Animals
S


Smiley

Bleating goat sparks rescue effort in Cheddar Gorge, UK


The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:16 UTC
Goat and Kid
© Apex
A goat and her young kid at Cheddar Gorge .
A police helicopter went on a 40-mile round trip after reports of a child crying for help - only to discover it was a goat and her kid.

A worried member of the public dialled 999 saying they heard screams for help inside Cheddar Gorge, Somerset.

The force helicopter, fitted with high-powered video equipment, was scrambled from Filton in Bristol 20 miles away.

But within minutes of arriving over the scene on Wednesday they realised the sounds were coming from a goat and her baby.
Read More...
Attention

Rampaging tusker kills four villagers in India

Shyam Kishore Singh
The Times of India
Wed, 04 Mar 2015 21:45 UTC
Image
Asian elephant
A rampaging wild elephant has trampled four persons to death and seriously injured three others in Sitamarhi district.

Four persons-Md. Nizamuddin, 50, a resident of village Siswa, Bhola Rai (30) of village Indarwa, Chhattar Rai (37) of village Adhakhanni under Parihar police station and homeguard-cum-driver of Bajpatti police station in Sitamarhi district Hulas Rai (30) were trampled to death by a Nepalese elephant on Tuesday.

Two injured women-Lalita Devi and Sonam Kumari, are being treated at different hospitals. The police driver was trying to help villagers chase the pachyderm away from the agricultural fields.

Sitamarhi SP Hari Prasath S said on Wednesday, "Two persons have been crushed to death in Bajpatti and Parihar police station areas of the district. We have got reports that other person injured by the elephant has died. We are trying to confirm the identity of the person."
Read More...
Binoculars

Dusky woodswallow seen for the first time in New Zealand

Dave Nicoll
stuff.co.nz
Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:20 UTC
Image
© Satoshi Kakishima and Tomoe MorimotoJapanese bird-watchers Satoshi Kakishima and Tomoe Morimoto on their first visit to New Zealand, spotted a Dusky Woodswallow on Stewart Island
A Japanese couple who made a rare sighting of a bird on their first trip to NZ have had their sighting officially confirmed.

Japanese bird spotters Satoshi Kakishima and Tomoe Morimoto spotted the Dusky Woodswallow while on Stewart Island realising it was something different.

Birds New Zealand Southland region recorder Phil Rhodes said in September last year he got an email from a Japanese couple about their unusual sighting.

"I advised them that it was a dusky woodswallow and that it had never been seen in New Zealand and that it was a special bird."

Rhodes asked the couple to put forward an unusual bird report through to Birds New Zealand.
Read More...
Wolf

Another dog goes loco: Pitbull shot dead by police after it attacked owner in Bolton, UK

Pete Bainbridge
Manchester Evening News
Wed, 04 Mar 2015 18:42 UTC
Image
© AP/ Heribert ProepperInsp Nicki Tompsett said owners were ultimately responsible for raising friendly dogs, after officers were forced to shoot dead an aggressive pitbull which had attacked its owner
The dog's owner suffered terrible bite wounds and a suspected broken arm but paramedics couldn't get past the aggressive animal to treat him

A dog was shot dead by police after the animal mauled its owner.

Armed officers were given a green light to kill the pitbull following a vicious attack at flats in Bolton.

The animal's owner suffered deep bite wounds and a suspected broken arm and will now undergo surgery for his injuries.

Police raced to Little Holme Walk at 7.30pm on Tuesday evening, March 3.

They discovered a man had been mauled by his dog and paramedics were unable to get past the animal to treat him.

A GMP spokesman said 'authority for human destruction for the dog was granted as a last recourse and the dog was shot'.
Read More...
Attention

Dead humpback whale found off Vietnam coast


english.vietnamnet.vn
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:11 UTC
Image
© VNS Dead humpback whale
Fishermen in the southern province of Bac Lieu's Dong Hai District on Sunday caught a whale weighing more than 250kg.

According to the family of fisherman Ho Xuan Banh, the owner of the fishing vessel that caught the creature, they were fishing at about 10am on the Gia Cao territorial waters in the southernmost Ca Mau Province, when they found a dead whale entangled in their net.

They immediately stopped all fishing activities, and brought the creature ashore to the Nam Hai Whale's Temple in Ganh Hao Town for worship in accordance with the local rituals.

The Nam Hai Temple managers later confirmed that it was a humpback whale with a blow-hole and a horizontal tail.

The whale was 2.33m long, 1.2m wide and weighed more than 250kg.

A representative from the Nam Hai Temple management board said that after the initial worship rituals, the whale's body will be preserved with chemicals for the worship customs of local residents, and will be exhibited at the temple's display house.
Read More...
Wolf

Indian dog pack kill 8-yr-old girl in Amroha village

Priyangi Agarwal
The Times of India
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:17 UTC
Image
Feral dogs in India
An eight-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a group of stray dogs in Poolpur village of Hasanpur tehsil on Sunday afternoon.

According to the girl's father, the attack occurred when she had stepped out to throw waste into the jungle. He said about eight-10 stray dogs had attacked her and she was lying in a pool of blood when he found her. He rushed her to the community health centre at Hasanpur, where doctors declared her brought dead.

The village residents blamed the local administration for not paying attention to the incidents of the stray dogs in villages here.

Amroha SDM Azad Bhagat Singh told TOI, "All executive officers of nagar palika have been ordered to appoint teams of workers to catch stray dogs from villages along with teams of veterinary doctors and compounders and sterilize them."
Read More...
Wolf

Pack of feral canines attack pregnant woman in Bareilly, India

Priyangi Agarwal
The Times of India
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:01 UTC
Image
Feral dogs in India
With the district administration still clueless about how to handle the rising menace of stray dogs attacking people, the canines seem to have grown bolder as they are increasingly attacking adults.

In the latest incident, a pack of four dogs attacked a pregnant woman in Pareva village of Baheri on Sunday while she was working in the fields. Listening to her screams, villagers armed with bamboo sticks rushed to her aid. They beat the dogs with sticks and chased them away.

However, the woman, Lalita (30), lost her leg in the attack. Five children have been killed and at least 10 injured in stray dogs' attacks in the past 45 days.

Meanwhile, the campaign of district authorities of identifying and catching killer dogs could not be started on Monday due to incessant rain. "Our teams along with villagers had to track the dogs from Monday onwards but due to incessant rain since two days, we were unable to move in the area," said Rameshwarnath Tiwari, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Baheri.

Comment: See also: 12-yr-old boy dies in dog attack, 5th victim in 40 days in Bareilly, India

Eight-year-old boy attacked by pack of dogs in Baheri, India

Feral dogs kill 5-yr-old in Bareilly, India: Third fatality in a month of 10 attacks

Read More...
Wolf

Woman stabs and kills her dog after surprise attack

Heidi Fenton
mlive.com
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:51 UTC
Image
© MLive
A Hastings woman being bitten in the face by her dog managed to get away after she stabbed the animal with a pocket knife, The dog later died of its injuries, police said.

Hastings Police officers responded to the woman's home and found her sitting in a chair with a bloody towel on her face. She had several puncture wounds under her eyes and on her chin.

The woman told officers the shepherd mix she had owned for two years had been sitting on her lap while she was petting it when suddenly, for no apparent reason, the animal bit her in the face and would not let go, Hastings Police Chief Jeff Pratt said.

The woman managed to reach for a pocket knife and stabbed the dog three times in the mid-section before the animal released her face. A man in the home then was able to pick up the dog and secure it in a kennel while the woman called for help.

The dog was taken to a veterinarian, where it later died of the injuries.
Read More...
Wolf

Pit bull terrier attacks owner in Buckeye Lake, Ohio

Elizabeth Faugl
abc6onyourside.com
Mon, 02 Mar 2015 19:36 UTC
Image
A family pet
Steven Heptinstall, 22, says even though he was attacked by his one-year-old male pit bull dog named Kane, he still loves the animal.

Heptinstall says Monday morning, Kane and his other male pit bull got into a fight at his Buckeye Lake home. He says as he was trying to pry Kane off the other animal, it turned on him leaving him with a broken finger, several scrapes and cuts, and eight stitches.

Heptinstall says it's the second time Kane has attacked his other pit bull dog in the last two weeks. Now he's planning on caging Kane alone for several days as recommended by local police, then will be giving the animal up to a Pit Bull rescue group.
Read More...
Wolf

Family lied about dog attack on girl to protect their pet in Dayton, Ohio

Lot Tan
Journal-News
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:03 UTC
Image
© Lot TanA dog bit two-year-old Monroe Smith of Dayton in the face while she was building a snowman with her father.
Police say a family lied about which dog bit their two-year-old in order to protect their family pet.

Tyler Smith, of Dayton, said his daughter was building a snowman in the backyard of her grandparent's home in the 1300 block of Woodlawn Avenue when she was attacked and bitten on the face.

The dog "came charging, barking and growling" at Smith and his daughter, Monroe, he told this news outlet Monday.

"It got closer, and I grabbed (my daughter). It was growling so I took off running, and it jumped up and grabbed her face," Smith said.

Smith said he grabbed the dog by the neck and choked it until it let go. He drove his daughter to Atrium Medical Center, and she was transferred by ambulance to Dayton Children's Hospital, where she received more than 80 stitches to her face, according to Smith.
Read More...