Animals
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Wolf

Crazed pit bull terrier runs amok and attacks 9 people in Thessaloniki, Greece

Ioanna Zikakou
greece.greekreporter.com
Sun, 24 May 2015 16:45 UTC
A stray pit bull was caught on video by security cameras while savagely attacking people at a gas station in Thessaloniki, northern Greece.

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Pit bull attack
After the attack at Neo Rysio area in Thessaloniki nine people had to be taken to a local hospital. Among them was a 13-year-old minor, a firefighter and a policeman.

At first only six people were hurt after trying to stop the pit bull, however, they were not successful. Greek police officers were forced to intervene, but the crazed dog could not be stopped.

Finally the dog attacked a police officer, a firefighter and a man who attempted to help them and pry the dog off men.

Eventually a police officer shot the dog at the leg, causing it to run off towards the street where a passing fire department truck hit the pit bull and killed it.

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Attention

Pygmy whale found on Southern Hawke's Bay beach, New Zealand

Harrison Christian
The New Zealand Herald
Mon, 25 May 2015 14:55 UTC
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A 3m pygmy sperm whale found on Porongahau Beach yesterday was blessed by Raina (left) and Doc Ferris.
A whale washed up on Porongahau Beach in Southern Hawke's Bay yesterday.

DoC marine ranger Rod Hansen said the 3m pygmy sperm whale was found dead about 200m from the local campground.

It had likely died of natural causes.

"Whales are a bit like humans, they have a fear of drowning," he said. "Often they come into shallow water so they can rest on the bottom."

He said sickness may have drawn the whale into shore. It was not common to see this species close up.

"We get the odd one every now and then. A few locals said it was the first whale of its kind they'd seen."

The whale's body was blessed by local Iwi and moved by a digger up the beach, where it was buried.
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Cow Skull

More mass animal deaths in Kazakhstan: 70 rare dalmatian pelicans found dead in country's west

Assel Satubaldina
en.tengrinews.kz
Mon, 25 May 2015 14:46 UTC
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© zoopicture.ruDalmatian pelican
70 Dalmatian pelicans have been found dead in Atyrau Oblast in western Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports citing the press office of Kazakhstan's Agriculture Ministry.

Pelicans were found in the shallow waters of the Kigach river's delta in Kurmangazy district during the spring registration of birds conducted by North Caspian Operating company.

A working group was formed to investigate the cause of the birds' death.

The Dalmatian pelicans are listed in the Red Book of Endangered Species of Kazakhstan. There are approximately 2,000 pairs in Kazakhstan nesting in the water basins of the Ural region, along the Caspian Sea coast and in the Torgai and Naurzum Reserves.

Comment: This comes just days after the mass die-off of antelopes in Kazakhstan reaches 85,000...

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Attention

Bear bites two campers near Durango, Colorado

Brandon Mathis
The Durango Herald
Sun, 24 May 2015 13:45 UTC
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Bear tack
Two people were transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center early Saturday morning after being bitten by a bear that wandered into their illegal camp near the Durango Tech Center.

Joe Lewandowski, spokesperson with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the incident happened about 2 a.m. Saturday.

"We don't know what the extent of their injuries are, and we're looking for the bear," he said.

Lewandowski said a wildlife officer spent all night and much of Saturday looking for the animal.

"It's tough to find a bear," he said.

Sgt. Mike Slack with the Durango Police Department said that according to reports, the two men began knocking on homeowner's doors on Ella Vita Court, a residential area near where the men were camped, but residents didn't answer because of the time of night, but they did call authorities.

Officers from the Durango Police Department found the men near Manna Soup Kitchen.
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Binoculars

Record numbers of giant jellyfish are swarming off Dorset coast

Hannah Parry
Daily Mail
Mon, 25 May 2015 10:09 UTC
jellyfish dorset coast
Tens of thousands of giant jellyfish are swarming off one of Britain's most popular stretch of coastline over the Bank Holiday
Tens of thousands of giant jellyfish are swarming off one of Britain's most popular stretch of coastline this Bank Holiday.

Record numbers of the 5ft long monsters - which weigh five stone each - were spotted off the Dorset coast. The unprecedented invasion of barrel jellyfish may due to over fishing which leaves fewer predators to eat them when they are young and smaller.

The jellyfish, which are more than three feet wide, may also have overwintered in the depths of UK waters.

Their sting is not considered dangerous to humans but is similar to that of a nettle and can cause a rash.

Conservationist Steve Trewhella spotted the swarm from his dive boat off the coast of Kimmeridge in Dorset.


Comment: Thousands of barrel jellyfish were also spotted off the coast of Devon and Cornwall in April:

Billions of barrel jellyfish appear in coastal waters off Cornwall, UK

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Attention

Death toll of rare saiga antelope reaches 85,000 in Kazakhstan


National Post
Fri, 22 May 2015 13:18 UTC
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Saiga antelope
Authorities in Kazakhstan says around one-third of the endangered saiga antelope population in this Central Asian nation has mysteriously died off in the last few days.

Kazakhstan's agriculture ministry said Friday the number of saiga that have died may have reached 85,000.

The ministry says it suspects the animals, which are recognizable for their distinctive humped snout, may have been struck by an epidemic of pasteurellosis caused by a bacterial infection. Officials say international veterinarian experts have been flown to Kazakhstan to study other possible causes for the catastrophic die-off.

The number of saiga plummeted in the 1990s as a result of poaching. At the latest Kazakh government count in 2014, the saiga population stood at 257,000.

Saiga are also found in smaller numbers in parts of Russia.

Source: The Associated Press
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Attention

Gray whale found dead on Portuguese Beach, California

Clark Mason
The Press Democrat
Sat, 23 May 2015 17:50 UTC
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© Damien Jones / California State ParksA young gray whale washed up on Portuguese Beach in Sonoma County early May 23, 2015.
A dead, juvenile gray whale washed up on the Sonoma Coast this weekend at Portuguese Beach.

The 28-foot whale appeared to have been dead for some time and was in a state of obvious decomposition, according to California State Parks Ranger Damien Jones.

He said the carcass came ashore Friday night or Saturday morning. The Marine Mammal Center took a tissue sample in an attempt to determine cause of death, but it did not to appear to be from trauma, he said, such as being struck by a ship.

Jones said State Parks did not plan to remove the whale from the beach, which is about halfway between Jenner and Bodega Bay. He said the tide could carry it out to sea again.

"Generally we leave dead and sick animals where they are and let nature take its course," he said.
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Binoculars

Wayward bird turns up on the wrong side of the Rockies in Lodi, California

Alex Breitler
The Record
Sat, 23 May 2015 11:25 UTC
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A Baltimore Oriole (though not the one seen recently near Lodi) at Emmenegger Nature Park in St. Louis
Most often, the only Baltimore Orioles you'll find in Northern California are the 6-foot-tall variety that migrate to the Oakland Coliseum a couple of times each year.

Members of Stockton's Audubon Society, however, are excited about a Baltimore Oriole — a bird, not a baseball player — spotted recently at Westgate Landing Regional Park just north of Highway 12, in the Delta west of Lodi.

The oriole was first seen by Lodi birders Dave and Pat Croft on May 15. Other birders have since come from as far away as Palo Alto to get a look, Dave Croft said.

The distinguished visitor is a very loud fellow, Croft said, and is quite active flying back and forth between the trees in the park.

"He might be singing for a mate," Croft said. "Who knows?"

The find is rare, said well-known local birder David Yee.
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Wolf

Woman rescues 3-year-old girl from coyote attack in Irvine, California


losangeles.cbslocal.com
Fri, 22 May 2015 17:45 UTC
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Coyote
A 3-year-old girl was attacked by a coyote Friday while playing with a friend in an Orange County park.

It happened around 5:50 p.m. at the corner of Equinox and Silverado, according to Irvine police.

The coyote charged at the girl "out of nowhere" and lunged at her neck.

It could have ended much differently had it not been for a nearby resident who acted quickly.

Ginna McKenna was sitting on her patio when she spotted the attack, as told to CBS2's Stacey Butler.

"A little girl was screaming and the mother was screaming, so I came running out and there was a coyote in the park. I chased [the coyote] off," McKenna said. "They were scared."

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Attention

Circus elephant tramples 3 to death in Bagerhat, Bangladesh


The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Sat, 23 May 2015 14:38 UTC
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Circus elephant emphatically refuses to perform tricks
Three people were trampled to death by a circus elephant in Mollahat upazila of Bagerhat early today.

The elephant also damaged several houses during the attacks at three villages in the upazila, our Bagerhat correspondent reports quoting ANM Khairul Anam, officer-in-charge of Mollahat Police Station.

The dead are Monwara Begum, 45, of Gafra village, Kusum Biswas, 61, of Kahalpur village and Mizanur Rahman, 45, of Basabari village.

The elephant entered Mollahat village and attacked the house of Monwara around 5:30am, leaving her critically injured.
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