Animals
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Wolf

Woman and dogs attacked by coyote in front of her Kilworthy home, Ontario

Kelly McShane
Gravenhurst Banner
Wed, 03 Sep 2014 10:33 UTC
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© Bev McMullenLori Kennedy and her Alapaha Blue Blood bulldog attended the Dockside Festival on Sunday, Aug. 17 in Gravenhurst. In July, Kennedy was attacked by a coyote which was eventually chased away by the dog.
It was a horrifying ordeal.

"Everybody has been walking around with baseball bats," said Lori Kennedy of the effect a vicious attack has had on the local community.

On July 19, Kennedy was walking her two 100-pound bulldogs in front of her home on Fleming Drive in Kilworthy around 4 p.m. when a wild dog, likely a coyote or coywolf - a coyote-wolf hybrid - emerged from between two houses and began following them.

"I thought it was one of my neighbours' dogs so at first I ignored it, but then before I had a chance to think it attacked," she said.

Kennedy said the animal attacked her female bulldog, which due to abuse as a pup has brain damage and was the weakest of the three victims.

Comment: Other recent reports of highly aggressive coyote behaviour -

Pack of coyotes chases man and dog through Burbank neighborhood, California

Coyote attacks second young girl in Rye, New York

Spike in coyote attacks on animal pets in Claremont, California

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Question

Animals losing the plot: Couple attacked by beaver in Watchung Reservation, New Jersey

Tom Wright-Piersanti
The Star-Ledger
Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:35 UTC
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A Summit woman said the animal that attacked her and her husband last week at Lake Surprise was a beaver, like the one seen in this file photo.
Beware the mad beaver of Lake Surprise.

Karen and Barry Rubinstein were enjoying a stroll by the picturesque lake, nestled in Union County's Watchung Reservation, last Tuesday when they noticed a head popping out of the water.

The creature spotted the Rubinsteins and set its sights on the shoreline.

"It's bee-lining, I mean, this thing is swimming right at us," Karen Rubinstein said.

The animal, which she estimated weighed as much as 40 pounds, came flopping out of the water, its teeth bared and its webbed feet moving as fast as they could manage.

The couple, who live in Summit, started running toward their car when a jogger warned them the animal could get hurt if it chased them into the road.

Comment: Other recent beaver attacks on humans -

Beaver mauls man near Rochester: 'It was like watching a horror film'

Paddling family of three attacked by a beaver in Austria

Animals losing the plot: Vicious beaver attacks snorkeler off Nova Scotia's coast, Canada

From 2013 -

Vicious beaver attacks and kills man in Belarus

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Health

Animals increasingly losing the plot: Vicious beaver attacks snorkeler off Nova Scotia's coast, Canada

Hayden Kenez
National Post
Fri, 05 Sep 2014 14:00 UTC
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Jeremy McNaughton won't quickly forget his encounter with a rogue beaver that attacked him off the shores of Nova Scotia.

The 23-year-old Halifax man was snorkelling in Spanish Ship Bay, near Sherbrooke, with a couple of friends, when one of them looked down and noticed an animal of generous proportions with reddish-brown fur following them.

"I thought it must be a seal," said Paul Kerry, who was in the water with McNaughton, due to the sheer size of the creature, which he estimates weighed nearly 50 pounds.

Never suspecting its true identity, considering beavers live exclusively in freshwater, Kerry couldn't make sense of what the animal was until it approached him.

"I quickly realized it could only be a beaver," once he recognized the animal's markings, including buck teeth and a distinctly paddle-shaped tail, he said.

Comment: Other recent beaver attacks on humans -

Beaver mauls man near Rochester: 'It was like watching a horror film'

Paddling family of three attacked by a beaver in Austria

From 2013 -

Vicious beaver attacks and kills man in Belarus

Read More...
Black Cat

Teenager attacked by cougar in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta


The Globe and Mail
Tue, 26 Aug 2014 13:10 UTC
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An Edmonton-area teenager says her close call with a cougar in Waterton Lakes National Park won't stop her from hiking in the future.

Mykaela Belter, who is 17, was on a trail with her family in the southern Alberta park on Monday when the wild cat jumped out and grabbed her.

She and her sister screamed.

But it was her dad yelling at the mountain lion that scared it away.

Mykaela has some scratches, but is fine after having them looked at in hospital.
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Wolf

Dogs attacked by packs of wolves in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Donna Thacker
St. Louis Pets Examiner
Thu, 04 Sep 2014 10:09 UTC
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© Morguefile / hotblack
12-year-old Ronnie Beckman and his dad, Caleb, were in the woods around midnight with Ronnie's hunting dog. They were on a training session preparing for the upcoming hunting season. According to Upper Michigan Source, the 80-pound dog ran ahead and the pair heard barking and then silence.

When they reached the dog, they find a horrific scene. Scout was dead and Ronnie's father stated that not much was left of the dog. The Department of Natural Resources confirms that the dog was killed by wolves.

The DNR states that there are over 650 wolves throughout the Upper Peninsula and they can be found in every county. A targeted wolf hunt was held in 2013 starting November 15 and ending no later than December 31. This was the first one in decades but voters in Michigan are signing petitions and urging the Legislature to keep the wolf hunt intact.

Comment: See also: Another atypical animal attack on humans: Villagers viciously attacked by a pack of starving wolves in China

'Super pack' of 400 wolves terrorise remote Russian town after killing 30 horses in just four days

Teenager survives first confirmed wolf attack in Minnesota

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Info

Virus deadly to dolphins hits Indian River Lagoon, Florida

Jim Waymer,
Florida Today
Wed, 03 Sep 2014 03:17 UTC
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© Rik Jesse, Florida TodayScientists have chronicled more dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon with lesions, cancer and viruses.
A virus killing bottlenose dolphins by the hundreds along the Atlantic seaboard has spread to the Indian River Lagoon, with foreboding consequences for dolphins that spend their lives here.

And the dead just keep washing up.

"We're basically on high alert, expecting a dolphin every day," said Megan Stolen, a research scientist at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute.

In August alone, Hubbs researchers found 18 dead bottlenose dolphins: a dozen from the lagoon (eight of them calves), and the others along the beach and in the Halifax River.

On average, 26 dolphins wash up dead or strand in the lagoon region annually, Hubbs researchers say. Including beachside, about 70 dolphins die per year in the lagoon region. This year, 67 have already died, with 32 of those in the lagoon.

And many more may be on the way.
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Black Cat

Bobcat attacks hiker's dogs near Squamish, Canada


cbc.ca
Wed, 23 Apr 2014 13:32 UTC
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© Gillian SandersA bobcat spotted in a tree after it had paid a visit to a nearby chicken coop.
Hikers in Squamish are reporting unusual and violent confrontations with bobcats around Alice Lake Provincial Park, according to WildSafeBC, a program run by the British Columbia Conservation Foundation.

"It's definitely the first time we've heard of numerous encounters of bobcats going for dogs," said coordinator Meg Toom, in an interview with CBC Radio's Rick Cluff on The Early Edition.

Toom said in the nine years she's worked in Squamish, bobcat attacks have never been an issue and that typically they eat small rodents and rabbits.
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Black Cat

Cougar kills another dog in same neighbourhood drive as earlier attack in Fontana, California


ktla.com
Sun, 17 Aug 2014 12:28 UTC
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Mountain Lion
Police were urging Fontana residents to be cautious after a mountain lion "carried" a small dog away from a home in the area late Saturday.

The 110-pound mountain lion was spotted in the 4200 block of Foxborough Drive (map) around 9:30 p.m., a news release from the Fontana Police Department stated.

It was seen "carrying" an approximately 15-pound dog in its mouth, according to police.

"It's heartbreaking," neighbor Jennifer Seablom told KTLA. "I mean, everyone that has pets has lost pets. And I can't even imagine how those people feel. It's just so sad."

The mountain lion then went behind several homes before it disappeared into a deep ravine, police said.

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Black Cat

Cougar kills 100-pound German Shepherd in family's back yard, Fontana, California

Steven Covelman, Jonathan Lloyd and Whit Johnson
nbclosangeles.com
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:43 UTC
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© National Park Service
The large animal is considered an imminent threat to public safety by Fontana police

A mountain lion exhibited behavior considered "anything but normal" when it attacked and killed a 100-pound German Shepherd before standing its ground when the dog's owner and officers encountered the animal in the back yard of Southern California home.

Fontana police are urging residents to keep pets inside careful after the dog's death early Wednesday. The mountain lion is considered a "significant public safety threat," meaning it cannot be relocated, police said.

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Black Cat

Mountain lion sought after apparent attack on homeless man, Perris, California

Samantha Schaefer
Los Angeles Times
Sun, 02 Feb 2014 11:25 UTC
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© Agent21radio.comA mountain lion in California
Baited traps have been set to catch a mountain lion that apparently attacked a homeless man in Perris early Saturday, according to wildlife officials.

A 50-year-old homeless man was taken to the hospital about 8 a.m. Saturday with lacerations, puncture wounds and bite marks at the base of his skull, injuries consistent with a mountain lion attack, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Law enforcement officers and biologists scoured the area but were unable to locate the animal. The department does not have the capabilities to track the animal but at least two baited traps have been set, said CDFW Lt. Patrick Foy.

The lion will be killed in the interest of public safety if it is found, he said. Forensic evidence will also be collected to match it to the victim, if possible.
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