, coral, and whole swaths of smaller sea life along the long-protected and once-pristine Gaviota Coast.

Exactly how many creatures are being killed is hard to say because most of the carnage is happening underwater. Federal and state agencies, now in total control of the affected area, have imposed such exceptionally strict closures that volunteers, reporters, and even local biologists have been denied access.

The FAA flight restrictions now block aircraft and drones from getting within five miles of the Refugio site. El Capitan and Refugio beaches are closed until June 4, nearby fisheries have been shut down indefinitely. "All the secrecy suggests there's a big problem," said Greg Helms with the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental watchdog group. He speculated, as have many conservationists and local officials, that more wildlife may have been killed, or more oil spilled, than authorities are saying.
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Eagle

Symbolic? Bald eagle falls from the sky in Eatonville, Washington

Tyler Slauson
q13fox.com
Tue, 26 May 2015 13:03 UTC
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© James ZilkaFallen eagle
James Zilka and his family were headed out on a fishing trip Saturday morning when they saw a bald eagle drop from the sky, diving from a light pole to the ground below.

At first, James thought the majestic bird was dive-bombing for some prey along SR 161 near 304th Street E.

But after hitting the ground, the eagle wasn't moving — laying still in the road.

"There is a lane for the dump trucks to use to merge out of the dump. That's where it lay," James told Q13 FOX News. "We stopped just in front and I grabbed my phone and called 911."
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Attention

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

Michael Morrow
news.com.au
Wed, 11 Feb 2015 12:06 UTC
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© australscope Birth shock ... a mutant piglet was born a with a penis-like appendage on its forehead and a human-like head. Picture: Australscope
Snaps of a mutant piglet born with a human face and appendage on its head have gone viral, with speculation rife about what could have caused the abnormality.

The runt of the litter was born alive and squealing on a Chinese farm, but died after being rejected by its mother and refusing to bottle feed.

There are reports the newborn pig may have suffered from cyclopia, an extremely rare birth defect which results in just one eye where the nose should be.

It occurs when genetic problems or toxins disrupt the embryonic forebrain-dividing process.

Humans and animals born with this condition die shortly after birth.

Comment: 2015 has been quite the year for these freak animal births, see also:

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: Mutant pig born in Scotland

Carla Callaghan
The Daily Record (Scotland)
Wed, 11 Feb 2015 12:15 UTC
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The piglet was born with a deformed face
A piglet has been born in Scotland with a 'human face' and a 'penis' on its forehead - just days after the same genetic mutation was found on a Chinese pig.

The animal who had a deformed face and snout, was born at a Scottish farm but is thought to have died at birth.

A farmer in China, was mobbed by crowds after his pig gave birth to a similar looking piglet, which was described as having a 'penis on its face'. The piglet, which later died, was said to have been part of a bizarre bidding war.

Staff at the farm, who don't want to be identified, have said that they have never seen such a serious deformity on a piglet, and although defects were not unlikely in high volumes of piglets, this is the rarest they have ever seen.
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