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Port Arthur resident Lara Comeaux says over the course of just two days she and her neighbors have found at least 7 dead birds in their yards along Shady Cove Lane. "We've never had anything like this before, maybe a baby bird falling out of a nest in the front once or twice, but never birds just falling out of the sky," Comeaux told 12News Friday afternoon.
Yokohama - Health authorities on Tuesday were trying to determine what killed 17 crows and one pigeon whose bodies were found on the street in Yokohama earlier in the day.
According to police, the birds were found dead at around 8 a.m. in a 200-meter radius in an entertainment district about 400 meters from JR Kannai Station. NTV quoted police as saying there were no external injuries on the birds.
Health authorities said there was no sign of bird flu and believe the birds must have ingested poison of some kind.
According to police, the birds were found dead at around 8 a.m. in a 200-meter radius in an entertainment district about 400 meters from JR Kannai Station. NTV quoted police as saying there were no external injuries on the birds.
Health authorities said there was no sign of bird flu and believe the birds must have ingested poison of some kind.
A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger stands guard in front of an illegal ivory stockpile in Nairobi on July 20, 2011. Poaching on an "industrial" scale has slashed the elephant population in the countries of central Africa by nearly two-thirds, a group of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said on Friday.
"A recent study shows that the population of forest elephants has dropped by almost two-thirds or 62 percent in the past 10 years, victims of large-scale ivory poaching," the group of eight NGOs said in a statement.
"The situation is dramatic and worrying. It's very dangerous," Jerome Mokoko, assistant director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, told reporters at a news conference in Brazzaville.
"Nearly 5,000 elephants have been lost in the northern zone of Congo between 2009 and 2011," said Mokoko.
He added there were 80,000 elephants in the Central African Republic just 30 years ago but their number has been reduced to just a few thousand.
"The Democratic Republic of Congo alone is home to 70 percent of the elephant population of central Africa. But now there are only between 7,000 and 10,000 elephants in the DRC," Mokoko said.
Robins
Local wildlife officials have determined an estimated one to two hundred dead robins and other similar bird species that have been found in the area died of starvation due to the recent snowstorms.
It is unclear whether the birds were resident birds of the area or early migrators that were traveling through the area and were caught in the recent snowstorms.
"It's not uncommon in robin populations to have a wide up and down, it's actually rather typical," said District Wildlife Manager Mike Crosby. "Nature always persists." The robin population should have no problem recovering from the incident, he said.
It is believed the recent snowfall covered the bird's food source and caused the birds to starve.
Robins survive mostly on insects, Crosby said. And due to the snow they were not able to get to the ground to retrieve food to keep up with their energy demands and subsequently starved to death.
© CHRISTOPHER ARNOLD, Scripps Treasure Coast NewspapersSince July and 2012, a total of 220 manatees have died in the lagoon in Brevard County, about 100 of them under mysterious circumstances; and since February, between 250 and 300 dead pelicans have been found in the same area.
Since July and 2012, a total of 220 manatees have died in the lagoon in Brevard County, about 100 of them under mysterious circumstances; and since February, between 250 and 300 dead pelicans have been found in the same area.
Thomas R. "Tom" Reinert, a research administrator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told members of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Advisory Board on Wednesday that researchers have been stumped in their efforts to find the cause - or causes.
Asked if the mysterious deaths could migrate south into the lagoon along the Treasure Coast, Reinert replied, "I can't answer that. The cases seem to be localized, with the zone in Brevard County from Sebastian to Titusville being where the deaths are concentrated. And it appears it will remain that way."
In March alone, Reinert said, 56 sea cows died from unknown causes in Brevard County, where the annual manatee death count from all causes averages 111.
Two off-course flights into downtown buildings this week resulted in the deaths of almost 30 Bohemian waxwings and the injury of several others.Wildwoods, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Duluth, is caring for three Bohemian waxwings that were injured downtown in the past two days, said Peggy Farr, a Wildwoods rehabilitator and board member. Five other Bohemian waxwings died in that incident, Farr said.
"We're on a major migration route," said Farr. "This is a good time of year to close the blinds so the birds don't get faked out by the windows."
Separately, about 25 Bohemian waxwings were found dead Monday, April 22, in the plaza area adjacent to the Minnesota Power building in downtown Duluth, said Amy Rutledge, manager of corporate communications for Minnesota Power. The birds apparently had flown into tinted glass partitions adjacent to the building as the birds were flying up to trees.
Rutledge said Minnesota Power plans to put stickers on the glass panels that the waxwings hit so birds will be more likely to see the panels.
"Something like this has never happened before," Rutledge said. "It seems to be an anomaly."
Hedgehogs emerging a month later than usual
April 2013. Latest results from the BTO Garden BirdWatch survey have revealed that British Hedgehogs are emerging from hibernation very late this spring. This weekly survey, which covers mammals as well as birds, shows that Hedgehog emergence is roughly a month behind what was seen in 2011 and 2012. The long winter may also have led to increased levels of overwinter mortality.
Difficult winter
The latest results from the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Garden BirdWatch show that Hedgehog emergence is a month behind where it was in 2011 and 2012, suggesting that it is likely to have been a particularly difficult winter for this declining species. The weekly 'reporting rate' graph (below) shows how the cold weather of February and March held emergence back, underlining that Hedgehogs are only now emerging from hibernation.
Hedgehog emergence is a month behind where it was in 2011 and 2012, suggesting that it is likely to have been a particularly difficult winter for this declining species.
Difficult winter
The latest results from the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Garden BirdWatch show that Hedgehog emergence is a month behind where it was in 2011 and 2012, suggesting that it is likely to have been a particularly difficult winter for this declining species. The weekly 'reporting rate' graph (below) shows how the cold weather of February and March held emergence back, underlining that Hedgehogs are only now emerging from hibernation.
USGS specialist: 'The reefs are dying'
Lihu'e - The outbreak of deadly coral disease along Kaua'i's North Shore may be targeting more than one species of Montipora coral
The spread of the disease was described as an "epidemic" in a November 2012 report by the U.S. Geological Survey
Until recently, the cyanobacterial disease was thought to be exclusive to the common rice coral. But after returning to Kaua'i this week, Dr. Thierry Work, head of infectious disease for USGS, said the blue rice coral species is also in trouble.
"The blue rice coral definitely has lesions on it," he said. "Of course, we'll have to do the analysis to see if it's the same (disease)."
He said the lesions look similar to what he saw at 'Anini and Tunnels beaches.
Work spent Monday and Tuesday diving at several locations along Kauai's North Shore, including reefs near Ha'ena, Wainiha and Waipa. He collected 30 coral tissue samples, which he took back to the lab in Honolulu for DNA testing.
Lihu'e - The outbreak of deadly coral disease along Kaua'i's North Shore may be targeting more than one species of Montipora coral
The spread of the disease was described as an "epidemic" in a November 2012 report by the U.S. Geological Survey
Until recently, the cyanobacterial disease was thought to be exclusive to the common rice coral. But after returning to Kaua'i this week, Dr. Thierry Work, head of infectious disease for USGS, said the blue rice coral species is also in trouble.
"The blue rice coral definitely has lesions on it," he said. "Of course, we'll have to do the analysis to see if it's the same (disease)."
He said the lesions look similar to what he saw at 'Anini and Tunnels beaches.
Work spent Monday and Tuesday diving at several locations along Kauai's North Shore, including reefs near Ha'ena, Wainiha and Waipa. He collected 30 coral tissue samples, which he took back to the lab in Honolulu for DNA testing.
© Terry Lilley/Contributed photo Dr. Thierry Work, a wildlife disease specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey, collects tissue samples Monday from a diseased blue rice coral at Wainiha on Kaua‘i’s North Shore.
Dozens of dolphin carcasses counted on west coast of Italy
Dolphins thought to have died from virus that causes measles in humans
Found on beaches from Tuscany to Sicily since turn of the year
Scientists believe that more than 100 dolphins washed up dead along the Italian coast were struck down by a killer strain of measles.
A total of 101 dolphin carcasses have been counted on the west coast of Italy since the beginning of the year.
All are the same species - striped dolphins which have a distinctive blue and white pattern and grow to about eight feet long. They usually live for 50 or 60 years.
The bodies have appeared on beaches spanning more than half the western coastline of Italy, from Tuscany to Calabria, as well as the island of Sicily - which suggests that the problem is not caused by humans pollutants such as oil.
Instead the deaths are being attributed to a possible outbreak of Morbillivirus, the virus that causes measles in humans, which scientists believe created a gateway for other illnesses among the animals.
Thirty-five per cent of the corpses tested positive for dolphin measles, Italy's Ministry for the Environment said.
Dolphins thought to have died from virus that causes measles in humans
Found on beaches from Tuscany to Sicily since turn of the year
Scientists believe that more than 100 dolphins washed up dead along the Italian coast were struck down by a killer strain of measles.
A total of 101 dolphin carcasses have been counted on the west coast of Italy since the beginning of the year.
All are the same species - striped dolphins which have a distinctive blue and white pattern and grow to about eight feet long. They usually live for 50 or 60 years.
Concerns: More than 100 striped dolphins have washed up on the west coast of Italy during the last three months
Instead the deaths are being attributed to a possible outbreak of Morbillivirus, the virus that causes measles in humans, which scientists believe created a gateway for other illnesses among the animals.
Thirty-five per cent of the corpses tested positive for dolphin measles, Italy's Ministry for the Environment said.
Apr. 22, 2013 - A new review of insect pollinators of crops and wild plants has concluded they are under threat globally from a cocktail of multiple pressures, and their decline or loss could have profound environmental, human health and economic consequences.
Globally, insects provide pollination services to about 75% of crop species and enable reproduction in up to 94% of wild flowering plants. Pollination services provided by insects each year worldwide are valued at over US$200 billion.
The review, published April 22, 2013 in the scientific journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, was carried out by an international team of 40 scientists from 27 institutions involved in the UK's Insect Pollinators Initiative (IPI), a £10M research programme investigating the causes and consequences of pollinator decline.
Dr Adam Vanbergen from the UK's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and science coordinator of the IPI led the review. He said, "There is no single smoking gun behind pollinator declines, instead there is a cocktail of multiple pressures that can combine to threaten these insects. For example, the loss of food resources in intensively-farmed landscapes, pesticides and diseases are individually important threats, but are also likely to combine and exacerbate the negative impacts on pollinators."
© Daniel Prudek / FotoliaGlobally, insects provide pollination services to about 75% of crop species and enable reproduction in up to 94% of wild flowering plants
The review, published April 22, 2013 in the scientific journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, was carried out by an international team of 40 scientists from 27 institutions involved in the UK's Insect Pollinators Initiative (IPI), a £10M research programme investigating the causes and consequences of pollinator decline.
Dr Adam Vanbergen from the UK's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and science coordinator of the IPI led the review. He said, "There is no single smoking gun behind pollinator declines, instead there is a cocktail of multiple pressures that can combine to threaten these insects. For example, the loss of food resources in intensively-farmed landscapes, pesticides and diseases are individually important threats, but are also likely to combine and exacerbate the negative impacts on pollinators."
