India is scrambling to protect its beleaguered tiger population after several big cats tested positive for a virus common among dogs but deadly to other carnivores, experts said.

In the last year, canine distemper virus has killed at least four tigers and several other animals across northern and eastern India, according to Rajesh Gopal of the government's National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The revelation is bad news for wild tigers - already endangered by rampant poaching and shrinking habitat as India undergoes breakneck development to accommodate the staggering growth of its 1.2 billion people. That same economic development and population growth means more people - and more dogs - are coming even closer to wildlife.

India will now test every tiger carcass it finds for the virus, Gopal said, while authorities also consider a massive campaign to vaccinate dogs against canine distemper.

"We cannot vaccinate every dog, of course. But even 50 percent of dogs in the zones around sanctuaries would help," Gopal said. He did not give details of the plans being considered. There is no vaccine for big cats.

You would be wise to keep an eye on the sky going outdoors or getting out of a car in southeast Springfield. You really should give a hoot because you might be the next target.

Timmery Clark sent us a photo of an owl landed on her head the week before Christmas. "This was the second time the owl landed on me in the space of 5 minutes outside Hebrews Coffee on Republic Road. It was very gentle--I thought it might hurt me, but both times it very calmly and gently settled on my head (even though I was laughing and screaming). It was pretty surreal, but a funny moment to have caught on film!" says Clark.

Most of the attacks, probably about a dozen in all, have been reported in the neighborhoods south of Republic Road, Ravenwood, Spring Creek and Ravenwood South. The owl or owls seem to like landing on human heads.

• Sarah Brooks from Spalding, Lincolnshire was injured last week

• Elephant's tusk ripped through the back of Ms Brooks' upper thigh

• Their car rolled three times and was flung 40 metres in the attack

• Ms Brooks is in a stable condition in hospital

This is the moment an enraged bull elephant flipped over a car containing a British teacher and her fiance during an African safari.

Sarah Brooks, 30, and her fiance were filming the animal from their car as it drank at a waterhole when it turned and went for them.

It flipped their vehicle and shunted it around 130ft down a track into thick bushland.

Thirteen pilot whales have washed up on one of the world's greatest "whale traps".

The Department of Conservation (DOC) says the whales are stranded near the base of Farewell Spit at the top of the South Island.

It says the rest of the pod of about 50 whales is just offshore and there is a risk some of those whales may also become stranded.

DOC says it was alerted to the stranding this morning.

Marine mammal charity Project Jonah is in the process of contacting rescue volunteers in the area.

Volunteers will work to keep the whales alive until they can attempt to refloat them at the next high tide tonight.

A Brisbane snake catcher says he is not surprised a snake took over a suburban toilet this week as he has seen a significant increase in this behaviour.

Darren Jacobs of Queensland Wildlife Solutions said he has attended four jobs involving snakes in toilets in suburban Briusbane since shortly before Christmas.

He usually gets ten in an entire year.

"There's definitely been an increase and I believe its down to the stormy weather," he said.

"They are chasing rats and mice who are forced out of their hiding places due to the wet.

"The snakes go into the sewer after them and if they see a hole, they'll go up it, unfortunately some of those holes lead to people's toilets."

His comments follow the ordeal of a Carina couple who had a 1.5m carpet python take up residence in their bowl on Monday night.

Mr Jacobs said he removed a 9ft Carpet Python form a Tarragindi residence in similar circumstances last week.

Tasmanian scientists are excited about the number of giant squid beaks found inside a huge sperm whale which beached in the state's north-west.

The 17-metre whale washed up on Anthony's Beach between Smithton and Stanley on Saturday.

Scientists from the Marine Conservation Program examined the carcass on Sunday and believe the mammal died of old age.

Spokesman says the whale's large teeth will be studied to determine its age.

"We think he will probably be between 70 to 80," he said.

The whale was in very good condition and its stomach contained many local species including a large number of giant squid beaks.

"Sperm whales are famous for battling with the giant squid and we've seen lots of evidence of those battles.

Holly Hill - A police officer opened fire and seriously wounded a man's dog after forcing his way into the wrong residence while searching for a woman convicted of a consensual sex act.

Officers were searching for Josie Bobbitt - a woman who had violated probation for soliciting sex - when one of them disregarded "no trespassing" signs and warrantlessly wrenched open the gate leading to Richard Stotler's backyard where his four-year-old Rottweiler named Lady resided.

Records show that it was 11:04 p.m. when the officers entered the property.

Lady was shot multiple times as she investigated the unwelcome intruders. Police claimed that she "lunged" at them, prompting at least one officer to open fire.

"They shot her for no reason," Stotler wrote on his Facebook page Justice for Lady, which has amassed over 14,000 "likes" since the incident occurred December 27. "They were searching for a person that has not lived there nor been there for as long as we know."

Stotler says after talking with officers for "about 10 minutes," he went to watch television in his living room before the sound of gunfire suddenly erupted from his backyard. "I ran through the front door with my hands raised asking them what they had done. They started yelling at me to get on the ground, handcuffed me and put me in the back of a car."

Officials are investigating the death of a young sperm whale after discovering the dead animal on a South Florida Beach, Friday morning.

According to officials, the 30-foot female whale was found ashore, just south of Lifeguard Post 18, at Spanish River Park in Boca Raton at around 9 a.m.

The whale was found following reports of a shark feeding frenzy about a mile off shore. However, officials said, the whale was beached within an hour-and-a-half, due to strong wind currents. They also said the animal was partially decomposed, leading officials to believe it may have been dead for a while. "Sharks were already kind of around it, but because of the strong winds coming from the southeast here that hour-and-a-half it came from about a mile and washed up here in the shore," said Boca Raton Police spokesperson Mark Economou.

Once the whale was ashore, experts noticed it had been decomposing and might have been dead for up to five days. "We're all going to work together to find out why this animal died and use that information to help them as much as we can in the future," said NOAA standing coordinator Elizabeth Stratton.

The part of the beach where this occurred had been closed prior to the discovery of the whale due to dangerous rip currents. However, that did not keep people from coming to observe the beached whale. "It's terrible, it really is," said resident Dennis Forgione. "It's a shame to see this happen, but I still had to see it. I had to come down and see what was going on. I live nearby here, and I heard about it."

Authorities in Uruguay on Sunday recovered the body of a 16-meter sperm whale, normally at home in deep waters, after it beached near the capital.

Using a crane, the authorities moved the animal from the shallow waters onto the beach off Carrasco, an upscale town just next to Montevideo.

"The body will remain on the beach until Monday," said navy spokesman Gaston Jaunsolo.

Traffic tied up in the area as curious locals stopped to watch and catch a glimpse of the unusual sight.

"I don't ever recall another sighting of a sperm whale here; they are from very deep waters," Rodrigo Garcia, from the whale protection organization, said of the adult male that apparently beached on Saturday.

Authorities were expected to investigate the cause of death.

Garcia said that the animal did not appear to have any apparent external injuries, and that like dolphins they are highly sensitive to sound.

Source: Agence France Presse

The dead body of a huge sperm whale has washed up on a beach near Edinburgh - capturing the attention of the local public.

Pictures showed the young whale in shallow waters off Portobello beach on the outskirts of the Scottish capital.

Scottish Animal Welfare (SAW) had been called in the early hours of this morning to the beach near the Rockville hotel in Joppa.

'On arrival it was clear life was extinct, so there was no need to mount a rescue operation,' explained SAW Chief Superintendent David Drummond.