Animals
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Attention

Update: Virus has now killed over 1,000 bottlenose dolphins along U.S. East coast in 2013


Times of India
Tue, 24 Dec 2013 06:01 UTC
Image
© Stuart Westmorland/CorbisA bottlenose dolphin.
More than 1,000 migratory bottlenose dolphins have died from a measles-like virus along the US Eastern Seaboard in 2013 and the epidemic shows no sign of abating, a marine biologist said on Monday.

The death toll exceeds the 740 dolphins killed during the last big outbreak of the then-unknown virus in 1987-88.

"It is having a significant impact and that is something we're monitoring closely," said Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

An estimated 39,206 bottlenose dolphins populated the eastern seaboard, to a depth of 25 feet, from New Jersey to Central Florida in 2010, according to the latest NOAA census.

Scientists are trying to determine why the morbillivirus resurged this year. The dolphins, which migrate south for the winter, have been stranded or found dead on beaches from New York to Florida since June, Fougeres said.

An unknown number of affected dolphins likely died offshore as well, she said.

A record number of manatees have also died in Florida waters this year, mostly from a toxic algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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Attention

The Top 10 massive animal die-off's of 2013


YouTube.com
Tue, 12 Nov 2013 14:00 UTC

10. Sunflower Starfish

9. Norwegian Salmon

8. Sheep

7. Manatees

6. Bottlenose Dolphins

5. Sea Turtles

4. Chinese River Crabs

3. Honey Bees

2. Livestock Cattle

1. Various Fish
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Question

Concerns raised over a number of dead birds in Bahrain


Daily Tribune (Bahrain)
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:14 UTC
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Bird lovers in the country are in a shock after hearing reports about increasing number of birds either lying dead or injured on roads, pavements and in parks. They complain that the authorities concerned did not take adequate steps despite seeing a legion of dead birds in many areas including Manama and Adliya. However, the reasons behind mass deaths are unknown.

Speaking to DT News, Bahrain Animal Lovers Society Founder Huda Muhammed urged the residents not to ignore injured birds on roads as timely treatment could save their lives. "I have seen dead birds many times in Adliya near Fuddruckers. The reasons for their death are many. But, mostly it happens out of accidents with birds hitting the windshields of the car," she pointed out.

"Generally, in Bahrain, people don't care for injured birds. I think we need to be more compassionate towards this poor living creatures," she added. Echoing a similar view, Sam Viegas, another bird lover said, "Birds lying dead on roads is a horrific scene to watch. People concerned should investigate the reasons and put an end to this."
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Info

Oil impact on dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon spill


wildlifeextra.com
Tue, 24 Dec 2013 12:50 UTC
In Louisiana's Barataria Bay Bottlenose dolphins are five times more likely to suffer from lung damage and adrenal hormone abnormalities than any other dolphin populations as a result of the Deepwater Horizon spill, scientists have discovered.

Twenty-nine of the total 32 dolphins sampled in Barataria Bay received comprehensive physical examinations, including ultrasound examinations to assess lung condition and researchers assigned almost half (48 percent) of the dolphins a guarded or worse prognosis. In fact, they classified 17 percent as being in poor or grave condition, meaning the dolphins were not expected to survive.
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The researchers also found that 25 percent of the Barataria Bay dolphins were significantly underweight and the population overall had very low levels of adrenal hormones, which are critical for responding to stress.

These findings are in contrast to dolphins sampled in Sarasota Bay, Florida, an area not oiled by the Deepwater Horizon spill. For Dr. Lori Schwacke, the study's lead author and veteran of a number of similar dolphin health studies across the southeast, the findings are troubling: "I've never seen such a high prevalence of very sick animals - and with unusual conditions such as the adrenal hormone abnormalities."

The study was conducted in August 2011 as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) by a team of government, academic and non-governmental researchers and results were published were published December 2013 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
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Fish

Thousands of Tamban fish beach themselves at Tabisan, Sabah, Malaysia

Muguntan Vanar
The Star, (Malaysia)
Tue, 24 Dec 2013 10:46 UTC
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© The Star
Thousands of fishes splashed into the shores of Kg Tabisan in Sabah's eastern Lahad Datu district sparking speculations of what omen it brings in the year end.

Villagers rushed to scoop up the fishes, locally known as Tamban, while others were divided over whether it was good omen or bad omen.

However, local villager Suzila Abdullah, who operates a sundry shop in the village, said that the phenomenon had been occurring in the past three years.

"But it is different this year because the number of fishes are exceptionally high.

"In the past, most would have been scooped up by the end of the day but today there is still a lot more left,'' she said when contacted by on Tuesday.

Suzila said that she believed that strong currents and waves caused the fishes to come to shore during the current season but it only last about two or three days.

The villagers cooked the fish while some collected it and took it up to Lahad Datu and other districts to sell.

The Tamban fish is popular among villagers.
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Bizarro Earth

13 bald eagles found dead since Dec. 1; causes of deaths remain unknown

Keith McCord
Deseret News
Mon, 23 Dec 2013 14:00 UTC
Bald Eagles
© Scott G Winterton/Deseret NewsBald eagles are perched at Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area Friday, Dec. 20, 2013. Eagles are turning up dead and officials are working to find out the cause.
Salt Lake City - More than 12 bald eagles have died in Utah since the beginning of December, and wildlife experts don't know why.

"We've never had this many birds come in, of one species, coming in as quickly and in this short of time span and having them all die," said DaLyn Erickson-Marthaler, executive director of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah.

Since Dec. 1, at least 13 majestic bald eagles have died. The latest, a 1-year-old female, died Saturday, Dec. 21. She was discovered last week near Centerville by a jogger and was brought to the rehabilitation center in Ogden.

"It's frustrating and heartbreaking," said Leslie McFarlane, Division of Wildlife Resources wildlife disease coordinator. "It's really hard because you want to be able to do something right now and we just can't."

About all anyone knows so far is that all of the eagles were experiencing the same symptoms.
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Eye 2

Man wakes to deadly brown snake on his bare stomach in Australia

Maddie Wines
Bendigo Advertiser
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 10:43 UTC

A Summerfield man has been woken by a metre-and-a-half-long brown snake slithering over his bare stomach.

John Watson believes he has cheated death.

He has told of his shock and disbelief at waking to the metre-long brown snake lying across his bare stomach in his home near Raywood.

Mr Watson, who suffers from Emphysema and is partially immobile, said he thought he was dreaming when the world's second-most venomous snake woke him on Thursday morning.

"I went to sleep at 5am and I woke up and looked down and here is a big, fat brown snake right over my stomach," he said.

"The reason I woke up was the feeling of it sliding across my tummy.
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Eye 2

Rare albino corn snake found on M3 in Hampshire, UK

Julian Robinson
Southern Daily Echo
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 14:19 UTC
Image
The albino corn snake found by the M3
This slithering snake was certainly not where it was supposed to be.

Mystery surrounds how the colourful non-native corn snake found its way on to the busy M3 at junction 13 - not far from Eastleigh's Premier Inn hotel.

The reptile was spotted wriggling along the verge by maintenance teams from EM Highway Services, who look after 1,200km of roads in the south.

Often kept as a pet, the albino corn snake is not venomous and is likely to have escaped a home or been abandoned.

EM Highway Services environmental manager Ricky Taylor, said: "Operatives were performing routine maintenance when they noticed some movement on the verge.

"They investigated it and found a non-native snake. They managed to capture and keep it safe until an EM ecologist arrived to identify it and arrange for its removal.

"This is one lucky snake as I'm sure it wouldn't have survived long in the current temperature.

"My assumption is that it's someone's pet from the local area. We have asked a reptile group to look after it, as it shouldn't be outside at this time of year. Hopefully it will be ok."
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Arrow Up

Surprise surge in orcas and humpback whales in British Columbia waters

Jeff Bell
Vancouver Sun
Sun, 22 Dec 2013 14:17 UTC
Image
© Victoria Times ColonistRecord numbers of transient orcas and humpbacks have been sighted in Island waters.
Someone forgot to tell the whales around Victoria and the San Juan Islands that this is their off-season.

Many whale-watching companies are holding off on their winter shutdowns because record numbers of transient orcas and humpbacks are in Island waters, said Michael Harris, executive director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association.

"It's the time when they pull out of the water and they do maintenance on the boat or they take their vacation," Harris said.

"But they're still working and it's really demand-based and it's whale-based and it's weather-based."

Comment: See also: Volcanic eruptions, rising CO2, boiling oceans, and why man-made global warming is not even wrong

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Eye 1

Brown pelicans found dead with slashed pouches in Florida Keys


tbo.com
Sat, 21 Dec 2013 13:59 UTC
Image
© Scripps Media, IncThe search is on for the person wildlife rangers said slashed and ripped open the pouches of several Brown Pelicans in South Florida.
Authorities are investigating the deaths of several brown pelicans found with their pouches slashed in the Florida Keys.

Florida Keys Wildlife Refuge Director Maya Totman said Friday that 10 pelicans have been found dead.

The birds are being found with the large pouches they use to catch food almost entirely cut through. The pelicans are left unable to hunt and swallow their food, leaving them to starve to death slowly.

"With the way the cuts are done, fish slide out of the pouch and the bird can't eat. It gets weaker and weaker and dies," Totman tells The Key West Citizen.

Nancy Finley, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services at the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Big Pine Key, said the cuts don't appear to be a natural occurrence.

"The cuts are deep, all the way to the windpipe," she said. "It appears to be a knife slice."

Some pelicans also have been spotted flying around with their pouches slashed, raising concerns more could die, Totman said.
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