Animals
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Attention

Family's terror as ferocious black bear spent hours trying to tear open RV in Utah

Zoe Szathmary
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 03 Sep 2014 15:07 UTC
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A bear hunt is going on near where the incident occurred (file photo)
* Sami Graham was with her children when the bear approached the RV, which was parked in Book Cliffs

* The family tried to shoo the bear away and frighten it

* The bear tried to getting inside two and a half hours and left heavy scratch marks in its wake on the trailer's exterior

* It finally left after her husband arrived and fired a warning shots into the sky

A bear terrified a Utah family inside their RV on Saturday as the animal scratched and pawed at their mobile home in an attempt to gain entry.

KSL reported that Sami Graham was inside with her two young children when the bear approached the RV, which was parked in Book Cliffs.

'This bear is standing straight up on his hind legs looking at me straight in the eye [through a window],' she told the affiliate station. 'I wasn't expecting to be nose-to-nose with this bear. I just hurried and closed my blinds.'

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Black Cat

A third cougar attack within a month leaves six-year-old California boy injured

Steve Gorman
news.yahoo.com
Mon, 08 Sep 2014 10:47 UTC
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Attack: A six-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion (file picture) while hiking with his parents and another family in California on Sunday - and he was only saved when his dad fought the animal off
A mountain lion attacked and injured a 6-year-old boy hiking with family and friends on Sunday along a wooded trail in California's Silicon Valley before two adults managed to frighten the cat away, a state wildlife official said.

The attack occurred at about 1 p.m. local time in an open-space preserve adjacent to the historic Picchetti Ranch Winery just west of the town of Cupertino, said Lieutenant Patrick Foy of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The victim's parents reported that the child was walking about 10 feet ahead of the rest of the group - two adult couples each hiking with their three small children - when "the mountain lion came out of nowhere" and grabbed the boy.


Comment: This is the third cougar attack on humans within a month, see also: Some wild animals are losing fear of humans: Biologist recovering after cougar assault in Grand Prairie, Alberta

Teenager attacked by cougar in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta

There was also this: Mountain lion 'stalks' woman near Telluride, Colorado

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Fish

Giant 18-inch-long shrimp-like creature caught in Florida waters


weather.com
Fri, 05 Sep 2014 07:07 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Chances are you've never seen a shrimp like this before.

A Florida fisherman got more than he bargained for when he pulled an 18-inch-long shrimp-like creature from the water while doing some nighttime fishing from a dock this week in Fort Pierce, Florida, a coastal city about a two-hour drive north from Miami.

Steve Bargeron, who was fishing on the same dock where the creature was snagged, snapped the photos above and shared them with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Service. After FWS posted them on the agency's Facebook page, the photos went viral and have since garnered more than 7,600 shares.

Comment: Creatures from the deep signal major Earth Changes: Is anyone paying attention?

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Attention

Hunter attacked and bitten by black bear, Longview, Washington state


foxnews.com
Sat, 06 Sep 2014 11:09 UTC
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A Washington state hunter is recovering after surviving an attack by an angry black bear that chased him up a tree, chomped down on his leg and clawed him with one of its big paws.

Retiree Jerry House knows how lucky he is to have fended off the bear. He said he got the bear off him only after he kicked the animal in the nose as he hung onto a tree branch.

"It totally amazes me how fast that bear got on me. In three seconds it was on me," Hause, 60, told The Longview Daily News Thursday. "I was thinking, 'If it gets me out of this tree I'm a dead man.' It was mad, it was growling. It was serious about what it was going to do."

Hause was out hunting for deer with his 26-year-old son on Labor Day when he came face to face with the bear. They were in a remote wooded area about eight miles west of Longview.

Comment: See also: Bear stalks 2 women in 3-hour ordeal

2 men stalked by black bear while jogging in northern Alberta

Woman killed by a black bear in Fort McMurray, Alberta

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Black Cat 2

Aggressive lynx attacked dog near Timmins, Ontario

Jeff Labine
Timmins Daily Press
Tue, 25 Feb 2014 09:42 UTC
Image
© U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lynx rufus
Timmins Police Service officers have killed a lynx that reportedly attacked and killed a dog on a popular hiking trail.

Police and officials with the Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed the death of the big cat at a media conference Tuesday.

Reports came in last week about the animal and its aggressive behaviour near the trails between MacLean Drive and the Timmins and District Hospital. Some residents took to social media sites such as Facebook to voice their fear for their pets.

Staff Sgt. Henry Dacosta confirmed that the animal had attacked and killed a dog that was with its owner on the trail.

"Public safety is the paramount issue here," he said. "Based on the one circumstance over the weekend where the actual person involved got into battle with this lynx and afterward she got a hold of her dog and was able to walk away but the lynx was still following her. That's a serious concern."

"Lot's of people walk there with their kids. People love their pets and a lynx comes onto the animal and the person tries to defend their pet and they get hurt ... we don't want to see that."

Comment: Two months earlier and about 100 kilometres west from the location of this incident, came the following report of unusual lynx behaviour: Man fights off and kills lynx with bare hands near Chapleau, Ontario

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Attention

2 men stalked by black bear while jogging in northern Alberta

Caley Ramsay and Emily Mertz
globalnews.ca
Mon, 16 Jun 2014 08:37 UTC
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A morning jog for two Alberta men changed pace quickly, when they had to escape a black bear.
Two men who were running along a northern Alberta trail earlier this month received quite the scare when they were approached and followed by a black bear.

In a video posted by Bruce Allan on YouTube, a black bear can be seen following the men, who were jogging along the Matcheetawin Discovery Trails near Fort McMurray on June 5.

"Not good. Not good," you can hear one man say as the bear begins to follow them. "No way, man. We're not doing this."

From time to time the video shows the bear picking up speed. While at times the bear appears to be fairly close to the men, the animal never tries to attack them.

The men can also be heard talking about finding rocks to possibly hit the bear with if necessary.

"Get ready to hit him in the head. We're going to have to knock him out," says one man.

Around the four-minute mark of the video, while the bear attempts to climb a small tree, the men appear to get a bit of distance and run to safety.


Comment: See also: Woman killed by a black bear in Fort McMurray, Alberta

Bear stalks 2 women in 3-hour ordeal

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Fish

"Rare" 300-pound warm-water Mola sunfish washes up on Washington coast


KOMO News
Fri, 05 Sep 2014 05:37 UTC
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© AP Photo/Cape Disappointment State Park, Eric WallThis Aug. 29, 2014 photo provided by Cape Disappointment State Park shows a 7-foot ocean sunfish rarely seen in Washington waters, washed ashore on a beach at Cape Disappointment State Park near Ilwaco, Wash.
A 7-foot ocean sunfish rarely seen in Washington waters recently washed ashore on a beach at Cape Disappointment State Park near the mouth of the Columbia River.

It was found dead on the beach at low tide Aug. 27 by children after a campfire program, said June Mohler, a biological technician from Troutdale, Oregon, working this summer as an interpretive assistant at the park.

Comment: This is another unusual event of a deep-sea creature being washed ashore this year.

See also:
  • Sunfish invasion continues as third massive marine beast washed up in Norfolk


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Attention

Killer whales dying along Pacific Coast, alarming statistics and behavior


ENE News
Fri, 05 Sep 2014 09:38 UTC
Killer whales dying along Pacific coast - "Very sick, emaciated" - Population at lowest level in decades - Steep decline began after 2011 - No babies born in past 2 years - Alarming changes in behavior observed - Social structure is 'splintering'...
2 whales
© creativefan.comDouble divers, now in jeopardy.
Deaths [have] reduced [the] orca population to [its] lowest level in 30 years. The endangered killer whale population in Puget Sound continues to decline, [having] dropped to 78, according to Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research. No new calves have been born to the three pods since 2012. And, alarmingly, the social structure among the orcas appears to be "splintering." Balcomb compiles an annual census of the population for submission to the federal government. [T]he past few years, the pods have divided themselves into small groups, sometimes staying together but often staying apart. He suggests that the primary factor for the
whales
© www.orcanetwork.orgL 100 "Indigo" in foreground, now deceased.
population decline is a lack of food for the killer whales.

The two orcas that are missing and presumed dead are L-53, a 37-year-old female named "Lulu"; and L-100, a 13-year-old male named "Indigo". Population has gone from 88 in 2011 to 78 today.

Killer Whales of BC, Aug 26, 2014:
After the confirmation [of the deaths] of L53 Lulu and L100 Indigo, more bad news: Orcalive confirmed that "Plumper" [age 37] has not been sighted since 8/21/14 and now is considered missing. Also "Pointer" [age 39] did not return with his family and is also missing. Both boys were spotted with a "peanut head." Rest in Peace! You will be missed! New information which unfortunately is coming directly from Port McNeil [is] not better. Also the young I63 [age 24] is missing. She did not return with her family. R.I.P. young lady.


Comment: A "peanut head" on a whale is an indentation near the blowhole where blubber should be. The depression is a sign of severe weight loss to the point of starvation.


Comment: Although disease could be a factor, it is speculated that the collapse of California's Sacramento Valley chinook run is to be partly to blame for declining killer whale numbers. The same fishery collapse, off the California and Oregon coasts, shut down salmon fishing this year for humans, as well. Studies have shown that orcas have a strong preference for chinook salmon, pursuing other prey only when their primary food source is scarce. That makes scientists wonder whether there is something particular about chinook salmon that the orcas need to thrive.

Two of the orca families -- L and K pods -- have been seen, in recent years, feeding off the California coast in the winter. That was unheard of before early this decade, leading scientists to speculate they are driven to swim hundreds of miles just to meet their minimum nutritional requirements. Loss of babies is not nearly as unusual as the deaths of adults in what should be the prime of their lives.

The last whale song: In a broader stroke, could Fukushima radiation poisoning of the Pacific, a rise in sea temperature due to methane, incoming pathogens via cosmic dust, and fluctuations in our magnetic poles also be factors in the reduction of whale pods? Perhaps so, given the rapid die-offs of thousands of species during this decade from seemingly "unknown causes." Is it only a "smattering of time" until humanity experiences the effects of rapid and irreversible climate change and an exhausted food chain as well? Add one more species to the list for we undoubtedly stand in queue.

See also: Researchers predict west coast killer whales will exceed 1,000 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium -- Over 10 times gov't limit in Japan -- Concern about harm to humans, sea life -- Expert: People eating large amounts of fish may have levels similar to whales

Killer whale population declining in Puget Sound

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Attention

Woman killed by a black bear in Fort McMurray, Alberta


National Post
Thu, 08 May 2014 13:11 UTC
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A woman killed by a black bear at one of Canada's major oilsands sites was with several workers who tried in vain to scare the animal away.

The 36-year-old Suncor employee was an instrument technician who was doing electrical work at a job site near Fort McMurray, Alta., when the bear attacked her Wednesday.

"It was ... seven people that were working in a group area and she was attacked by this bear out of that group and dragged off," Scott Doherty, a spokesman for Unifor, told The Canadian Press on Thursday.

"People tried to stop it and do everything they could. Obviously they are fairly horrified at what they saw and witnessed."

Comment: See also: Bear stalks 2 women in 3-hour ordeal

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Wolf

Frenzied fox attacks Waccabuc residents, New York

Reece Alvarez
Lewisboro Ledger
Fri, 05 Sep 2014 11:42 UTC
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Several Waccabuc residents reported being attacked by a vicious fox over the course of two days last week.

"I kicked it and it landed three or four feet away, but it kept coming back at me, snarling," said Harry Stover of Hilltop Road. "It bit me through blue jeans and pierced my skin. Thank God I had blue jeans on, otherwise it would have taken a piece out of the back of my leg."

Mr. Stover said he was able to fend off the fox with the help of a neighbor, whose daughter was nearby when the attack on Mr. Stover occurred, and was also attacked by the fox during the same incident. The neighbor reportedly hit the fox with his fist and sent the fox "squealing" away, Mr. Stover said.

From Aug. 24 to Aug. 25, the Westchester County Health Department had six confirmed encounters with the fox, which required three people to receive treatment for rabies exposure, including Mr. Stover, said Heather McGill, a program administrator for the Health Department.
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