Animals
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Attention

2 dead manatees found in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Emily Miller
Sun Sentinel
Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:04 UTC
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Dead manatee removed.
Two manatees were found dead Wednesday in separate Fort Lauderdale waterways.

The badly decomposed body of a nearly 6-foot-6 female manatee was hoisted from a waterway off 10th Street and Andrews Avenue; another dead manatee was pulled from a canal just west of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, said Liz Barraco, a spokeswoman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The commission first received a call Tuesday night about the dead female manatee but was unable to recover the remains until Wednesday morning.

"She was pretty badly decomposed, so it was clear she had been deceased for some time," Barraco said.
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Wolf

Dog attacks owners in Delanco, New Jersey


Burlington County Times
Thu, 12 Feb 2015 19:27 UTC
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Police tape and a magnifying glass
A township police officer shot and killed a dog that attacked its owners earlier this month, police said Wednesday.

The attack happened about midnight Feb. 1 at a home on Hickory Street when a large-breed dog attacked two members of the household before being shot by a responding officer.

The dog was acting aggressively when the officer arrived and "due to the serious nature of the residents' injuries, the officer felt compelled to use his weapon," police said.

The two residents were taken to an area hospital with animal bites. Police did not release their identities but said they remain hospitalized.

No other injuries were reported.

An investigation into what prompted the dog to attack is ongoing.
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Wolf

2 children attacked by family dog in Delano, California


bakersfieldnow.com
Wed, 11 Feb 2015 19:01 UTC
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Family pet?
Two children were injured Tuesday by their family dog.

The Kern County Sheriff's Office said it was told the dog turned on the girls, ages 7 and 8, while they were playing. The attack occurred around 5 p.m. on the 11000 block of Kyte Avenue.

The children were taken to Delano Regional Medical Center and then to the children's hospital in Madera. The sheriff's office said the girls will survive, but the injuries were not specified.

Animal control officers captured the dog, described as a pit bull mixed breed.
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Info

Thousands of starfish wash ashore on South Carolina island


wbtw.com
Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:59 UTC
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© Amy Campanelli1000's of starfish wash ashore in South Carolina.
Thousands of starfish washed up on the beach at Isle of Palms over the weekend.

And it turns out, this happens a few times each winter on Lowcountry beaches.

Usually, strong off-shore winds push them onto the shore at high tide and they're stuck until the tide comes back in. Over the weekend, wind gusts were coming in stronger than 20 miles an hour.

Monday Night, we spoke with Mel Bell, the fisheries management director for the Department of Natural Resources who said this is pretty normal.

Bell said the last time this happened was in December on Fripp Island.
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Snowflake

SOTT Exclusive: Snowy owls flee northern latitudes for unprecedented fourth consecutive year - Sign of impending Ice Age?

Julian Friese
Sott.net
Thu, 12 Feb 2015 19:05 UTC
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Snowy owl
Regular SOTT readers may recall last year's unusual influx of snowy owls into North America from the Arctic (as well as other birds from the tundra and taiga regions). This winter season appears to be shaping up to an unprecedented fourth consecutive irruption year following the invasions of 2011-2012, 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. The following reports are just a small sample of the many that have been seen in the media over the last couple of months:
Last winter brought an unprecedented number of snowy owl sightings in the northern United States, and this winter is turning out to be above average as well.

Scientists believe last year's southward sweep of the arctic species was triggered by a record nesting season in northern Quebec. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says there was another bumper crop last summer in Nunavut in northernmost Canada.

Snowy owls are being reported on the online eBird database this winter across the northern-third of the Lower 48 states from Washington state to Maine.
Here's some short film footage taken at Beech Hill Preserve in Rockport, Maine (on 30 January 2015), of one of the many snowy owls seen this winter:

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Attention

Rare Sowerby's beaked whale found dead at Point Lance, Canada


cbc.ca
Wed, 11 Feb 2015 21:15 UTC
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Biologist with DFO are hoping to perform a necropsy on a rarely-seen whale found beached on the shore in Point Lance, Newfoundland on Saturday.
Biologists with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. John's are hoping to perform a necropsy on a rarely-seen whale found beached on the shore in Point Lance on Saturday.

A dead Sowerby's beaked whale was discovered on the beach in Point Lance on the Cape Shore.

Crews with DFO went to the site with a trailer to haul the carcass to its offices.
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Attention

Dead Sperm whale washes up on Danish island


thelocal.dk
Wed, 11 Feb 2015 21:07 UTC
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© Fiskeri- og SøfartsmuseetIt could days or even weeks to remove the whale, the Danish Nature Agency said.
Residents of Fanø were treated to an usual sight on Wednesday: the partially rotting corpse of a 12-metre sperm whale.

The rotting corpse of a 12-metre-long sperm whale has washed up on the shore of the Danish island Fanø, local police said on Wednesday.

The massive creature was naturally garnering attention, but the Danish Nature Agency (Naturstyrelsen) warned that curious onlookers should stay away from the whale, which it characterized as "a bacteria bomb".

"Experience from previous whale strandings shows that many people want to go up and touch the dead whale, but it can be deadly as dead whales are often indicted with pathogenic bacteria," the Nature Agency wrote on its website.
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Smiley

Demonstrative parrot repeats arguments of previous owners

John Shammas
Daily Mirror, UK
Tue, 10 Feb 2015 16:01 UTC
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Rants: Peaches new owners find her rants amusing
This is the parrot that has some very vivid memories of its former owners' break up.

New owner Elaine Sigmon, from North Carolina, recorded a video of her salmon-crested cockatoo reenacting one of the more painful scenes from its old home.

The emotional bird, called Peaches, can be heard hosting a one-man domestic in the bizarre clip.

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Eye 2

Cobra strikes out at trucks on highway near São Paulo, Brazil

Kara O'Neill
Daily Mirror, UK
Tue, 10 Feb 2015 15:46 UTC
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Unhappy: Snake is not pleased as trucks drive by on its patch of road
This is the scary moment a huge cobra left drivers in Brazil in no doubt about who rules this certain section of road on the Sao Paulo highway.

The angry reptile can be seen striking out at vehicles as they pass by - and it seems he holds particular contempt for large lorries.

Oblivious to the small issue of their size, the snake repeatedly strikes at the tyres of the trucks as they tentatively roll past.

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Attention

Troop of monkeys sends man to his death in India


The Times of India
Thu, 05 Feb 2015 22:54 UTC
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Troop of monkeys.
The rising monkey population in Braj region has become a cause of concern for residents. In yet another tragic incident involving the rowdy primates, an elderly sant (holy man), identified as mahant Lal Baba, 75, of Madhav Kunj, fell from the terrace and died at spot on Wednesday evening.

Baba had gone up to the terrace to fetch items needed for a puja when a tribe of monkeys pounced upon him. The frightened man who tried to flee, lost his balance and fell off the terrace. He suffered severe head injuries. Police have sent the body for a postmortem examination.

Ashram inmates told police that Lal Baba had gone to the terrace to collect "bel-patra" for puja. "Just then a troop of rowdy monkeys attacked him. He fell down from the roof and died instantly."

Comment: See also: British tourist victim of 'worst-ever' attack by Gibraltar monkey

Monkey attack terror: Tears testicle off baby, eats it

Malaysia: Monkey Steals Baby from Living Room

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