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Study reveals startling decline in European bird populations


Phys.org
Mon, 03 Nov 2014 03:00 UTC
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© Tomas Belka, birdphoto.euAround 90 percent of these losses were from the 36 most common and widespread species, including house sparrows, skylarks, grey partridges and starlings.
Bird populations across Europe have experienced sharp declines over the past 30 years, with the majority of losses from the most common species, say the University of Exeter, the RSPB and the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) in a new study. However, numbers of some less common birds have risen.

The study, published today in the journal Ecology Letters, reveals a decrease of 421 million individual birds over 30 years. Around 90 percent of these losses were from the 36 most common and widespread species, including house sparrows, skylarks, grey partridges and starlings, highlighting the need for greater efforts to halt the continent-wide declines of our most familiar countryside birds.

Richard Inger from the University of Exeter said: "It is very worrying that the most common species of bird are declining rapidly because it is this group of birds that people benefit from the most."

"It is becoming increasingly clear that interaction with the natural world and wildlife is central to human wellbeing and significant loss of common birds could be quite detrimental to human society."
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Wolf

'Out of control' dog reports increase in Midlothian, Scotland


Midlothian Advertiser
Sun, 02 Nov 2014 19:23 UTC
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A dangerous dog
Reports of dogs that are out of control in public in Midlothian have more than doubled in the last three years, the Advertiser can reveal.

Statistics show a rise from 23 in 2011/12 to 56 in 2013/14. There were 35 in 2012/13, while from April to September this year there were 43.

Of the 157 incidents reported within the last three years, a total of 13 dog control notices have been issued by the Midlothian Council-employed dog warden.
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Five-year old boy in serious condition after pit bull attack in Utah

Phyllis M Daugherty
Opposing Views
Fri, 31 Oct 2014 00:00 UTC
pit bull
Instead of preparing for the fun of Halloween festivities, a 5-year-old Clearfield, Utah, boy is hospitalized in serious condition on Thursday, after surgery to repair internal damage and close the serious wounds he suffered when he was attacked on Wednesday by the family's newly adopted Pit Bull, reports KSL.

The attack occurred about 1:00 p.m. at the family's home in the 1100 block of South State in Clearfield, the report says. No one actually saw what happened, according to Davis County Animal Care and Control Director Clint Thacker.

The 2-1/2-year-old neutered, male Pit Bull and the child were reportedly alone together in the yard playing. When the mother went outside she found the dog on top of the mauled body of her child.

Police officials believe the Pit Bull attacked the child and dragged him through the yard, Thacker said. The boy's family had just adopted the dog from the local animal shelter two weeks before, according to KSL.

Comment: Unfortunate? The number of pit bull attacks has become so common, that owning one puts owners and anyone within range in danger. Here are just a few recent incidences:

Pit bull attacks 1-year-old baby at Oak Park sitter's home, Illinois

Still man's best friend? Owner of pit bull in serious condition following attack in Cocoa, Florida

Pit bull attacks its owner in Newfane, NY

Another dog attack on owner: Pit bull mangles woman's arms in Portland

North Carolina teenager saves toddler from pit bull

Paterson man savagely attacked by his own pit bull terrier

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Attention

Wild boar runs amok in Russian city attacking people and cars


youtube.com
Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:34 UTC
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Russian dash cam captures wild boar roaming the streets and attacking people and cars

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Attention

6 people attacked and bitten by a wild boar in Tokyo


japantoday.com
Sat, 01 Nov 2014 13:26 UTC
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Six men and women were bitten by a wild boar in Akiruno and Fussa cities in Tokyo on Friday morning.

According to police, the female boar, about one meter long, attacked the six, aged in their 40s to 70s, including one person on a bicycle, during a 30-minute period from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday, TBS reported. None of the six people were seriously injured, police said.

Later Friday morning, the boar was captured and killed by members of a local hunting association.

Comment: See also: TV cameraman viciously attacked by a wild boar on Japanese street

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Wolf

Woman, 83, dies after being attacked by 4 family dogs in Rowland, North Carolina


wral.com
Fri, 31 Oct 2014 21:57 UTC
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An 83-year-old Robeson County woman died Friday morning, a week after she was attacked by four family dogs.

The dogs, two adults and two puppies owned by her granddaughter, jumped Alemeaner Dial Saturday as she sat on the porch of her home in the 1900 block of Gaddys Mill Road in Rowland, according to Bill Smith, the Robeson County health director.

Smith said the granddaughter and her dogs had been living with Dial, and the dogs had all their vaccinations and appeared to have been properly cared for.
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Attention

Dead whale found at the mouth of Maurice River, New Jersey

Bobby Liga
nbc40.ne
Fri, 31 Oct 2014 21:14 UTC
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In Commercial Township Thursday night, officials discovered a large whale that washed up at the mouth of the Maurice River. Now the investigation into its cause of death begins. Officials say the process of examining and transporting the animal was not an easy one. It's not something you hear about everyday, a whale washed up near the mouth of Maurice River, and once discovered, officials transported it to a nearby landfill.

"It's not something you'd find in the Delaware River or this far up. Usually they are open water animals, not inland like this," said Bob Schoelkopf with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.

"When I approached my guys about this yesterday, none of them could believe it until they came down and saw it for themselves," said Clint Miller, Manager for Commercial Township's Public Works.

Public works crews brought the whale to the landfill in Commercial Township. Officials cut up the whale and examined it to try and determine the cause of death.
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Attention

Woman killed by wild boar in rare attack, Vietnam


You (South Africa)
Thu, 30 Oct 2014 21:32 UTC
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© Getty
A woman died after being trampled and bitten by a wild boar in a mountainous area of central Vietnam, a local official said Thursday.

The 39-year-old woman was working in a rice field in Pho Hoa commune in Quang Ngai province when the animal attacked her, said Nguyen Van Nho, chairman of the commune's People's Committee.

The woman died several hours later.

The boar was being pursued by hunters when it attacked the woman, and the animal was later shot, Nho said, adding that it was the first such incident reported in the commune.

"If it was not being chased, the animal would not have attacked her," he said.

Boars used to be a common sight in the area, but they have become much scarcer in recent years because of hunting.
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Attention

7 trampled to death by elephant herd in Malawi


africanspotlight.com
Wed, 29 Oct 2014 21:22 UTC
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© Chris Charlesworth
Seven people including a child have been trampled to death by rampaging elephants that strayed from Malawi's southern Liwonde National Park into a nearby village, police say.

The two beasts charged into Nyambi village, trampling an eight-year-old child, a 75-year-old man and five others who failed to outpace the gigantic mammals.

"This was the highest death toll caused by elephants in recent memory," said Andrew Mayawo, a police spokesman from Machinga district on Tuesday.

The elephants were later herded back to the national park with the help of police and environmental experts, Mayawo said.

"The problem is that the villagers have vandalised the barbed wire fence which keeps the elephants at bay."
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Wolf

Thousands treated for animal bites in Cumbria as pets turn nasty, UK

Phil Coleman
News and Star
Fri, 17 Oct 2014 22:23 UTC
Hospital medics in north Cumbria have faced a flood of patients bitten by their pets, with more than 18,000 treated over the last five years.

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Ouch: Terry Bowes from Wetheriggs Animal Rescue Centre with a tarantula. ‘Spiders and reptiles can never be fully domesticated’ he warns
The staggering statistic has been revealed by the NHS trust which runs the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and Whitehaven's West Cumberland Hospital.

While the benefits of pet ownership are well documented, the figures - released in response to a Freedom of Information request - show the potential dangers.
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