Animals
S


Attention

Very rare Omura's whale washes up on beach in Western Australia

Image
An Omura's whale was discovered on a remote Exmouth beach in WA (pictured). It left authorities confused as they struggled to identify the rare species
A species of whale that was feared to be extinct has been found washed up on a West Australian beach, giving scientists an opportunity to learn more about the mammal.

The Omura's whale was discovered on a remote Exmouth beach, at the tip of the state's North West Cape, after Tropical Cyclone Olwyn tore through the area last month.

It is the first sighting of the species in WA and only the second in Australia.

Identifying the 5.68m juvenile female was at first difficult for Department of Parks and Wildlife staff, who eventually confirmed it was an Omura's whale with DNA profiling.


Attention

Huge die-off of jellyfish-like creatures pile up at Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Image
© Don BestA massive die-off at Rockaway Beach.
Thousands of jellyfish-like creatures were seen piled up on Rockaway Beach Sunday morning in what appeared to be a massive die-off.

The animals are called Velella velella. They're like a cousin to the jellyfish.

They are commonly called "purple sailors," "little sail," and "by the wind sailors."

The die-offs occur each spring along beaches from Oregon to California.

Velella velella typically live in the open ocean, but when warm water and storms draw them near shore, the wind blows them onto beaches, where they die in piles.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says Velella velella do sting their prey while in the water, but they are harmless to humans.

Image
© Don BestThe creatures are like a cousin to the jellyfish.

Attention

Attack by monkey claims woman's life in India

Image
Too much monkey business?
Shops at Loi Bazaar remained shut on Saturday over local administration's failure to curb monkey menace as a 50-year-old woman fell from the roof of a three-storey building after being allegedly attacked by a monkey the previous night.

Police said Anjani Devi had gone to the terrace of her Govind Bagh house on Friday to see if there was water in the overhead tank when a few monkeys pounced on her. The woman, in her attempt to defend herself, toppled from the roof. Family members and neighbours took her to the hospital but was declared dead a day later.

Infuriated over the death of the woman, shopkeepers of Loi Bazar downed their shutters on Saturday to mark their protest. Ashok Varshney, city president of the Vyapar Mandal, said their agitation would continue till the administration initiates a monkey-catching drive.

Comment: See also:

Troop of monkeys sends man to his death in India

Young woman killed by a mob of monkeys in India

British tourist victim of 'worst-ever' attack by Gibraltar monkey

Monkey attack terror: Tears testicle off baby, eats it


Attention

Pygmy sperm whale and calf die after beaching on Neptune Beach, Florida

Image
© Atlantic Beach Police/Florida Wildlife Conservation CommissionPygmy sperm whale calf
A mother Kogia whale and her calf died Sunday after beaching themselves on Neptune Beach, according to a biologist at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Allison Perna, a marine mammal biologist, said a person on Neptune Beach spotted the two whales about 7:50 a.m. and alerted the commission. The person reported seeing sharks in the water, but witness accounts of the mother being beaten hasn't been confirmed.

Two biologists with the commission and a team from the Jacksonville Zoo marine mammal response team attempted to rescue the beached whales, but were unsuccessful.

Biologists will now do a necropsy on the animals for clues as to what caused the beaching.


Fish

Thousands of dead fish found floating on lake in China

Image
Thousands of fish, weighing 100 tonnes, have been found dead at a lake in Huizhou City in southern China's Guangdong Province
Thousands of animals have died overnight at a commercial fish farm in southern China's Guangdong Province after the lake became polluted.

More than 100 tonnes of dead fish were found floating in the water near Huizhou City on Friday morning by devastated farmer Mr Zhang.

Workers had rushed to clear the lake, using plastic baskets and nets to scoop them out, creating a huge mountain of rotting fish on the shore.

Others were sent to spread 2.5 tons of edible salt to try and restore the chemical imbalance of the lake which had become contaminated with ammonia, reported The People's Daily Online.

Fish

SOTT Exclusive: Mass whale beaching in Japan is a reminder of Earth-changing events surrounding the 2011 earthquake and tsunami

Japan mass whale beaching
© AFP Photo/Toshifumi KitamuraLocal government officers stand beside melon-headed whales washed up on the shore of Hokota, northeast of Tokyo, April 10, 2015
156 melon-headed whales, also known as electra dolphins, were reported to have been washed ashore on Japan's Pacific Coast last Friday. The mass beaching has prompted fears of a repeat of the devastating 9.0 earthquake in Japan on March 11th, 2011, that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. A week prior to the massive earthquake, 50 melon-headed whales had beached themselves on the coast of eastern Japan.

Japanese officials minimized the importance of any such connection, while the AFP was quick to point out a lack of scientific evidence linking the events. Such a lack of evidence is expected. Science programs have long been held back from comprehensively exploring earth-changes phenomena due to the industrious and disproportionate funding of anthropogenic global warming schemes. Segmentation of science has also limited progress and insight as few researchers are supported in reaching outside the scope of their particular fields, often leading to inadequate explanations for anomalous events.

Senior researcher at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tadasu Yamadao suggested the dolphins may have been confused and got lost.

"Sonar waves the dolphins emit might have been absorbed in the shoals, which could cause them to lose their sense of direction," Yamadao told the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

However, a coast guard official told the AFP, "We see one or two whales washing ashore a year, but this may be the first time we have found over 100 of them on a beach."

Attention

Woman attacked by bear in India

Image
Bear prints
A 45-year-old woman was attacked by a bear in Kalvarayan Hills here on Sunday.

The victim was identified as Lakshmi, wife of Annamalai, of Thalakkarai of Kelnadu Panchayat.

On Sunday morning, while she was walking through forest area, a bear suddenly attacked her inflicting injuries.

On hearing her screams, people nearby rescued her from the bear.

She was taken to the Government Hospital in Attur and later to Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in Salem. Forest officials said that human-animal conflict was rare in the area.

However, they are closely monitoring the area, they said.

Camcorder

Zoo chimpanzee knocks drone out of the air with a stick in the Netherlands

Image
Take that!
A chimpanzee at Burgers Zoo in the Netherlands has been filmed using a stick to strike a drone that flew into his enclosure. The animal can be seen patiently waiting on a branch for the drone to approach. He then uses a stick to knock the drone out of the sky.

The video shows the drone tumbling to the ground only to be picked up and examined by the primate. However, the flying object does not manage to capture the chimpanzees attention for long.

The drone was used for filming for the Dutch television programme and nbsp;Burgers Zoo Natuurlijk. The zoo reports that while the drone was completely destroyed by the attack, the GoPro attached to it turned out to be fine.


Cloud Precipitation

Hailstorm kills and injures over 200 birds across Ahmedabad, India

Image
Hailstones
Sunday's hailstorm killed a large number of birds. Parrots, kites and crows were among the 217 birds which died or were found critically injured at Vasna barrage, in Paldi and other parts of new west zone. At the Jeevdaya Charitable Trust, Gira Shah, one of the trustees of the veterinary hospital, was attending to 70 birds.

"Casualty figures have crossed 200. It is one of the rare instances when hail has killed so many birds," said Shah. Nanu Desai, an animal lover from Vasna barrage area, said: "Close to 60 crows in our neighborhood died. Around 22 parrots and 10 to 20 kites had also lost their lives."

Comment: See also: At least 5,000 birds killed by hailstorm in Bangladesh

Hailstorm kills 300 birds in Ivaiporã, Brazil

Large hailstones kill horses, birds and ravage cotton crops in northern New South Wales, Australia


Fish

Flying Asian carp 'attack' Missouri rowing team at Creve Coeur Lake

Image
Rowers attacked by flying fish
Benjamin Rosenbaum captured footage of the struggle between Washington University's rowing team and the Asian carp of Creve Coeur Lake.

A man filming a Missouri school's rowing team practice captured the moment dozens of Asian carp started leaping from the water, striking some of the rowers.

Benjamin Rosenbaum was filming the Friday rowing practice for the Washington University freshman team in Creve Coeur Lake, outside of St. Louis, when dozens of Asian carp started jumping from the water, surrounding the boat.

Some of the fish struck the rowers and landed in their boat.

"The fish was flopping on my legs. It was so slippery that I couldn't get a grip on it," team member Devin Patel told CNN.

The rowers said no one was injured, but the smell of fish lingered once the waters went quiet.