Animals
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Doberman

Woman, 34, dies in hospital after dog attack in Southend-on-Sea, UK

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A 34-year-old woman has died in hospital after she was attacked by a dog.

Essex Police said officers were called to an address in Retort Close, Southend-on-Sea by the ambulance service at 23:30 BST on Monday.

A woman suffered "serious injuries" and died at the Royal London Hospital on Wednesday, the force said.

It added the dog, which was not a banned breed, had been seized.

Police said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident and a file would be prepared for the coroner in due course.

"Our deepest sympathies are with the family of the woman involved at this time," Det Supt Gary Biddle said.

"While our investigation into the circumstances of this tragic incident continues, we would ask that the privacy of the woman's family is respected."

Attention

Mounties say man dead in Shamattawa First Nation after bear attack in Manitoba

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RCMP say a man is dead after being attacked by a bear in Shamattawa First Nation.

It happened Monday morning, when officers received a report of a missing 60-year-old man.

Later in the day, remains were found in a wooded area near a path in the community, which is where the man was believed to have come into contact with the bear.

Conservation officers are in the community to assist and an autopsy will be conducted.


Doberman

2-year-old mauled to death by 3 Rottweilers while at babysitters in Houston

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A 2-year-old girl is dead after she was mauled by three Rottweilers at a relative's home.

The deadly incident happened just after noon on Monday at a home off Milwaukee Street near Loop 610 on Houston's North Side.

Houston Police said the 2-year-old was being watched by an 18-year-old cousin when the attack happened. The 18-year-old was babysitting at the time.

Cedric Smith, a family cousin, stopped by to pay his respects Tuesday afternoon and then spoke to reporters.


Attention

Woman killed in wild bear attack in Kashmir, India

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A 50-year-old woman lost her life after being attacked by a wild bear in the Mirpora village of Qalmabad, North Kashmir, on Monday evening.

According to reports, the woman, identified as Zareefa Begum, wife of Farooq Ahmed Khan, had gone to a nearby garden when the wild bear attacked her. She was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

Residents of Mirpora village have expressed their concern, stating that the wild animal has been roaming the area. They have demanded that authorities tranquilize the bear to prevent further attacks.

Wildlife officials have urged residents to avoid venturing alone into nearby areas, as wild animals have been moving closer to residential zones.

Bug

Swarm of dragonflies sends beachgoers running for cover on beach in Westerly, Rhode Island

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Beachgoers were lounging on their towels and playing in the ocean when a dark cloud appeared on the horizon. But this wasn’t your typical rainstorm—it was a massive swarm of dragonflies!
A sunny summer Saturday at Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, Rhode Island, where sunbathers were soaking up rays turned into adrenaline-fueled spectacle when a swarm of dragonflies took everyone by surprise, causing many to run for cover.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life," a woman filming the wild scene said from behind her camera.

The dragonflies swooped down like tiny fighter jets, zigzagging through the air. Some sunbathers ducked while others waved their arms frantically, trying to fend off the winged invaders.


Attention

2,853 killed by elephant attacks in India during past 5 years

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Human-elephant conflicts resulted in 2,853 human deaths during the past five years, with the number of fatalities reaching a five-year high of 628 in 2023, according to government data.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh on Thursday said "elephants caused" 587 human deaths in 2019, 471 in 2020, 557 in 2021, 610 in 2022 and 628 in 2023.

The data revealed that Odisha recorded 624 such deaths during this period, followed by Jharkhand with 474, West Bengal with 436, Assam with 383, Chhattisgarh with 303, Tamil Nadu with 256, Karnataka with 160 and Kerala with 124.

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Attention

Two brothers killed in elephant attack in Chhattisgarh, India

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Two siblings were trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district in the wee hours today (July 27), officials said. The incident took place at around 3:00 am in Kersai village under Tapkara forest range when the victims identified as Kokde (45) and Padva (43) were sleeping in their mud house, a forest official said.

As per the preliminary information, one of the victims woke up on sensing the presence of a pachyderm and came outside the house to check. However, the elephant caught hold of him with its trunk and trampled him to death. His brother was also killed in a bid to save him, he said.

After being alerted about the incident, personnel of the forest and police departments reached the spot this morning, he said. Herds of elephants have been roaming in the Tapkara area since the last six months and forest personnel and volunteers have been keeping a tab on their movements. Villagers are informed and alerted from time to time about the location of the herds and advised to remain cautious, he said.

Human-elephant conflicts in the state, particularly in the northern parts, had been a major cause of concern for the last one decade. The districts that have been facing the menace are Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Jashpur and Balrampur.

According to the forest department, around 270 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the last three years.

Comment: Related: 2,853 killed by elephant attacks in India during past 5 years


Doberman

Three-year-old dies after dog attack in Minneapolis

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A child who was attacked by dogs last week in Brooklyn Park has died in the hospital.

Family members said in a social media post that 3-year-old Covil Allen has died after being attacked last Friday, July 19, in the back yard of a Brooklyn Park home.

His family plans to donate his organs to LifeSource to help other children.

"This will honor Covil's life and save more children's lives in hopes that no other parent has to endure the pain that they are experiencing right now," wrote family friends on their GoFundMe campaign.

The child's mother was also attacked and has had several surgeries on her leg.

The GoFundMe campaign, which will be used to cover costs of the family's medical expenses, has raised $45,186 as of Friday afternoon.


Butterfly

'Like telekinetic superheroes': 'Electric butterflies' create a charge so strong they can pull pollen through the air

butterflies electrostatic pollen gathering
© GettyButterflies and moths collect so much static electricity in flight that pollen grains can be pulled across air gaps of several millimetres or even centimetres. Note the spiral of pollen rising out of the blossom.
A new study has revealed that the electrostatic field created by butterflies and moths in flight allows them to attract pollen grains from flowers across air gaps up to several centimetres wide.

Researchers from the University of Bristol also observed that the amount of static electricity carried by butterflies and moths varies from species to species depending on variations in their ecology, such as the type of flowers they visit, whether the insects fly at day or night, and the habitat in which they live.

The new findings, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, suggest that this electric field increases their efficiency and effectiveness as pollinators.

Doberman

Record number of 16 deaths caused by dog attacks in 2023 in UK - 5 or less killed per year between 1991 and 2021

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Fatal dog attacks have surged to a record high in the last two years as campaigners, victims' families and animal charities warn changes to the law do not go far enough.

There have been 16 deaths by dog bites recorded so far this year, more than double the six fatalities in 2022. Between 1991 and 2021, the number never went above five, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

The increase has been blamed on a rise in dog ownership sparked by Covid - 11 million in 2023 compared to 9.6 million in 2021, according to charity PDSA - with puppies bred and smuggled from abroad with little care for their welfare.

The overall number of dog attacks has also soared. Figures obtained by The Independent from police forces in England and Wales show there has been an almost 60 per cent rise in the last five years.

Comment: Related: Woman killed by her pet dog in Coventry, UK - 2nd death in city in a month, 4th for UK in 2024