Animals
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Bug

US: Plague found in pets in 2 New Mexico counties


Kob.com
Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:21 UTC
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© kob.com

Santa Fe, New Mexico - State health officials say plague being found in pets in northern New Mexico should be a warning that human cases could follow.

The state Health Department confirmed plague this week in a dog in Santa Fe County. Lab tests also have confirmed plague cases in another Santa Fe County dog and a cat from Rio Arriba County near Abiquiu.

They are the first cases of the year. No human plague cases have been confirmed.

Plague is a bacterial disease generally transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas. It also can be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals.

Symptoms of plague in humans include sudden fever, chills, headache and weakness. In most cases there also is a painful swelling of lymph nodes in the groin, armpit or neck.
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Bizarro Earth

Queensland : Mass turtle death investigated

Kelli Downey
The Gladstone Observer
Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:17 UTC
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© naAn olive ridley
Investigations are continuing into the death of 10 green turtles found washed up on the beach in Boyne Island and Tannum Sands.

Nine juveniles and one adult turtle were found dead on the Boyne Island beach and adjacent Canoe Point tip near the mouth of the Boyne River last Sunday.

Seven of the turtles were located dead in Boyne Island with the remaining three found washed up at Tannum Sands.

The discovery was reported by a member of the public to Gladstone and District Wildlife Carers Association about midday.
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Cow

Australia: Cow headbutts, kills man


ABC News
Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:39 UTC
Cow
© Unknown
A man has died after a farming accident in eastern Victoria.

Police say the man was trying to put the cow in a race at a dairy farm at Inverloch on the Bass Highway on Tuesday afternoon when the animal headbutted him in the chest and crushed him against a steel gate.

The man, aged in his fifties, walked away but collapsed a few minutes later.
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Bizarro Earth

India: 16 dolphins washed ashore dead in Pondy


The Times of India
Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:45 UTC
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Puducherry: Sixteen long-nosed dolphins were washed ashore dead at three places along the Puducherry coast on Monday. It has raised concern among environmentalists as it is the 20th instance in 16 months of protected marine mammals being washed ashore dead or alive.

On an average, about 250 dolphins are washed shore dead or alive every year, said Dr R S Lal Mohan, retired principal scientist of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

A group of fishermen in Pudukuppam in the Union territory spotted five dead dolphins on the shore on Monday morning and alerted the forest and fisheries department officials. A few hours later, fishermen from neighbouring hamlets also informed them about 11 more dead dolphins found at two other places.
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Bizarro Earth

US: 50 Birds Fall Dead Into Kansas Yard


The Associated Press
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 20:43 UTC
Sterling, Kansas - A central Kansas family hopes to learn what caused the deaths of dozens of birds that fell from trees outside their house.

Elizabeth Stange says it started with one or two birds tumbling to the ground Thursday afternoon, followed by dozens more. The Sterling woman told KWCH-TV that the birds all died within minutes of each other.

By evening, Stange says, she and her family collected about 50 birds from their driveway and yard.

Stange says a local veterinarian told her the birds probably ate something poisonous. But a few were sent to Kansas State University for a closer look.

At one point, Stange's family worried about leaving the house for fear of being hit by a falling bird. She calls the episode bizarre.
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Fish

Dead Fish Piling Up In State's Ponds, Lakes


WFSB.com
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 22:57 UTC
dead fish

Wethersfield Connecticut -- A rough winter is causing a smelly spring. Dead fish are popping up in ponds and reservoirs across Connecticut, and while it's a natural occurrence, it's more widespread thanks to this year's winter weather.

Wethersfield's 1860 reservoir is a picturesque place and serene spot. For Nate Wierzbicki, it's his back yard.

"If I'm home, I'm out there," Wierzbicki said. "If I'm free I'll be out there catching some sun and some bass."
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Bizarro Earth

Sea Turtle Deaths Mount in the Gulf

Rocky Kistner
Huffington Post
Sun, 03 Apr 2011 22:51 UTC
Sea turtles continue to wash ashore along the Gulf, forcing the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to scramble and figure out what is causing the spike. Last week, the Natural Resources Defense Council and The Huffington Post were first to publish blogs about the sea turtle deaths in Mississippi.

Since then, the national media picked up the story. Last Friday, NMFS released a statement with some details about its investigation:
In the past few weeks, we've seen an increase in turtle strandings in the northern Gulf, primarily in Mississippi. The spring time is the typical time when turtle strandings in this region begin to increase, but the sharp increases in recent days are of concern to us....NOAA Fisheries is in contact with the states of MS and LA regarding current trawl and other fishery activity that can result in turtle by catch and mortality. In addition, tests will be done for biotoxins, such as those from harmful algae blooms, which are common in the Gulf. ...All causes of death, including petroleum, will be investigated when possible based on decomposition. During a necropsy, the full GI tract is examined for product or evidence of oil ingestion. Additionally, samples are taken for PAH analysis. In addition, all turtles are being carefully examined for signs of external oiling.
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Bizarro Earth

Dead Dolphins Spotted With Oil Washing up on Louisiana Shores


al.com
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:01 UTC
dolphin
Dead dolphins spotted with oil have been washing up in eastern Louisiana.(Courtesy of Gulf Coast Exploreum )

New Orleans - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that eight months after the Deepwater Horizon oil well was capped, dolphins are washing ashore in east Louisiana with some oil from that spilled on their bodies.

Spokeswoman Kim Amendola says the dolphins had spots of weathered oil.

Blair Mase - NOAA's Gulf Coast stranding coordinator - emphasizes there's no way yet to know why the dolphins died. She says the most recent dolphin bearing BP oil was found two weeks ago.
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Bizarro Earth

Australian Rats Scurry to Desert En Masse After Rains


BBC
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:56 UTC
Rats
© BBCThe rats are unlikely to stay in the desert for long.

A mass migration of rats is under way into the inland deserts of Australia after a run of high rainfall seasons, scientists say.

The native long-haired rat, or Rattus villosissimus, normally lives in the Barkly Tableland of the Northern Territory and in western Queensland.

But now it has been spotted in Alice Springs for the first time in 25 years.

"Some of them get up to about 30cm [12in] long - fair lump of a rat," livestock manager Chris Giles said.

"They will run around and hide under a little bit of shrub there, and you can get pretty close to them," Mr Giles, a stockman on the Northern Territory's Lake Nash Station, told Australia's ABC News.

"I nearly caught one the other day."
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Bizarro Earth

US: Fish Kills Another Legacy of Long, Snowy Winter


Kare11
Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:10 UTC

Plymouth, Minnesota -- Like a lot of Minnesotans, Bruce Wahlstrom was happy to see the ice disappearing from his lake he lives on.

Then, he noticed what was underneath.

"I actually saw it last night as the ice started to melt back," said Wahlstrom. "This morning, it's just tons of dead fish."

Hundreds of dead fish are washed up on Wahlstrom's property on Schmidt Lake in Plymouth, or floating in the shallow water. He knows the recipe for a fish kill: Early, heavy snow piles up on the ice, making it impossible for sunlight to reach the bottom of a lake. The lack of natural light then keeps plant life from creating oxygen. If the winter is long enough, and the heavy snow lasts, fish eventually run out of oxygen to breathe and die.
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