Animals
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Binoculars

Bean goose from Eurasia takes a wrong turn and winds up on the Oregon Coast

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© Sarah Swanson A tundra bean-goose (top) has been spotted at the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
A bird rarely seen in North America has turned a small bay on the Oregon Coast into a major destination for bird watchers this winter.

Sarah Swanson and her husband Max Smith run a blog in Portland called the Must-See Bird Blog. They tried to explain what it's like to spot a tundra bean-goose at Nestucca Bay in Oregon.

"It's just so exciting, I'm trying to compare it something for a non-birder," Swanson said.

"Maybe it's like running into a celebrity at the mall, someone you've always idolized," Smith suggested.

Yes, in the celebrity news of bird watching this has been a top story. It's the first-ever confirmed sighting of a tundra bean-goose in the lower 48. Usually these brown and gray geese spend their winters in Asia and Europe.

In birding parlance, seeing one here is a "mega-rarity."


Binoculars

Warbler that should be wintering in western Mexico turns up in Louisiana

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Lucy's Warbler. It is normally found in the Sonoran desert and winters along the Pacific coast of northern Mexico.
A bird rarely seen in Louisiana was among 130 species heard or spotted on Grand Isle during the National Audubon Society's annual winter bird count.

A Lucy's warbler, which normally lives in the U.S. Southwest or in Mexico, was the exciting find of the day on Grand Isle, said Chris Brantley, who organized the count on Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island and one of nearly 30 planned around Louisiana between mid-December and Jan. 5.

There are only a few records of the bird ever being seen in Louisiana, Brantley said.
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Range Map

Comment: Similar recent reports of birds losing their way across the Northern Hemisphere: Four lost flamingos fly NORTH for the winter and turn up in Siberia

Wrong place, wrong time: European robin turns up thousands of miles away in China

Rare bird from Mongolia turns up in Wakefield, UK

Wrong time, wrong place: Rare bird found in Barrie, Canada


Attention

Second dead whale found in December on Odisha Coast, India

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In the second incident of its kind this month, the carcass of a large whale was found at the Gouda Nuagaon beach under Krushnaprasad block near Brahmagiri in Odisha's Puri district today.

The dead whale measuring around 30 feet in length, 12-15 feet in girth and weighing approximately 10 tonnes was sighted by villagers at about 2 pm today.

Curious villagers have gathered in huge numbers on the beach to have a glimpse of the large aquatic mammal. Awestruck by the size of the dead creature, the villagers said they had never seen anything like in their lifetime.

Comment: See also: Dead sperm whale found off Odisha coast, India


Attention

Second manatee found dead in a month, South Mississippi

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This is the manatee that washed ashore in Waveland
Marine biologists are in Waveland this morning. They rushed to Hancock County after getting reports that a dead manatee washed ashore.

Representatives from IMMS say this is the second manatee to be found in Mississippi waters this month. They call this a "very unusual" trend, because during the winter, manatees aren't normally in the northern Gulf of Mexico. They usually migrate to Florida.

According to the Save the Manatee Club, "Manatees can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas - particularly where seagrass beds or freshwater vegetation flourish. Manatees are a migratory species. Within the United States, they are concentrated in Florida in the winter. In summer months, they can be found as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts, but summer sightings in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina are more common."

Manatees are an endangered species.

Comment: See also: Manatee from Florida makes rare visit to Texas waters


Wolf

Indiana man killed by his own pit bull terrier on Christmas Day

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A 40-year-old man who gave his pit bull a rawhide bone as a Christmas gift was attacked and killed by the dog.

Edward L. Cahill was found dead on the living room floor with bite marks on his arms and face, the Porter County coroner said. Cahill was home alone with his two pit bulls on Christmas morning when he gave Fat Boy a bone. When his wife arrived home later in the afternoon, she found Cahill in a pool of blood and the dog nearby.


Attention

Four lost flamingos fly north for the winter and turn up in Siberia

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Chilly: One flamingo was spotted ambling along the snowy bank of the Usa River in Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo region
It could be a severe case of bird-bird, or strange weather patterns causing confusion, but at the moment scientists remain baffled about instances of flamingos flying north to bitterly cold Siberia for the winter, instead of south.

Four flamingos recently touched down in various parts of Siberia, to the astonishment of locals, in temperatures as low as -30C.

One landed in the Evenkia district of vast Krasnoyarsk region, which is just 310 miles south of the Arctic circle.

Comment: See also: Wrong place, wrong time: European robin turns up thousands of miles away in China

Rare bird from Mongolia turns up in Wakefield, UK

Wrong time, wrong place: Rare bird found in Barrie, Canada


Attention

Wild elephant kills yet another individual in Sri Lanka

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An individual has been killed yesterday (21st) in a wild elephant attack in Uhana area.

The remains of the victim are lying at Ampara Hospital. The post-mortem is yet to be conducted.

Uhana Police are conducting further investigations in to the incident.

Comment: Since August elephants on the island of Sri Lanka seems to be going berserk for some reason: Wild elephant kills yet another person in Sri Lanka

Third elephant attack within 3 days in Sri Lanka: Two killed in jumbo attack

Father and son killed in elephant attack, Sri Lanka

2 people killed in another elephant attack in Sri Lanka

Wild elephant attacks kills two in Sri Lanka

One person killed in wild elephant attack in Sri Lanka

Fourth elephant attack within four weeks in Sri Lanka

Two killed in a wild elephant attack in Maankulam, Sri Lanka


Attention

Circus elephant kills 12-year-old boy in Vietnam

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The elephant that killed the boy.
A 12-year-old boy was killed by an elephant from a travelling circus troupe on Tuesday in Dak Mil district's Duc Manh commune.

Nguyen Van Luat was feeding the elephant while it was chained up in preparation for that evening's show when the 40-year-old animal grabbed him with its trunk and crushed it under its foot, according to chairman of the communal people's committee Du Van The.

The elephant keeper rushed out to save the boy, but it was too late.

Binh Minh circus troupe, which comes from northern Thai Binh Province, arrived in the commune on Monday during its tour of Viet Nam.

Pham Thanh Cao, deputy head of the troupe, said the boy and his friend were annoying the elephant. He admitted that the troupe had not taken any protective measures.

The case is currently under investigation.

Attention

Dead minke whale found near Dam Neck Naval base, Virginia

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© Virginia AquariumFemale Minke whale.
Virginia Aquarium responders found a stranded whale in Virginia Beach Wednesday morning.

The female Minke whale was dead when the aquarium's stranding response team arrived near Dam Neck Naval base. It was about 14 feet long. Heavy equipment on the base is assisting moving the animal above the high tide line and the stranding team will conduct a necropsy Friday morning.

The program is supported by the Virginia Aquarium Foundation through donations from the community, and grant-making organizations. To report a dead or live stranded marine mammal or sea turtle call the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program 24-hour hotline at (757) 437-6159.

Attention

Bear attacks increase in Annapurna, Nepal

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Asiatic black bear
A significant increase has been noticed in the tendency of Asian black bear entering human settlements, damaging crops and attacking humans in Annapurna Conservation Area which is said to be a suitable habitat for the animal, according to a survey conducted by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP).

The study carried out a year ago has shown an increase in the incident of bear attacks, raising questions about security of local residents in the area.

Local people who enter nearby forests in the region to collect fodder are falling victim to bear attacks. Bhadra Bir Nepali, 41, of Parche was attacked last August when he went to collect fodder for his livestock. Likewise, Bal Bahadur Gurung of Dhampus was also seriously injured in a bear attack in the same month.