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Thu, 16 Sep 2021
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Attention

528 died in human-elephant conflict in the Indian state of Odisha in last 5 years

Hrusikesh Mohanty
Down To Earth
Fri, 16 Apr 2021 14:08 UTC
Charging elephant
© Getty
Charging elephant
Around a quarter of these deaths occurred during summer season between April and June

As many as 528 people died and 443 sustained injuries in human-elephant conflicts in Odisha in the last five years, according to the data shared by the Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO), a non-profit working in the wildlife sector.

Around a quarter of these casualties (118) occurred during the summer season between April and June.

The WSO analysed human deaths by the pachyderms from April 2017 to April 14, 2021.

As many as five persons died in the state and the same number sustained injuries in the first two weeks of April this year, sources said. Debendra Badhei (53) from Bargarh district's Khalliamunda village died as recently as April 14.
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Wolf

Australia dingo attack: toddler airlifted to hospital after being mauled on Fraser Island


The Guardian
Sun, 18 Apr 2021 18:43 UTC
A dingo on the beach a Fraser Island.
© Lachie Millard
A dingo on the beach a Fraser Island.
Boy, 2, suffers bites to leg, arm, neck and shoulder and lacerations on back of head

A two-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital after being mauled by a dingo on Fraser Island when he wandered away from a house while his family was asleep on Saturday.

The boy suffered wounds to his leg, arm, the base of his neck, his shoulder and also had a laceration at the base of his head, a Fraser Island paramedic said.

He was flown to the Bundaberg hospital with his mother.

"The child has managed somehow to get out of the house that the family was staying at while other members of the family were ... asleep," said the paramedic, who did not want to be named.
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Snowflake

Brrrrr! - Storks in Europe nesting in the snow


Ice Age Now
Thu, 15 Apr 2021 13:30 UTC
snow
After their long journey from tropical Africa, these poor fellows arrived at the wrong time.

The stork is a symbol of Central Europe. Their population numbers several thousand individuals. Each spring, these majestic large birds make a long journey from tropical Africa. But sometimes they arrive at the wrong time ...

During these April days, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland were covered with snow. The height of freshly fallen snow reaches 10-15 cm (4 to 6 inches).

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Doberman

Owner attacked by pit bull dies of injuries in Thailand

Neill Fronde
The Thaiger
Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:24 UTC
PIT BULL ATTACK
The owner, attacked by his pet pit bull in the Pattaya suburb of Bang Lamung yesterday, has died of the injuries sustained in the attack. The horrific incident which occurred in the early hours of yesterday morning had shocked the family, who had raised the now 2 year old dog Giant since he was only 3 months old.

Wisit Sanguan, the 56 year old victim had been sleeping with Giant when the pit bull suddenly woke and viciously attacked the sleeping man. Wisit was brought to the hospital with severe bleeding from bites on his neck and body, and today doctors at the local hospital in Pattaya pronounced him dead. The cause of death was listed as loss of blood due to severe wounds from the attack, his wife confirmed in a statement this morning.
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Attention

Two pygmy sperm whales die after washing up on Mahia Beach, New Zealand

Georgia-May Gilbertson
Stuff
Wed, 14 Apr 2021 09:29 UTC
A pygmy sperm whale about four metres in length beached itself at Mahia beach on April 10.
© JULIA LEPORACE
A pygmy sperm whale about four metres in length beached itself at Mahia beach on April 10.
A pygmy sperm whale was euthanised and another, which appeared injured, died after washing up on Mahia beach

The Department of Conservation (DOC) received a report that two pygmy sperm whales were stranded on Mahia Beach in the morning on April 9.

One measured two metres in length and the other four metres, which suggested they may have been an adult and a calf. Both were back out at sea before DOC arrived onsite.

But DOC east coast operations manager Chris Visser​ said the smaller whale beached itself again a few hours later.
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Question

Mystery over sheep standing in concentric circles

Alex Winter
The Sun, UK
Sat, 10 Apr 2021 22:27 UTC
Mysterious photos that show a flock of sheep standing in a bizarre circle pattern have baffled social media users.

And the man who spotted the strange phenomenon says he initially believed it was a spaceship like "something out of the X Files".
Sheep Circle
© Jam Press
A dad out for a cycle was baffled after spotting a flock of sheep gathered in a circle.
Christopher Hogg, of village Rottingdean in East Sussex, was out on his bike when he saw the sheep gathered together.

The 47-year-old said: "I was on my daily cycle when I came over the hill and saw this magnificent circle.

"At that point I was about half a mile away, which made me think that whatever it was, it was huge.

"It was saucer-shaped, like an alien ship.

"And it was beautiful - but also a bit too weird for comfort.

"I cycled a bit closer and then realised the circle was made of sheep."

Comment: Also in the news recently: 'Wormnado': Herd of hundreds of worms captured moving in spiral baffles scientists

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Info

Researchers want to talk to spiders

Isaac Schultz
Gizmodo
Tue, 13 Apr 2021 19:20 UTC
Spider Web
© UWE ZUCCHI/DPA/AFP via Getty Images (Getty Images)
Spiders read their environment by sensing vibrations with their hairy legs.
If you think working from home is hard, consider the spider, who lives at work in a house it built. Arachnids use their intricate webs to trap meals, navigating across the structure using the vibrations it senses through the hairs on its legs.

Today, a team of researchers at MIT report that they've translated those vibrations into musical tones. What's more, they raise the prospect of someday communicating with spiders, using their vibrational world as a medium for language.

The team presented their research today during the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society. To figure out the sounds of a spider web, they hosted a spider in their lab and laser-scanned the web it constructed in two-dimensional cross-sections.

"Spiders live in this vibrational universe... they live in this world of vibrations and frequencies, which we can now access," said paper co-author Markus Buehler, a materials scientist at MIT, in a phone call. "One of the things we can do with this instrument with this approach is we can, for the first time, begin to feel a little bit like a spider or experience the world like the spider does."
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Attention

Three dead whales found on one of Ireland's most scenic beaches

STEPHEN MAGUIRE
Irish Examiner
Mon, 12 Apr 2021 11:33 UTC
One of the beached whales in Tra Mór in Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal.

One of the beached whales in Tra Mór in Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal.
Locals have been left shocked after three whales were washed up on one of the country's most scenic beaches.

Tra Mór in Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal was named in the top ten Irish beaches by the Lonely Planet guide this week.

However, walkers were left stunned at the weekend when they came across the whales washed up on the beach.

The three large carcasses are believed to be that of two adult and one juvenile Cuvier's beaked whales The three whales measure around 6ft, 10ft and 10ft, and two of them have scarring around their bodies.
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Bug

Billions of Cicadas to invade District of Columbia after 17 years underground

Michelle Stoddart
ABC News
Mon, 12 Apr 2021 14:44 UTC
cicada
© STOCK IMAGE/Joseph Squillante/Getty Images
A cicada climbs on a tree trunk in an undated stock image.
Entomologist Eric Day says the insects could create a "substantial noise issue" in some communities.

In April 2004, "Mean Girls" was playing in theaters and "Yeah!" by Usher was topping the Billboard music charts.

At the same time, around the mid-Atlantic region, small holes in the ground were opening up from which billions of bulky, red-eyed, winged insects would emerge, readying for a bacchanal of singing and mating -- and reminding humans of a horror movie.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Dead whale shark washed ashore in New South Wales, Australia

Jacob McMaster
Magnet
Tue, 06 Apr 2021 12:49 UTC
The carcass of a whale shark found washed up on Terrace Beach by regular holiday visitors.

The carcass of a whale shark found washed up on Terrace Beach by regular holiday visitors.
The remains of what appears to be a juvenile whale shark have washed up on Terrace Beach near Eden on Tuesday April 6.

Whale sharks are the largest fish species in the world and can grow to 10-15 metres, but Matt Azzopardi and his family who reported it to Fisheries and National Parks measured it to around four metres.

"It was an incredible experience - we thought it was still alive coz it was rolling in the surf," Matt said.

"It was quite surreal to see it, I paced it out myself to a conservative three and a half metres to over four metres."

Fisheries have since measured it to almost exactly five metres.

Matt made the find with his partner Allison Falzon and their two sons Mason and Jakim, sharing video to their Facebook page Shotgun Odyssey - Travel Oz.

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