Animals
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Cow

Lincolnshire farm worker dies following cow attack


Grimsby Telegraph
Wed, 14 May 2014 12:57 UTC
cow face
An East Lindsey farm worker has died after being attacked by a cow.

The Health and Safety Executive is investigating the incident, which took place at a Wragby farm on Easter Sunday, April 21.

60-year-old stockman John Turner is said to have been seriously injured in an attack by a cow at Kilmister Farm.

Mr Turner was taken by air ambulance to Hull Royal Infirmary, but later died.

Wragby-based HR Bourn & Sons Ltd, which owns the farm, confirmed that it was co-operating with the HSE investigation into the incident.

A statement from the company said: "John Turner tragically died in hospital after being attacked by a cow at Kilmister Farm in Wragby on April 21.
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Cow

Cow kills farm worker in Cherryville, Canada


cbc.ca
Mon, 28 Jul 2014 13:08 UTC
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The man killed in a cow attack on a B.C. farm on Canada Day has been identified by the B.C. Coroners Service as 49-year-old Allen Donald Powder.

Powder, who called Yellowknife, N.W.T., home, came to the Okanagan to work every summer. He was working on a farm in Cherryville, B.C., the morning of July 1. Cherryville, which is at the foothills of the Monashee Mountains, is roughly 55 kilometres east of Vernon in B.C.'s North Okanagan.

According to a statement released by the coroner, Powder and another farm worker were moving cattle from one corral to another when the cow attacked. "One of the cows became very agitated and aggressive and they were having trouble controlling the cow," said B.C. Coroners Service spokesperson Barb McLintock.
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Cow

Farmer attacked and killed by cattle in Northern Ireland


BBC
Mon, 01 Dec 2014 21:13 UTC
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A 71-year-old man has died after he was attacked by cattle in County Fermanagh.

Robert Brown was killed at his farm at Knockmanoul, near Ballinamallard.

It is believed that it happened on Saturday night as he was preparing cows for a routine TB test.

He was found in his cattle yard by a neighbour after a family member could not get in touch with him. The Health and Safety Inspectorate is carrying out an investigation.

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott knew Mr Brown and said it was an extremely sad day for the community.
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Cow

Ranch hand hospitalized after cow attack in Cuyama Valley, California


calcoastnews.com
Thu, 11 Dec 2014 20:58 UTC
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A 65-year-old ranch hand is in the hospital after a cow attacked him during a branding operation at a ranch on Wednesday in the Cuyama Valley.

Shortly after 10 a.m., the cow charged the man and pinned him against a corral causing chest and upper body injuries. Firefighters responded to the ranch near the intersection of Highway 166 and Cottonwood Canyon Road to find the man having difficulty breathing.

Emergency medical personnel then transported the man in a medical helicopter to the trauma unit at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.
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Black Cat

Dog survives cougar attack in Penticton, Canada

Deborah Pfeiffer
castanet.net
Fri, 12 Dec 2014 20:16 UTC
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© Deborah PfeifferJazz, a Border Collie cross, survived a cougar attack
A Penticton couple is grateful their dog is on the mend after it was attacked by a cougar outside their home this week.

Jazz, a Border Collie cross, suffered injuries ranging from puncture wounds to his head and scratches following the encounter with the large animal, Wednesday.

"It was a scary experience, and we are just glad the dog is OK," said Marylin Barnay.

According to Barnay, a vineyard owner on Upper Bench Road, her husband let Jazz out around 7:20 a.m. When she went to call him in, she saw him do an about turn and go behind the hedge.

Then, all of a sudden, he was back, with a large animal following him.

"It immediately put its mouth around our dog's head, and I could tell it was a cougar right away," she said. "I started screaming it's a cougar, and it's going to kill our dog. It was awful to see."
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Health

Monkey attack terror: Tears testicle off baby, eats it

Lee Moran
New York Daily News
Mon, 09 Sep 2013 16:21 UTC
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A horrific zoo attack saw a monkey rip off a small boy's testicle, run off and eat it.

The eight-month-old was reportedly having his dirty diaper changed by his mom at Guiyang Qianling Wildlife Park, in south west China, when the animal attacked.

State media reports that the monkey pounced on the youngster and hacked off a chunk of his genitals.

It dropped the flesh on the ground, allowing an elderly passerby to pick it up.

But the aggressive ape quickly snatched it back, bounded off and ate it before he could be caught.

The boy was rushed to hospital. He received treatment and his condition is described as "not life-threatening."

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Question

'Unusually strong' animal predator loose near Copenhagen


thelocal.dk
Fri, 12 Dec 2014 16:06 UTC
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© Guillaume Baviere/FlickrBe wary if you plan to visit Dyrehaven.
After a deer was found with its head "bitten off", nature authorities warn that a very large and dangerous dog - or even a wolf - could be on the prowl.

Authorities have warned that a "large" and "unusually strong" animal is on the loose north of Copenhagen.

A deer calf was found in the forest park Jægersborg Dyrehave with its head bitten off and the Danish Nature Agency (Naturstyrelsen) says that only "an unusually large and strong dog, or a wolf" could have bitten the head off in that fashion.

"We feel that it is in the public's interest [to know about the animal, ed.] and we recommend using real caution if visitors encounter a stay dog out here [in Dyrehaven, ed.]," forest manager Hans Henrik Christensen told BT.

"We have simply never seen this kind of bite before and we have taken samples from the dead deer and have sent them for DNA tests to see if this could be a wolf," Christensen said.

The deer's head has not been found and Christensen said the bite was "exceptionally violent".

"The animal bit through the neck bones, so the head was quite simply bitten off," he told BT.
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Cloud Lightning

Dead geese drop out of the sky in Denmark during lightning storm

Aeneas Georg
Sott.net
Sat, 13 Dec 2014 12:45 UTC
Thursday night a farmer in southern Denmark had an unusual experience, though these events in recent years are happening on a frequent basis. During a storm he suddenly saw something come through the air as reported by Jyllandsposten:
Dead geese in Denmark
© Brian Rostgaard AndersenFarm manager Frank Berndt (left) og farmer Peter Rostgaard Andersen with some of the dead geese, that yesterday rained down on the farm
The second after a big crash, followed by several more crashing sounds. After a few sesonds he had counted 10 crashing noises.

"I thought it was roof tiles, that had blown off during the storm, but when it cleared up and we went outside, we saw that it was barnacle geese. Dead barnacle geese," says Brian Rostgaard Andersen.

The farmer and his manager Frank Berndt, found within a diameter of 150 to 200 meter 24 dead barnacle geese. Some of them were lying on the roof of the farm and some of them had penetrated the roof tiles.

Comment: See also:

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Question

Symbolic? Two-headed fire salamander born in Israel

Stephanie Pappas
livescience.com
Wed, 10 Dec 2014 15:38 UTC
Two-headed fire salamander
A two-headed Near Eastern fire salamander tadpole born from a wild mother in a laboratory in Israel
Just call them "Arne" and "Sebastian." Those are the monikers given to the two separate heads of one baby salamander that was born last week in a lab in Israel.

Two heads are likely not better than one for the Near Eastern fire salamander (Salamandra infraimmaculata), which was born, alive, in a laboratory at the University of Haifa in Israel. Researchers aren't sure why the salamander tadpole has two noggins, but say random mutations or environmental pollution could be culprits.

"I could speculate, but it would be pure speculation," Leon Blaustein, an ecologist whose lab discovered the salamander, told Live Science.

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Fish

400,000 dead fish found at Lake Bryant, Florida


wftv.com
Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:37 UTC
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Florida wildlife officials say thousands of fish in a popular Marion County lake are dead, and more could die in the next few days.

Residents say the dead fish in Lake Bryant near Levy Hammock Road are creating a terrible smell.

"About three days ago fish started washing up on shore," said Angela Rivers. "It was pretty sad though, all of the fish were at the top of the water, and you could see they were trying to get air."

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials estimate more than 400,000 fish have died so far. Unusually large numbers of birds are showing up at the lake, eager to feed on the dead fish.

"The whole entire lake, including the canal, just looked like it was raining, but it was fish coming to the top," said Rivera.

Tuesday afternoon, Channel 9's Myrt Price was at Lake Bryant as fisherman, unaware of the problem, showed up to fish.

"There is no sense in going fishing, the fish are dying already. (I) can't take them home to eat or anything like that," said fisherman Larry Godfrey.

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