Animals
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Question

Dolphin 'attacks' five swimmers in Galway Bay, Ireland


RTÉ News
Wed, 01 Oct 2014 23:40 UTC
Dolphin Attack
© John McGrathThe RNLI Lifeboat was called to the scene shortly before 7.30pm.
Five swimmers had a lucky escape in Galway Bay this evening, when a dolphin came a little too close for comfort. The swimmers were enjoying a dip at Blackrock in Salthill when the dolphin approached and began to circle the area around them. The RNLI Lifeboat was called to the scene shortly before 7.30pm.

Another local boat was also involved in trying to create a barrier between the dolphin and the swimmers. Although they were not seriously injured, the swimmers sustained a number of nudges from the dolphin during their time in the water.

They managed to swim to safety a short time after the arrival of the lifeboat. The RNLI crew subsequently conducted a shoreline search along the Salthill coast to ensure no other swimmers were in difficulty.

Comment: See also: Aggressive dolphin tried to push swimmer underwater off the coast of Ireland

Dolphin attacks swimmers in Doolin Harbor, Ireland

Rise of the killer dolphins: 'Alarming' rise in fatal attacks on porpoises leaves experts puzzled in Wales

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Black Cat

Cougars stalking and killing dogs in Vernon, British Columbia

Charlotte Helston
infotel.ca
Tue, 30 Sep 2014 21:42 UTC
Image
© WildsafeBC
A Vernon family is readjusting to life without their beloved family dog after he was killed by a cougar in their backyard.

Milton, a six-year-old Chihuahua/Maltese, was let out to play as usual the morning of Sept. 21 in the backyard of the family's McLennan Road property in the BX area of Vernon. But when he didn't come back when he was called, his owners went out looking for him on the acreage, covering ground on a quad, getting more and more worried as the hours passed.

"We just wanted to find him," says the woman, who asked for anonymity to preserve her privacy.

When she did find him, he was much closer than she expected. She was home alone, hours after Milton first went missing and from where she sat in her yard, she could hear branches cracking in a nearby tree and followed the sound.
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Fish

Dozens of dead sharks found on North Carolina beach


wfla.com
Mon, 29 Sep 2014 20:42 UTC
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Dead sharks wash up on NC beach
Dozens of dead sharks were found washed ashore on a popular beach in Brunswick County, North Carolina this weekend.

Photos show some 50 dead sharks on the shore at a beach in Oak Island on Sunday morning.

The unidentified sharks range in size from one-foot to five-feet in length.

Officials with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries removed the sharks and are investigating to determine their exact cause of death.

The issue is under the jurisdiction of the NC Division of Marine Fisheries since the sharks were found below the tide line.

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Arrow Down

Beluga whale population in St. Lawrence estuary on 'catastrophic' path, Canada


cbc.ca
Mon, 29 Sep 2014 16:07 UTC
Image
© The Associated PressThe latest figures on beluga calves come amid a debate over whether to allow exploratory drilling off shore of Cacouna, Que., near the breeding ground at the mouth of the St. Lawrence.
Number of dead beluga calves turning up on shore unusually high since 2008

A researcher monitoring belugas in the St. Lawrence estuary is warning of a looming "catastrophe" after another difficult calving season for the endangered whale.

The belugas have been in a slow population decline for the past decade, according to Robert Michaud, the scientific director of Quebec's Marine Mammals Research and Education Group.

His team has found the carcasses of at least five baby belugas so far during the calving period, which officially ends on Oct. 15. The number of dead beluga calves turning up on the shore has been unusually high since 2008, Michaud said.

"It's a catastrophic trajectory we're observing, and we don't yet know exactly what are the causes for that," he said.
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Question

35,000 Pacific walruses gather on Alaskan beach


BBC
Wed, 01 Oct 2014 19:37 UTC
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The animals usually rest on sea ice but will head to beaches if that platform is not available
Huge numbers of Pacific walrus have been coming ashore in northwest Alaska.

An estimated 35,000 animals were pictured at the weekend hauling themselves on to land north of Point Lay, about 500km southwest of Barrow. The gathering was photographed as part of an annual survey undertaken by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Walrus will generally rest on floes of Arctic sea ice, but when that is not available will head to nearby beaches. Andrea Medeiros, a spokeswoman for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, told the Associated Press wire agency that the animals' mass movement was first detected on 13 September, and that they have been moving on and off shore ever since.
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Wolf

Deadly coyotes spread across U.S. suburbs killing family pets

Valerie Richardson
The Washington Times
Sun, 28 Sep 2014 18:49 UTC
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When Charlene Warner walks her dog each morning in her neighborhood in upscale Seal Beach, California, she's terrified she'll be attacked - not by muggers or gangs, but by coyotes.

"They are killing our animals. They are scaring us. I go out every morning with rocks in my pockets, tennis shoes on, mace on my neck, a whistle on my neck and a foghorn on my leash, and I still don't feel safe," Ms. Warner said last week in comments before the Seal Beach City Council.

She has reason to be nervous. Stories abound in nearby Orange County of dogs and cats snatched off leashes and plucked out of backyards a few feet away from their horrified owners. Mangled pet carcasses turn up on front lawns, often identifiable only by their tails.
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Attention

Dead whale found floating off Port Maitland Beach, Nova Scotia

Tina Comeau
The Vanguard
Mon, 29 Sep 2014 17:24 UTC
Image
© BILL CURRY A whale was floating off Port Maitland Beach on Monday, Sept. 29.
A dead whale was spotted floating in the water off Port Maitland Beach in Yarmouth County early Monday, Sept. 29.

But then later that day it was gone, leaving others who came out to the beach to catch a glimpse of it to wonder if it has just been a whale of a tale?

The whale was quite a distance from shore at low tide mid-morning when two officers from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans came out to inspect the situation. They assumed the whale would probably be washed onto shore by the higher tide later in the day.
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Health

Man injured in wild boar attack in India with other attacks reported


The Pioneer
Mon, 29 Sep 2014 22:47 UTC
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One Gouranga Das (70) of Suniti village under Mahakalpada block in Kendrapada district was injured after being attacked by a wild boar on Saturday.

According to sources, a wild boar that had recently trespassed into the human habitation suddenly approached Gouranga and bit his right hand while he was standing at his house. He was rushed to the Mahakalpada CHC for treatment. The Forest Department provided financial assistance.

Notably, as many as four persons have sustained injuries due to wild boar and saltwater crocodile attacks under Mahakalpada forest range during last two weeks. But, forest officials did little to create awareness among the locals regarding the attacks, alleged locals.

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Wolf

Jackal attacks 2 children outside their house in Goa, India

Paul Fernandes
The Times of India
Sun, 28 Sep 2014 21:59 UTC
Jackal
© Wikimedia Commons, Steve GarvieAn adult male golden jackal.
The baffling attack on two children by a jackal in Maulinguem, Bicholim may have been out of panic and zeal to protect her pups nearby.

A 12-year-old boy and another six year old boy were attacked by the jackal outside their house.

Forest officials and some locals tried to trace the jackal and found two dens nearby. One den was fresh and appeared to have been used. "It appears the mother was fiercely protective of her pups and attacked the children," an official said.

But forest officials ruled out that the animal was rabid. "There would have been more casualties," the official said.

A few villagers were washing clothes in a stream nearby. None of them were attacked.
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Wolf

Pack of jackals injure 17 villagers in Nepal


The Himalayan Times
Sat, 06 Sep 2014 21:43 UTC
Jackal
© Wikimedia Commons, Steve GarvieAn adult male golden jackal.
The local administration has deployed a police team to control wild jackals that have terrorising the villagers of Jogbudha VDC-7 in Dadeldhura for the last two days.

Chief District Officer Shiva Raj Joshi said that the police team from Jogbudha Area Police Office has been deployed to take the wild animals under control. "As many as 17 people and dozen of cattle have been injured in jackal attacks in the last two days," he said.

Kalapati Aire, Dhana Bhat and Mina Bhatta have been critically injured and were sent to Seti Zonal Hospital in Dhangadi for further treatment yesterday. Other victims have also left for Dhangadi for Jogbudha Hospital does not have enough stock of anti-rabbis vaccines.

A local teacher, Padam Luhar, said that a group of wild animals entered the human settlements and started to bite villagers indiscriminately last Thursday.
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