The mysterious nighttime meetings of snakes on an Ozark hilltop have taken a puzzling new turn.
For the past two summers, dozens of Southern copperhead snakes have appeared beneath a cedar tree at Chuck Miller's rugged mountaintop home in Marion County. Like clockwork, the snakes arrived suddenly around 8 p. m., stayed for an hour or so, and then disappeared.
But things are different this summer. Instead of making their first appearance in mid-July, as they did in 2005 and 2006, the snakes began showing up in August. And their numbers are down significantly.
Animals
The number of trees infected with sudden oak death in California is increasing, and the disease has reached epidemic levels along the coast, researchers say.
The oak-killing pathogen is firmly established in 14 counties - including Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Alameda - and the number of infected trees in these counties is escalating, University of California researchers reported Friday.
The oak-killing pathogen is firmly established in 14 counties - including Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Alameda - and the number of infected trees in these counties is escalating, University of California researchers reported Friday.
The first break in the CCD mystery is about to be released.
Researchers at Penn State, the USDA and Columbia University have had a research paper accepted by Science magazine that outlines the first published information on a possible cause of Colony Collapse Disorder ... commonly known as CCD. But Science and for the most part the researchers are being tight-lipped about what's in that paper. The secrecy surrounding this research has been extraordinary and some of the activities of the researchers has left us scratching our heads.
Researchers at Penn State, the USDA and Columbia University have had a research paper accepted by Science magazine that outlines the first published information on a possible cause of Colony Collapse Disorder ... commonly known as CCD. But Science and for the most part the researchers are being tight-lipped about what's in that paper. The secrecy surrounding this research has been extraordinary and some of the activities of the researchers has left us scratching our heads.
Dozens of dead dolphins washing up along the Mediterranean coast have alerted environmentalists to a virus they fear will become an epidemic, El Mundo newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The region's striped dolphins, a protected species, are being infected with a virus which has not been identified and has so far killed several dozen animals along the coast and may spread, the report said, quoting environmental experts.
The region's striped dolphins, a protected species, are being infected with a virus which has not been identified and has so far killed several dozen animals along the coast and may spread, the report said, quoting environmental experts.
A tropical algae thriving on fertilisers from hotel golf courses and badly treated sewage is killing one of Costa Rica's most important coastal reefs, scientists say.
The green, feather-like algae is spreading along the reefs of Culebra Bay in Costa Rica's north-western Gulf of Papagayo, a popular scuba diving spot and home to a rare species of coral. The algae blocks the sunlight and suffocates the reefs.
The green, feather-like algae is spreading along the reefs of Culebra Bay in Costa Rica's north-western Gulf of Papagayo, a popular scuba diving spot and home to a rare species of coral. The algae blocks the sunlight and suffocates the reefs.
If you hate creepy-crawlies, you might want to avoid Lake Tawakoni State Park where a 200-yard stretch along a nature trail has been blanketed by a sprawling spider web that has engulfed seven large trees, dozens of bushes and even the weedy ground.
But if you hate mosquitoes, you might just love this bizarre web.
But if you hate mosquitoes, you might just love this bizarre web.
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| ©STAR-TELEGRAM / Tom Pennington |
| Lake Tawakoni State Park rangers Mike McCord, left, and Freddie Gowin monitor the growth of a giant communal spider web at the park Tuesday. The web, rare for Texas, has formed over the past several weeks. |
Peru's Natural Resources Institute (INRENA) has reported that since the earthquake which struck Peru's southern coast and devastated most of the Ica Region, 60 percent of the sea lion population, which lived on Paracas Bay, has disappeared.
Representative for INRENA Protected Areas, Luis Alfaro, told Peru's Andina News Agency, "We can only see 50 sea lions where there used to be 150."
Representative for INRENA Protected Areas, Luis Alfaro, told Peru's Andina News Agency, "We can only see 50 sea lions where there used to be 150."
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| ©LivinginPeru.com |
| Paracas National Reserve sea lions. |
They were once among the most common sights and sounds of the countryside.
But decades of intensive farming, chemical pollution and habitat loss have taken their toll on some of our bestloved wildlife.
From today, the cuckoo, hedgehog and house sparrow join the official 'priority' list of the UK's most threatened animals.
According to the Government, more than 1,000 plants and animals are under threat from extinction or serious decline - twice the number on the last major conservation list published a decade ago.
But decades of intensive farming, chemical pollution and habitat loss have taken their toll on some of our bestloved wildlife.
From today, the cuckoo, hedgehog and house sparrow join the official 'priority' list of the UK's most threatened animals.
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| ©Unknown |
| Cuckoos are among birds threatened |
According to the Government, more than 1,000 plants and animals are under threat from extinction or serious decline - twice the number on the last major conservation list published a decade ago.
It's not something you see everyday; a two-headed calf is born in Tulare County.
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| ©26KMPH |
Sightings by marine scientists of dolphins in the north Atlantic's Bay of Biscay have dropped off by 80 percent compared to the same period in 2006, a wildlife conservation group said Wednesday.
The alarming drop in numbers of the Bay's three most common species of dolphin -- the striped, bottlenose and common -- can be attributed to one or both of two causes, Clive Martin, senior wildlife officer for the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme, told AFP.
The alarming drop in numbers of the Bay's three most common species of dolphin -- the striped, bottlenose and common -- can be attributed to one or both of two causes, Clive Martin, senior wildlife officer for the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme, told AFP.
