Animals
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Attention

Boy dies in wild elephant attack in Malaysia

Syed Azhar
The Star (Malaysia)
Sun, 16 Feb 2014 11:05 UTC
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Fellow villagers had warned rubber tapper Wan Mahmood Wan Noh to be careful when he ferried his wife and child on a motorcycle because a wild elephant was roaming the Kampung Bukit Perawas area.

A sudden encounter with the beast yesterday proved tragic when he lost his four-year-old son.

Little Wan Aidit Nasrullah was killed after the elephant rammed the motorcycle he was riding with his parents while on their way to tap rubber.

Recalling the morning tragedy, Wan Aidit's mother, Rezamawati Che Mat Bidin, 37, said her husband had braked and the motorcycle screeched to a stop when an elephant suddenly appeared in front of them.

"He then did a quick U-turn. The elephant charged and rammed the motorcycle.
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Binoculars

Thousands of Arctic songbirds invade Ohio farmstead

Jim McCormac
jimmccormac.blogspot.co.uk
Sun, 09 Feb 2014 10:14 UTC
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A tsunami of Snow Buntings

At first blush, this rural farmhouse may not appear to harbor what may be the most extraordinary bird feeding operation in Ohio. But indeed it does. If there is anything out there that rivals this in terms of sheer numbers, and the atypical "feeder" species involved, I am unaware of it.

I visited this Delaware County residence yesterday, after being tipped off to the amazing assemblage of birds by Dick Miller, whose sister and brother-in-law, Mike and Becky Jordan, reside in the home. Mike and Becky have been very gracious in extending their hospitality to visitors, including your narrator, which is much appreciated!

I'm not going to post their address on the Internet, but Mike and Becky do welcome birders who would like to witness the phenomenon that unfolds in the following photos. If you would like to visit, just send me an email at: jimmccormac35@gmail.com, and I'll pass along the pertinent information.


Comment: See also : Rare Arctic bird turns up in Darwin, Australia

UK storms bring in rare Arctic gulls to Pembrokeshire

Storm blows Canadian bird 3,000 miles on to Tyrone lough, Northern Ireland

Bird watchers flock to Portland, UK after a rare Arctic Brunnich's Guillemot spotted

Ice Age Cometh: Snowy Owl invasion coming in North America?

Maine experiencing a Canadian owl invasion

Incredible Hawk Owl invasion in Estonia!

Huge Snowy Owl invasion becomes official in Canada and U.S.

Thousands of Hawk Owls descend on Finland as food in northern Russia runs out

Ice Age Cometh: Unprecedented influx of Arctic Ivory Gulls into UK

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Cloud Lightning

Storm washes up 21ft dead whale in Marazion, UK

C M Chloe
West Briton
Sat, 15 Feb 2014 10:24 UTC
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© Kristina SapeyStorm washes up 21ft dead whale in Marazion
A 21ft dead whale has been washed up by the storm on Marazion beach.

Dog walker, Kristina Sapey was at Leys Lane beach this afternoon and took a photograph of the creature.

Commenting on Facebook, she said: "I think it's covered in mud. I didn't get too close as I didn't want the dog to go near it."

The coastguard are advising people to stay away from the badly decomposed animal which they said had died long before it was washed ashore.

A spokesman from Falmouth Coastguard said: "We would rather people didn't go along to see it. We don't want people going near it."

A coastguard team from Penzance went down to take details of the whale after they were alerted to this stranding around 9am this morning.

The spokesman said details would be passed on to the Natural History Museum and Cornwall Council.
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Bandaid

Canadian rabbit trapper says owl attack left his head bleeding


ahki.co
Thu, 13 Feb 2014 13:16 UTC
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A Canadian trapper says an owl viciously attacked him while he was checking his rabbit snares one night this week, leaving his face bloodied.

Kevin O'Neil, 55, of Digby County in Nova Scotia, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. the attack occurred Tuesday night while he was checking his traps after a day of lobster fishing.

O'Neil said he spotted the bird, probably a barred owl, before it targeted him.

"I kind of looked up at it jokingly and said to it, 'You bugger, you better not be eating my rabbits,'" he said.

But a few minutes later, he said: "It swooped down and struck me right in the face. Feet first."

He said the owl's talons ripped into his forehead and around his right eye.
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Cow Skull

Pod of nine Orca whales die on New Zealand beach after being stranded overnight

Reissa Su
International Business Times
Fri, 14 Feb 2014 08:17 UTC
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© SouthlandScientists examine orcas who stranded on New Zealand beach
Marine biologists are baffled by the mysterious deaths of nine orca whales stranded on New Zealand's Southland beach on Feb 12. New Zealand experts continue to investigate and conduct scientific testing to determine the cause.

Nine orca whales, including a calf, had died while beached on Te WaeWae Bay overnight. The deaths of the orca whales were described as a tragedy for the entire species in New Zealand. According to reports, the population of orca whales in New Zealand waters is estimated to be less than 200. The stranded pod of whales accounted for five per cent of the total population in the country, but New Zealand scientists have been unable to identify the dead whales.

Did earthquakes cause the stranding?

Orca Research Trust founder and whale expert Dr Ingrid Visser said it was possible the whales came from southern waters and became stranded on the bay. Dr Visser has been working with orca whales in the country for about 20 years. She said scientists still have no explanation why the whales became stranded.

Ms Visser declared the recent deaths of the orca whales is the "third largest stranding" of the species in New Zealand. When seen from an international perspective, it could be included in the world's top 10.
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Bizarro Earth

BP oil spill: Dolphins plagued by death, disease years after rig explosion


The Huffington Post Canada
Wed, 12 Feb 2014 12:49 UTC
pod of Bottlenose dolphins
© AP Photo/Alex BrandonA pod of Bottlenose dolphins swim under the oily water of Chandeleur Sound, La.. Oil giant BP PLC's oil rig exploded April 20, in the Gulf of Mexico killing 11 workers.
Missing teeth. Lung disease. Extreme hormone levels.

Four years after BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, gushing some 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the region is rife with death and disease, according to a major U.S. study.

The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, is the first of its kind since the devastating spill.

"I've never seen such a high prevalence of very sick animals," lead author Lori Schwacke of the Medical University of South Carolina noted. "There is disease in any wild population. We just haven't seen animals that were in such bad shape as what we saw in Barataria Bay."
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Arrow Down

Filmmaker who documents Taiji dolphin drives detained in Osaka

Elizabeth Batt
Digital Journal
Thu, 13 Feb 2014 13:21 UTC
Stewart
© Martyn StewartStewart is being held at Osaka airport in Japan.
Osaka - BBC filmmaker and personal friend Martyn Stewart has been detained at Kansai Airport in Osaka on his way to document the dolphin drives that take place in Taiji, Japan. Stewart, known for his powerful filming, is being accused of eco-terrorism.

The filmmaker and producer of compelling short documentaries such as Dawn to Death, wrote several hours ago on his Facebook page:
I am locked in a cell room at Osaka airport waiting on an appeal to the high minister regarding my entry into Japan. I'm accused of being sea shepherd and an Eco terrorist, my footage is not liked in Japan apparently and have been accused of assaulting members of the public.

In 4 years of being here for the dolphins I have maintained the law and abided by their rules. My words and pictures did the rest. The government of Japan will do anything to protect the rights of the fishermen of Taiji and the barbaric treatment of the animals involved.

Please share far and wide to bring awareness to this corrupt government and those that want to continue to brutally treat these amazing animals. The condition I'm in and the treatment I have received is nothing short of criminal.
Stewart left for Japan yesterday - a trip he makes every year as part of an ongoing campaign to shed light on the annual dolphin massacre that occurs in Taiji between September and March every year.
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Cloud Lightning

Dolphins, seals and birds killed in storm onslaught in Cornwall, UK

W B Miles
West Briton
Thu, 13 Feb 2014 13:37 UTC
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Seals, dolphins and sea birds have all been killed in the succession of storms in Cornwall.
Wildlife in Cornwall has taken a battering in the relentless storms with "an unprecedented number" of dead birds, dolphins and seals washing up on the coast.

Dead sea birds including puffins, razorbills and guillemots, gannets and cormorants have been washed up all along the north and south coasts according to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT).

The charity said seals in particular were struggling, with many of this year's new pups being found stranded, injured, weak and often dead on our shores.

CWT said 29 birds, 14 seals and 9 dolphins were recorded dead on the shores of Cornwall in the last four weeks.
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Attention

Whale carcass washed up on the coast of Minahasa, Indonesia

Ronny Adolof Buol
demotix.com
Thu, 13 Feb 2014 13:26 UTC
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© Ronny Adolof BuolA dead whale washed up on the beach Minahasa, North Sulawesi.
The whale already thought to be dead, beached at Minahasa, North Sulawesi. The size of the whale's body was about 10 meters, with a width of 2 meters and weighed 300 kilograms.
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Attention

Rare whale species washes up dead in Playa Matina, Costa Rica

Lindsay Fendt
The Tico Times
Wed, 12 Feb 2014 13:12 UTC
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© Noticias RepretelScreenshot of the rare beaked whale, which was approximately 5 meters in length.
A beaked whale was found dead on the shores of Playa Matina on Tuesday, Noticias Repretel reported. The sighting is only the fourth beaked whale body ever found in Costa Rica, and the first on the Caribbean side.

According to Noticias Repretel's report, the body showed no signs of human inflicted damage, and residents believe the whale got disoriented and drowned in deep water.

Not much is known about beaked whales due to their tendency to stay deep under the water. Though they must surface to breath every hour or so, beaked whales are known to dive to average depths of 300 meters (1,000 feet).
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