Animals
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Fish

Cold Antarctic water likely cause behind thousands of dead fish found on Ninety Mile Beach, Victoria, Australia

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Dead fish washed up onshore at Seaspray in Gippsland
Thousands of dead fish washed up on Victoria's Ninety Mile Beach were probably killed by cold Antarctic water, according to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

Many beachgoers had reported the dead fish between Seaspray and Marlo in Gippsland, identifying mainly the leather jacket species and also trevally.

The EPA said it was investigating but test results did not indicate water pollution was the cause.

It said the fish were most likely killed by cold Antarctic waters moving up the east coast.

The fish prefer warmer waters.

Large numbers of dead fish have also washed up on Tasmania's east coast.

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Beachgoers reported the dead fish found along Ninety Mile Beach.

Comment: See also: Tens of thousands of fish wash up on the east coast of Tasmania

Mass of spider crab shells wash up on Tasmania's east coast


Arrow Down

Elephant slaughter continues in Democratic Republic of Congo

Elephant Slaughter
© Stringer/AFPUgandan soldiers patrol through the central African jungle during an operation to fish out notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony.
Rabat - One of Africa's oldest national parks is under attack "from all fronts," said its director on Friday after 68 elephants were slaughtered over the past two months by poachers wielding chain saws and grenades and shooting them from helicopters.

Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is under constant assault by renegade Congolese soldiers, gunmen from South Sudan and others. And this is just a slice of the carnage: international wildlife regulators say 20 000 elephants were killed just in Africa in 2013.

The Johannesburg-based African Parks group, which manages the park, said that since mid-May, the 5000km² Garamba National Park in Congo, which was established in 1938, has faced an onslaught from several bands of poachers who have already killed 4% of its elephant population.

"The situation is extremely serious," Garamba park manger Jean-Marc Froment said in the statement. "The park is under attack on all fronts." A 2012 census found just 2 000 elephants in Garamba Park, down from 20 000 in the 1960s.

One group is shooting the elephants with rifles from a helicopter and then taking off their tusks with a chain saw. They are removing the elephants' brains and genitals as well.

Conservationists say a thriving ivory market in Asia is helping fuel the worst poaching epidemic of African elephants in decades.

In some cases the attacks in Garamba seem to be indiscriminate, killing baby elephants that do not yet possess the valuable ivory tusks.

African Parks, which runs seven parks in six countries in cooperation with local authorities, said the poachers include renegade elements of the Congolese army, gunmen from South Sudan, and members of the Lord's Resistance Army, a militant rebel group whose fugitive leader Joseph Kony is an alleged war criminal.

In one skirmish with poachers, park guards had to try to protect themselves from hand grenades thrown by Southern Sudanese poachers, some wearing military uniforms.

Attention

Humpback whale washes up dead near Pajaro Dunes, California

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© Tom FarmerBeach-goers examine a dead humpback whale near Pajaro Dunes on Friday.
Researchers try to determine cause of death

An adult humpback whale was found dead on the beach near Pajaro Dunes Thursday night, and researchers are trying to determine its cause of death.

The roughly 45-foot whale was spotted after dark near the waterline at Palm Beach, said Teri Sigler, the marine mammal stranding coordinator at Long Marine Laboratory in Santa Cruz.

"It's a rare strander," Sigler said Friday.

She said the whale appeared "moderately decomposed" and had an odor. It was not immediately clear how it died, and a necropsy was expected to be performed on the beach Friday.

Results could take a day or longer, in part because the tide has been washing the animal south and making it difficult for researchers to get to it. Friday afternoon, the whale drifted to the beach in front of the Pajaro Rivermouth, authorities said.

Question

Green puppies shock Spanish dog breeders

Green Puppies
© Aida Vallelado Molina The animals, born on June 3rd, were smaller and weaker than the other pups in the litter.
A pair of dog breeders in the Spanish province of Valladolid were shocked recently when two pups were born green.

"I couldn't believe it when I first saw them," Aida Vallelado Molina told The Local.

"I thought the puppies were dirty and tried to clean them, but the colour wouldn't come off," said Molina, who breeds hunting dogs with her father in the town of Laguna de Duero.

The animals, born on June 3rd, were smaller and weaker than the other pups in the litter. One of them, a female, died shortly after birth while the male pup is still alive, but very weak.

He is now beginning to lose his pigment.

Butterfly

Malaysia swarmed by giant moths

Moths_1
© Lim Wui LiangThe dark-coloured moths are one of the largest found in South East Asia.
Swarms of giant moths have descended on Malaysia, invading homes and even disrupting a national football match.

Thousands of the furry insects, with a wing span of up to 16cm (6in), interrupted a semi-finals match at the Darul Makmur Stadium last week.

Over 800 sightings were also reported in neighbouring Singapore last month, sparking intense online debate.

The Lyssa Zampa tropical moth, which is also known as the Laos brown butterfly, is native to South East Asia.

Biology lecturer N Sivasothi said that while the moth sightings appear to be "unprecedented", it is not a new phenomenon.

"The moths are actually present during other times of the year but in very small numbers, so they are usually not noticed by people," Mr Sivasothi said, adding that the creatures typically emerge between April and August every year.

Ecologist Anuj Jain said moths' use of light for navigation often causes them to head to built-up areas.

"Their tendency to emigrate in search of new uneaten host plants attracts these moths to light in urban city areas," he said.

Experts said that while people suffering from asthma may be sensitive to hairs on their wings, the nocturnal creatures do not pose any threat.

Attention

Dead Humpback whale found on Buffalo beach, Western Australia

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© Kirk Davies. The dead whale was spotted on Buffalo Beach on Saturday.
A humpback whale carcass has been sitting on Buffalo Beach near Australind since Saturday and the department of parks and wildlife is still weighing up options of how to deal with its removal.

A department spokeswoman urged the public to steer clear of the 10-metre long carcass because it posed health and safety issues.

"It's a dead whale so it's not very pleasant to be around - in saying that, it's in a very remote location which can only be accessed by four-wheel-drive so there's not too much chance of people going up to it," the spokeswoman said.

She said the whale had several bite marks on it and at least one shark has been spotted in the area recently.

Removal of the carcass will prove difficult as it is sitting in the shallows at the beach and the department is taking a "wait and see" approach to its removal.

The public can report any shark sightings to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Wolf

Out of control: USDA's Wildlife Services killed 4 million animals in 2013

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© KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty ImagesA coyote keeps pace with a car (not seen) as it runs down the road in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
For years, the massive toll of wild animals exterminated by the federal government as a service to everything from airports to ranches has bounced up and down like a yo-yo. Last year it was up again.

The more than 4 million animals shot, poisoned, snared or trapped by the Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in fiscal year 2013 included 75,326 coyotes, 866 bobcats, 528 river otters, 3,700 foxes, 12,186 prairie dogs, 973 red-tailed hawks, 419 black bears and at least three eagles, golden and bald.

Though there's a list of animals killed, there's little data showing the cause for each killing, the methods used and the reasons behind mistakes that lead to massive kills of animals that aren't targeted.

At least two members of Congress have called Wildlife Services secret and opaque for failing to provide more information, and there are mounting calls for an investigation into how it operates.

Attention

Thousands of dead crabs found on Phuket shore,Thailand

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Tens of thousands of dead sea crabs were spotted this morning on the shore of Pa Lai Beach in Phuket's Chalong sub-district.

Today happens to be World Oceans Day, a day first designated in 2002 to honour the world's oceans and celebrate the products the ocean provides. More information here.

To this point there have been no official statements or tests conducted to clarify the cause of the crabs' mass exodus.

In related news, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) this week began the construction of an underwater ice wall to staunch massive amounts of contaminated groundwater that have been flowing into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex. Read more here.

Whether there is a link with the dead crabs found in Phuket this morning has yet to be confirmed or dismissed.

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Thousands of dead crabs wash ashore in Phuket on World Oceans Day

Question

Death toll mounts for harbor porpoises on San Juan Island shores

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© Stranding Network A Stranding Network volunteer takes notes on a harbor porpoise.
An uptick in harbor porpoise strandings has local biologists scratching their heads, looking for clues and wary that mid-May's unusually high death toll may signal something other than the natural die-off of a population on the rise.

Although, that just might be the case.

"We've also heard there's been an increase in the number of strandings in the (British Columbia) area," said The Whale Museum's Jennifer Olsen, coordinator of the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network. "But we're not sure of what the total is or exactly where they were found. We didn't have a single stranding a year ago in May."

Fish

Deep water alien fish hauled out of the Gulf by Houston fisherman

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Meet Cullen Greer, the man who caught a 300-lb alien fish
A Houston fisherman's latest catch is going viral after after photos came out of a massive Warsaw Grouper he caught off the Louisiana coast.

Cullen Greer caught the huge 267-pound fish at the end of May and is looking to get into the state record books. His 6' 6" long giant would be the fifth largest ever caught in this species.

KETK report that Greer hopes the ugly grouper will also rank as the third largest caught on a hand crank.