Animals
S


Fish

California, US: Harbor porpoises' deaths a mystery to wildlife experts

Julia Scott
Bay Area News Group
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:56 UTC
A large number of dead harbor porpoises have been washing up on beaches in San Mateo County and elsewhere in the Bay Area this summer, and marine mammal experts are at a loss to explain what could be killing them.

A total of 24 harbor porpoises "12 males, 9 females, and three still in utero" have been discovered by beachcombers since early June, according to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. More carcasses are likely to show up in August.

"It's the tip of the iceberg. These are open ocean animals. For every one we find dead there are probably many others that are out there," said Mary Jane Schramm, spokeswoman for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
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Attention

Orkney: Probe into mystery bird illness


BBC News
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:12 UTC
An investigation is under way after dozens of dead and dying seabirds were found on Orkney.

The birds - greater black-backed gulls - seemed to be suffering from an illness which first made them lethargic and unable to fly, then killed them.
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Bizarro Earth

Colorado: Mountain lion snatches dog from owners' bedroom


KUSA
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:02 UTC
JEFFERSON COUNTY - A family was stunned when a mountain lion entered their home early Monday morning, killed one of their dogs right beside their bed, and carried it off into the night. The dog was a 12-year-old yellow lab named 'Scout.'
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Fish

Ancient sea turtles jeopardized by poachers, fisheries

Reese Halter
The Calgary Herald
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:29 UTC
Sea turtles are ancient, but not primitive. Having evolved on land some 200 million years ago, they spend their entire lives at sea except to lay eggs on rugged beaches around the globe.

Leatherback turtles are the largest of the seven seafaring species and they are truly remarkable, most worthy of admiration and in need of protection.

Leatherbacks are Earth's last warm-blooded reptiles and their weight can easily exceed one ton.
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Info

'Lost world' of gorillas discovered in the Congo

Priya Shetty
New Scientist
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:57 UTC
The discovery of a critically endangered gorilla population in the vast forests of northern Congo is a mammoth 125,000 - double that of previous estimates - should make even the most pessimistic conservation biologist smile.

Western lowlands gorillas.
©WCS
Western lowlands gorillas.

The numbers of western lowland gorillas living across 47,000 square kilometres of dense forestland were thought to have plummeted from 100,000 to half that number since the 1980s.

Just last year, the threat from the deadly ebola virus and indiscriminate bushmeat hunters prompted the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to add the apes to their critically endangered list.

The results of the census by the Wildlife Conservation Society and local government researchers were announced today at a meeting of the International Primatological Society in Edinburgh, UK.
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Bizarro Earth

U.S. Long Beach Jellyfish Invasion


CBS News
Sat, 02 Aug 2008 19:07 UTC
In the waters off Long Beach, N.Y., swimmers aren't the only ones enjoying the surf: Jellyfish are showing up in droves.

"We were here a few weeks ago and there were a lot of jellyfish. We didn't even go in the water. It was horrible," one teen told CBS News correspondent Susan Koeppen.
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Cow Skull

Ivory Poaching At Critical Levels: Elephants On Path To Extinction By 2020?


Science Daily
Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:21 UTC
African elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory at a pace unseen since an international ban on the ivory trade took effect in 1989. But the public outcry that resulted in that ban is absent today, and a University of Washington conservation biologist contends it is because the public seems to be unaware of the giant mammals' plight.

Elephant tusks
©William Clark
Elephant tusks seized by authorities lie next to weapons used by poachers, including rocket-propelled grenades used against rangers who protect the elephants.

But the poaching death rate in the late 1980s was based on a population that numbered more than 1 million. Today the total African elephant population is less than 470,000.

"If the trend continues, there won't be any elephants except in fenced areas with a lot of enforcement to protect them," said Wasser.
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Syringe

U.K. stranded whale to be put to sleep


RIA Novosti
Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:40 UTC
U.K. firemen and ecologists have failed to save the life of a northern bottlenose whale stuck on mudflats in Langstone, Hampshire, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue organization said on Friday.

Over 30 people battled to save the six-ton whale for about 12 hours, until tests revealed the creature was suffering from irreversible renal failure, caused by dehydration and hunger. Its condition was also aggravated by the compression of its organs under its own body weight.

Although the whale was successfully refloated, it was too late to save its life.
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X

Minnesota, US: Bear with jar on head shot dead

Jessica Salter
The Telegraph
Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:08 UTC
A hungry bear was shot dead by wildlife officials after getting its head stuck in a plastic jar and wandering into a busy town.

Image
©AP
A wild black bear whose head got stuck inside a 2-gallon clear plastic jug

The wild black bear is thought to have been foraging for food when its head became stuck inside a 2.5 gallon (9.5 litre) clear plastic jar that usually holds sweets or popcorn.

The two-year-old animal could breathe but could not eat or drink and was probably suffering from dehydration and hunger.
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Bizarro Earth

Florida: Family dog dies after suffering more than 1,000 bee stings

Bea Karnes
Associated Press
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:39 UTC
A painful sting for a Florida family whose beloved dog was attacked and killed by a swarm of bees. It happened in Largo, Florida Monday and authorities say the day's overcast skies may have stirred up the bee hive.

Image
©Unknown
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