Animals
S


Better Earth

Watch out for Yellowstone bears - they're hungry

Matthew Brown
Associated Press
Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:20 UTC
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© AP Photo/Yellowstone National Park, James PeacoIn this June 7, 2005 file photo released by Yellowstone National Park a grizzly bear moves through the brush in the park in Wyoming. Yellowstone's grizzlies are going to be particularly hungry this fall, and that means more dangerous meetings with humans in a year that is already the area's deadliest on record.
Yellowstone's grizzlies are going to be particularly hungry this fall, and that means more dangerous meetings with humans in a year that is already the area's deadliest on record.

Scientists report that a favorite food of many bears, nuts from whitebark pine cones, is scarce. So as grizzlies look to put on some major pounds in preparation for the long winter ahead, scientists say, they will be looking for another source of protein - meat - and running into trouble along the way.

Wildlife managers already report bears coming down off the mountains and into areas frequented by hunters, berry pickers and hikers.

"Pack your bear spray: there's going to be run-ins," said grizzly researcher Chuck Schwartz with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Two people have been fatally mauled by grizzlies so far this year in Wyoming and Montana. Experts said that's the most in one year in at least a century for the Yellowstone region, which also includes parts of Idaho.
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Igloo

Worst Coral Die-Off Ever Recorded, Caused by 93-Degree Oceans


LiveScience
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:40 UTC
Bleached coral in the waters off Aceh province in Indonesia. Credit: WCS Indonesia.
© WCS IndonesiaBleached coral in the waters off Aceh province in Indonesia.
One of the most destructive and swift coral bleaching events ever recorded is underway in the waters off Indonesia, where water temperatures have climbed into the low 90s, according to data released by a conservation group this week.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) says a dramatic rise in sea temperature, potentially linked to global warming, is responsible for the devastation.


Comment: One alternative explanation comes to mind: the numerous undersea volcanos being discovered, and erupting more frequently: Quakes due to Undersea Volcanos, Scientists Discover Explosive Deep Ocean Volcano, and yet another Huge Undersea Volcano Discovered


In May, the WCS sent marine biologists to investigate coral bleaching reported in Aceh - a province of Indonesia - located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. The initial survey carried out by the team revealed that more than 60 percent of corals in the area were bleached.

Subsequent monitoring of the Indonesian corals completed in early August revealed one of the most rapid and severe coral mortality events ever recorded. The scientists found that 80 percent of some species have died since the initial assessment, and more colonies are expected to die within the next few months.
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Bizarro Earth

Kenya: Mysterious 'bearded' antelope photographed

Andrea Mustain
OurAmazingPlanet
Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:26 UTC
Bearded antelope
© Paolo TorchioThis strange, bearded antelope was seen just a few weeks ago in Kenya. It's not clear why this young creature looks so different from its kin.
When Paolo Torchio set out across Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve a few weeks ago, it was just a typical Thursday morning for the veteran wildlife photographer, who has lived and worked in Kenya for two decades.

Torchio is intimately acquainted with the beasts that wander the nearly 600-square-mile game reserve, so he was astonished to see a terrier's face poking out of the tall grass.

"I was wondering, what is this dog doing?" Torchio said. "And when it came out from the grass, that was a surprise."

The hirsute creature that emerged was clearly not a dog. The animal had all the markings of a Thomson's gazelle (a type of antelope) - but, like that old song from "Sesame Street," one of these kids was not like the others. This animal was covered with a strange, thick coat of hair, in stark contrast to the sleek Thomson's gazelles in its company.

"The funny aspect was that it wasn't affecting the relations with the other gazelles," Torchio said in a phone interview. "There was no problem between her and the other one."

Torchio crept alongside the shaggy creature for 15 minutes, snapping pictures, but eventually the spooked animal sped away. The Italian photographer spent the next five days trying to find the gazelle, but to no avail.

Experts are not quite sure what to make of the fluffy little gazelle, especially since Torchio's photographs are the only known example of such a beast.
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Arrow Down

Almost 60 Pilot Whales Die Stranded on New Zealand Beach


The Telegraph
Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:57 UTC
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© AlamyWhale beachings are not uncommon along the New Zealand coast and more than 100 pilot whales died in a stranding in the South Island last December
Nearly 60 pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a beach in New Zealand according to conservation officials.

The mass stranding of a pod of 73 whales was discovered mid-morning. Carolyn Smith from the Department of Conservation said the whales probably beached overnight, which was why so many died before a rescue operation was launched.

The area around Kaitaia beach, in the far north of New Zealand, was experiencing heavy rain and wind which Ms Smith said helped the surviving whales by ensuring they did not dry out but made it difficult for rescuers preparing to refloat the mammals.

At least five people are needed to work with each of the whales, which weigh up to 1.5 tonnes.

Whale beachings are not uncommon along the New Zealand coast and more than 100 pilot whales died in a stranding in the South Island last December.
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Binoculars

UK: Angry Swan Named "Hissing Sid" Evicted After "River Rampage"

Andrew Hough
The Telegraph
Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:30 UTC
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© MasonsThe birds were driven 40 miles away to the isolated Gallows Hill Quarry, Suffolk, where they were released and have been living in peace.
An aggressive swan known as "Hissing Sid" has been evicted from his riverbank home and moved almost 40 miles away after a series of attacks including one that almost caused a teenage girl to drown.

The vicious bird used his powerful 7ft long wings to attack hundreds of rowers and canoeists on the River Chelmer in Chelmsford, Essex, his home for the past two decades.

The 22lb swan would patrol the busy river terrorizing users on a daily basis, before attempting to drown them with his flapping wings or pecking holes in boats.

But the swan's violent behavior became progressively worse over the past year, escalating in March when he attacked a 13-year-old girl.

The teenager, who was not named, almost drowned after the ferocious swan capsized her canoe using its long wings.
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Arrow Down

Mass Hippo Deaths Caused by Unlikely Culprit: Anthrax

Kathryn Yao
AOL News
Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:51 UTC
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© Getty ImagesA hippopotamus is seen at Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, where 83 hippos have died since June from anthrax poisoning.
Another hippopotamus at a Ugandan safari park has died, bringing the death toll to 83 since June. Stranger still is the cause of the massive pachyderm massacre: anthrax poisoning, the London Daily Telegraph reports.

Besides being a powdery biological weapon that grabbed headlines in the perilous week following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks (when some was mailed to Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, among others), anthrax is also a soil-dwelling bacteria -- bacillus anthracis bacterium -- that is clearly harmful to both humans and animals alike. Symptoms of infection can include high fever and bleeding.
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Roses

Australia: Surfer Bleeds to Death After Grisly Shark Attack

Nicole Cox and Trevor Paddenburg
Perth Now
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:25 UTC
Nicholas Edwards
© PerthNow/Channel 9Tragic: Father of two Nicholas Edwards was fatally attacked by a shark in Gracetown on Tuesday morning.
The family of the man fatally mauled by a shark have spoken for the first time.

Nicholas Edwards, 31, bled to death after being attacked at South Point at Gracetown, just north of Margaret River at 8.15am.

His wife Melissa tonight asked for privacy as the family, including the couple's children aged seven and two, struggled to come to terms with the tragedy.

Speaking from the couple's Broadwater home near Busselton, Mrs Edwards' mother Helen said news of the attack had devastated the family.

"It's a very hard time, it's the day we lost Nick," she said.

"We're just trying to deal with it, and come to terms with it.

"We'd like to ask for privacy to grieve."
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Bizarro Earth

The Fish are Dying in Large Numbers, and Scientists are Struggling for Answers

Rob Shikina
Star Advertiser.com
Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:30 UTC
Puffer Fish_1
© DAVID ITANOScientists are trying to determine why puffer fish are dying around the Hawaiian Islands.
Wildlife scientists have been scrambling for months to determine why puffer fish are dying around the Hawaiian Islands, and still do not know whether they will identify the killer.

Thierry Work, a wildlife disease specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said Wednesday that scientists had conducted 72 necropsies on diseased puffer fish that have been found on all the islands except Kauai.

Finding the cause is critical because it could affect the ecosystem or human health, said Work, who is with the USGS's National Wildlife Health Center.

"It's part of understanding the health of the marine ecosystem," Work said. "There's something awry in the marine environment."

Scientists learned about the deaths in June but realized the fish have been dying in large numbers since March. Work suspects fish collected so far are just a small number of those that have died.

According to longtime ocean users who have reported seeing dead puffer fish, the die-off surpasses any recent mass death of puffer fish, he said.
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Igloo

Cold Wave Kills 6 Million Fish in Eastern Bolivia


Latin American Herald Tribune
Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:26 UTC
La Paz - Authorities in the eastern Bolivian province of Santa Cruz declared an alert following the death of 6 million fish from the unusually cold weather gripping the country in recent weeks.

The provincial government said the fish died in the Grande, Pirai and Ichilo rivers that run through the tropical region.

This is an "environmental catastrophe" brought on by the lowest temperatures registered in Santa Cruz in nearly half a century, Gov. Ruben Costas told reporters.

He said that environmental personnel who visited the disaster areas found that the three rivers are highly polluted by dead fish, and he warned locals not to use those waters.
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Alarm Clock

US: Fish Kill Mystery On New Jersey's Delaware Bay Beaches


Associated Press
Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:45 UTC
fish
Video Link

Middle Township - Tens of thousands of dead fish have washed ashore along the Delaware Bay in southern New Jersey.

State environmental and wildlife officials say it's not yet clear what killed the fish, which appear to exclusively small menhaden, also known as peanut bunker.

The wash-up, discovered Wednesday morning, encompassed a large stretch of the shoreline just north of Cape May. The heaviest amounts were in an area of Middle Township known as Pierce's Point.
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