Animals
S


Magnify

New Zealand fishermen catch rare colossal squid


UK Independent
Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:00 UTC


©AP
Notice that the body of the squid is flattened out and extends way to the back in this photo.

Comment: Interesting that, just recently, a Giant Squid was caught by Japanese researchers and now a Colossal Squid has been caught. Is something driving these squid up from their deep water ranges?

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Health

Dead birds everywhere, "experts" claim to be stumped


Idaho Observer
Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:21 UTC
It wasn't "experts" who figured out that when a canary stops singing and starts teetering on his perch, its time to get out of the coal mine. Not surprisingly, the "experts" claim they cannot determine conclusively why reports from all over the world describe flocks of birds dying by the thousands. The forensic sciences have improved to a point that causes of death can be accurately determined upon autopsy - if the death is not political. Recent bird kills have been reported in Idaho, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Australia, Turkey, SE Asia and Africa. Though the dead birds in SE Asia, Turkey and Africa have been blamed on "bird flu," the causes of death remain mysteries in the U.S. and Australia.
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Bizarro Earth

Dead fish flood shores at Salton Sea


California Desert Sun
Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:21 UTC


©Desert Sun

Cold snap [or global COOLING?] blamed for winter die-off

Last month's cold snap has caused waves of dead fish to flood shores along the Salton Sea in a rare winter die-off.

It's unclear how many of the sea's estimated 200 million fish perished, but hundreds of thousands of rotting fish floated along the shoreline at Desert Shores on Friday.

"It smells worse than cow (manure)," Desert Shores resident Chuck Friedly said Friday.
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Bomb

Mystery illness killing U.S. honeybees


Xinhua
Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:45 UTC
A mystery ailment labled Colony Collapse Disorder is killing tens of thousands of honeybee colonies across America.

The illness -- reported in at least 22 states -- is threatening the livelihood of beekeepers, honey production and possibly crops that need bees for pollination.
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Attention

Emergency relief for Sweden's starving reindeer

AFP
Terradaily.com
Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:48 UTC
STOCKHOLM- Sweden said Wednesday it would give its reindeer herders millions of euros (dollars) in emergency aid to help them feed their animals, which are starving because of thick ice that is preventing them from reaching the lichen they eat.

"You can't just stand by and watch animals starve," Agriculture Minister Eskil Erlandsson said in a statement as his ministry earmarked 37 million kronor (4.06 million euros, 5.3 million dollars) in aid.
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No Entry

Hundreds Of Sharks Prompt Warnings in Florida

Associated Press
local6.com
Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:31 UTC
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Visitors to Palm Beach are being advised not to go in the water because of shark sightings.

Warnings posted said hundreds of bull sharks and lemon sharks have been seen swimming along the surf, the sand bar and farther out in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Clock

Hibernating Animals Suffer Dangerous Wakeup Calls Due to Warming

Scott Norris
National Geographic
Sun, 04 Feb 2007 11:08 UTC
Sun-worshipping humans might welcome the news, but for groundhogs and other hibernating animals, a longer winter could be a blessing.

A recent trend toward increasingly mild winters is disrupting normal hibernation patterns for many high-latitude and high-elevation species-and in some cases it may be a matter of life or death.

From marmots in the Rocky Mountains to bears in the Moscow Zoo, animals are spending less time napping. The change may be placing some species fatally out of synch with their environment.

When animals hibernate they're able to conserve the energy stored in their fat during periods when food is scarce. So when they are abnormally active, they risk using up their stored energy before they can replace it.
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Health

Post mortem on dead WA birds completed - Deaths Still a Mystery

David Weber
abc.au
Fri, 02 Feb 2007 08:36 UTC
This is a transcript from The World Today. The program is broadcast around Australia at 12:10pm on ABC Local Radio.
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Fish

High DDT levels found off Calif. coast


Associated Press
Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:08 UTC
Los Angeles - Fish caught off Los Angeles County's coast still contain high levels of banned DDT decades after a manufacturer dumped tons of the pesticide into sewers, creating a toxic plume on the ocean bottom.

There has been no improvement since the last regional fish survey was conducted in the late 1980s, according to a federal survey based on data collected mainly in 2002 but only recently released.
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Bomb

Another Massive duck die-off

Tiffany Revelle
Record-Bee
Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:52 UTC
NORTH SHORE -- Another duck die-off hit the waters of Clear Lake this weekend, claiming 1,145 waterfowl as of 4 p.m. Experts are tentatively saying avian cholera is the culprit this time, pending lab confirmation.

Avian cholera affects birds so quickly that they have been known to sometimes literally drop out of the sky or die while swimming, according to the National Wildlife Health Center. Approximately 40 percent of the affected birds die; those who don't become carriers.
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