Animals
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Attention

Dead humpback whale washes up on Lamaline shore, Newfoundland


cbc.ca
Sun, 03 Aug 2014 12:25 UTC
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© Submitted by Margaret Mary MartinA bloated whale carcass was found beached in a shallow spot in Lamaline, on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula.
A dead whale has washed up near the shore in Lamaline, a small town on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula.

The whale, which appears to be a humpback, could be seen Saturday washed up in a shallow rocky area.

Lamaline Mayor Maureen Fleming said the town is exploring options about what exactly to do with the whale.

There is no word on whether the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), or any other agency, has plans to remove it.

"For the time being we are just going to wait and see," she said.

"We will not be towing the creature out because wherever it may be situated there is still going to be smell or it's going to come back into shore to somebody else, and that's not exactly what we were looking for in getting this creature looked after."

Fleming contacted MHA Darin King about the issue, and is hoping to have a plan in place to dispose of the dead whale by Monday.

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Question

At least four hundred birds found dead across Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

wgaltv
youtube.com
Thu, 31 Jul 2014 08:45 UTC
People in several Lancaster County communities are finding dead birds. News Katelyn Smith looked into what may have killed them.


Source: wgal.com


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Bandaid

Boy and grandmother attacked and injured by river otter on Pilchuck River, Washington

Kari Bray
The Herald, (Everett, Washington)
Sun, 03 Aug 2014 13:27 UTC
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A boy and his grandmother were taken to a hospital with serious injuries Thursday morning after a river otter attacked them near Lake Connor Park in Lake Stevens.

The boy was swimming in the Pilchuck River with his grandmother around 11 a.m. when the otter attacked, said Capt. Alan Myers with the state Department of Fish & Wildlife. When the grandmother attempted to fend off the otter, the animal attacked her, as well.

Based on initial reports, the boy likely needs stitches and his grandmother has a severe eye injury, Myers said. Names, ages and current conditions of the boy and grandmother were not immediately available.The otter had not been caught as of Thursday evening. A trapper was unable to locate a den in the area where the attack happened.
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Attention

Bufflehead duck of boreal forests turns up in New Hampshire in July

Paula Tracy
wmur.com
Fri, 01 Aug 2014 10:50 UTC
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Report from NH Audobon rare bird alert for birders in NH

A bufflehead was reported on Pleasant Lake in New London on July 25.

It's a small duck, rarely seen in the state, whose normal range is in the Arctic and Canada.

The males are mostly white with a black puffy head, while the female is dark with a white spot behind the eye.

Rest of report here.

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Attention

Deep water melon-headed whale found dead off Windward Oahu, Hawaii

Kristine Uyeno
khon2.com
Thu, 31 Jul 2014 10:32 UTC
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Kailua Beach
A necropsy is being performed on a whale that died off Kailua Beach.

The melon-headed whale was brought to shore Friday morning after it was spotted Thursday.

Initially, state officials reported two whales, swimming in circles in waters off Kailua beach.

Experts thought there were two whales because several fins were sticking out of the water, but on Friday morning, they discovered it was only one melon-headed whale in distress.

"So if you were looking from far away, it was the fin and the fluke and it looked like two dorsal fins, but it was just the whale on its side," said David Schofield with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The 9-foot-long adult female whale died about 30 minutes before it was taken to shore. It weight about 500 pounds.

"Even though they're common to these waters, how uncommon is it to have it so close to shore?" KHON2 asked.

"These are deeper water animals, so the point you're making is a good one, is that when they come in shore, that tells us there's something wrong," Schofield said.

Officials believe the whale had been swimming on its side for at least 16 hours and was located about 300 yards offshore.

By the time experts got to it Friday morning, the whale had died.

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Bizarro Earth

Mysterious jellyfish-like creature washing up on California coast

Richard Farrell
Discovery News
Fri, 01 Aug 2014 12:35 UTC
Velella
© WikiMedia Commons/DanCreatures like these have been washing up along the California coast.
It's not just hordes of anchovies attacking the California coastline this summer, as a small, jellyfish-like creature with a cool blue hue has been washing up by the millions along shores up and down the state's coast since the middle of July.

The beach-crashing creature's full name is Velella velella (not a typo; it's the only species in its genus), sometimes referred to as "by-the-wind sailors," because they live on the surface of the water and are at the mercy of the winds for all of their travel plans.

As befits their nickname, velella have a kind of sail affixed to their tops, which is what allows them their out-of-control seafaring. They have few predators, although some sea slugs and water-bound snails will eat them.
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Info

Bear attacks kill at least three people with many others injured in Siberia and far-east Russia

Alec Luhn
The Guardian
Fri, 01 Aug 2014 12:44 UTC
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© Michel Roggo/NPL/Rex FeaturesA brown bear fishes for sockeye salmon in the Ozernaya river, Kamtchatka, Russia, in June last year.
Experts suggest extreme weather could be disrupting biorhythms and food supply, and fishing nets cutting off access to salmon

A rash of bear attacks in Russia have left at least three people dead and many more injured in recent weeks as record high temperatures, freak snow, hailstorms and flooding hit Siberia and the country's far east.

Human activity may be behind some of the attacks. Experts cited by the news agency Interfax said nets and obstacles have prevented salmon from swimming up rivers to spawn, leaving bears without a regular food supply.

Extreme weather can also disrupt the predators' biorhythms and food supply, said Vladimir Krever, director of the biodiversity programme at WWF Russia.

Recent attacks include one at 2am on Wednesday at a meteorological station in the forests of Sakha Republic. A bear broke down the door of a residential trailer and bit the arm of the woman inside, only to be scared away by her loud screaming.

Three days earlier another bear ambushed a boy on Iturup island as he was walking home from his grandmother's house. The bear had dragged the 14-year-old to the shore by the time police arrived and shot it dead. The boy had 170 stitches and remains in critical condition.
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Attention

Dead finback whale floats in at California naval base


kolotv.com
Thu, 31 Jul 2014 06:01 UTC
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© Naval Base Ventura County
Scientists will try to determine what killed a 40-foot whale that floated into the port at the Port Hueneme naval base.

Kimberly Gearhart, a public affairs officer with the base, says the whale appeared to have been dead for some time and may have been struck by a ship.

Officials believe the animal is a finback whale. When fully grown, finbacks can reach nearly 90 feet in length, making them the second-longest animal in the world. The species is listed as endangered.

The Ventura County Star reports biologists from the National Marine Fisheries Service arrived Wednesday to assess the situation.

The carcass has been secured to a wharf. After scientists take tissue samples it will be towed out to sea.

Source: Associated Press
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Attention

Dead whale found on Toti beach, South Africa


The Citizen
Thu, 31 Jul 2014 09:23 UTC
Image
© Getty Images FILE PIC. A humpback whale is seen at the beginning of whale watching season.
An unidentified adult whale was found washed up on the beach in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday morning.

The South Coast Sun reported the dead whale washed ashore on the beach overlooking Ocean View Drive, roughly a kilometer from the main beach.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife officials are scene inspecting the 12 meter long mammal after officials received phone calls about the beached whale earlier this morning.

Officials reportedly took samples for research purposes.

"There are no marks on the whale to indicate it had been injured or hit by a boat," an official told the South Coast Sun.

A group of curious spectators also emerged to take a look at the whale.

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Fish

Thousands of dead fish found floating in Chesapeake Bay

Chris Horne
wavy.com
Tue, 29 Jul 2014 09:04 UTC
Image
Thousands of dead fish appeared on the surface of the Chesapeake Bay over the weekend near the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

James Ryan, a fisherman of Virginia Beach, captured video of the unusual sight. He said the fish are bunker fish, also known as menhaden. Fishermen say menhaden can be used as bait for crab, or be harvested for fish oil.

Social media posts from area fishermen indicate a commercial boat from Omega Protein was in the area at the time. 10 On Your Side contacted Omega, and company spokesman Ben Landry said an Omega vessel was not and could not have been involved, because the company does not have fishing operations on weekends or holidays.

Environmentalists said such an incident would result from either of two likely causes - commercial fishing, when a crew hauls in more fish that it can store, or poor water quality.

10 On Your Side is awaiting response from the Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to find out more about how the fish were killed.

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