The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources received numerous reports from the public regarding dead Cape seals washed ashore as well as living seals that appear to be lost or hungry along the coast.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources therefore wishes to inform the public that these scenarios are natural and occur more frequent during the August to February period.

The Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) is endemic to the Southern African region (southern Angola to the west coast of South Africa). About 60 percent of the Southern African population occurs in Namibia along the coastline on twenty-six colonies, some of which are situated on islands and others on land. To date, Namibia has about 1.2 million Cape fur seals, which is the highest recorded population estimate.

The period between November and December is a breeding season for seals and during this period many pups from the previous breeding season are weaned and expected to fend for themselves. Some pups find it difficult to survive on their own in the new environment, hence they starve and die, while others get lost and end up in strange places, such as towns, instead of going back to their colonies, stated the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.

"At the breeding colonies, new-born pups usually die from being abandoned by their mothers or from injuries incurred during bull fights. Furthermore, pups that are born on islands are at a high risk of drowning during high tides. Mortalities may also result from viral or bacterial infections," the ministry said.

"Thus, it is normal to encounter dead and lost seal pups along the coastline during this time of the year. Besides natural causes of death, anthropogenic induced mortality, especially littering from fishing gear, especially nylon material, results in snares that entangle body parts (e.g. neck). As the entangled animal grows, the snare cuts through the flesh suffocating the animal leading to death (when neck entangled). Flipper entanglement disables the seal causing it to drown," Charlie Matengu the spokesman at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources stated on Wednesday.

The ministry acknowledges and shares the concerns of the public. However, this is a natural phenomenon and very little can be done as it is extremely difficult to rear seal pups outside of their natural environment. Therefore, the ministry advises the public (as per the Marine Resources Act of 2000, section 32 (1)) not to touch or remove seals from their natural habitat.

"The ministry's officials will continue to closely monitor the population and any abnormal mortalities observed shall be communicated to the public," Matengu assured in the statement.

Disaster management officials say they have removed about 300 dead seals from Kommetjie Beach in Cape Town.

A high tide or extreme wind conditions probably caused the animals to be washed off Seal Island on Thursday night and officials say it is not a particularly unusual phenomenon.

Hundreds of dead seals are scattered around the peninsula from Strandfontein as far as Kommetjie.

Those passing by say the mammals have been laying there for hours.

An onlooker who drives past Muizenberg Beach everyday says he spotted the seals on the shore at 7am.

According to disaster management's Johannes Solomons-Johannes, there are more 100 dead seals which must still be removed between Strandfontein and Monwabisi Beach.

Meanwhile, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) says it is not that unusual for dead seals to wash ashore in Cape Town at this time of year.

However, it is surprised by the sheer number of carcasses which washed up on the False Bay coastline.

SPCA spokesperson Brett Glasby says the City of Cape Town is conducting a clean-up.

"These high winds and high seas washed over the Seal Island and seem to wash off any of the young seals that can't swim and any seals that have died on the island," he says.

For the first time since records began being kept in Florida in the 1970s, the number of manatee deaths in a single year has topped 800, with two weeks remaining to the end of 2013.

Numbers released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg this week showed the number of dead manatees at 803 as of Dec. 13. That's about 16 percent of the state's estimated population of 5,000 manatees.

And 173 of the dead were breeding-age female manatees, Martine DeWit of the institute's Marine Mammal Pathology Laboratory said Thursday.

Although it's too soon to say how this will affect the future of the species, she said, "It must have an impact to lose these important breeding females."

For comparison, last year's total number of manatee deaths was 392, which is more in line with what's normal.

The old record for manatee deaths, set in 2010, resulted from a lengthy cold snap that killed hundreds of manatees, pushing that year's number of deaths to 766. That cold snap mostly affected younger manatees that had not yet attained breeding age, DeWit said.

This year's record die-off was driven by two causes - one of which remains a mystery.

A 13-year-old girl suffered a vicious 25-minute attack by two kangaroos while out jogging in the bush in Australia.

Jade Bassett was left bleeding with deep scratches down her legs as well as injuries to her face and arm after confronting the two eastern grey kangaroos in bushland in Oakhampton in the Hunter region of New South Wales.

Her grandfather, Kevin Henderson, had taken her to the track and sat down on a bench to wait for her to return from a 15-minute run.

Bassett had only jogged about 10 metres when she spotted kangaroos, two of which she said were "really big" and one slightly smaller, though still bigger than her.

As she ran towards them they did not move, which Bassett said she found strange, but did not give it much thought as she ran around them.

As she ran past one bounded up beside her and she moved to let it reach the scrub.

"I thought it was weird but I kept running. You usually don't see them beside you, they usually move away," she said.

"I kept going and then I heard a really loud, grunting, hissing, sound. It scared the absolute nutter out of me."

The footage of a woman being attacked by an animal she had saved is so extreme you might initially question its validity, but the Melvin, Mich., victim has the wounds to prove it and is speaking out, in somewhat unlikely terms, about the animal.

That animal? A cat.

The woman identified by WJBK-TV only as Maxx said the cat was a stray she had taken in over the summer and named Buddy. But in late November after Buddy attacked her mom's dog, Maxx tried to shoo it away, kicking snow at it at one point.

Captured on her home security camera, the cat, enraged by the snow, launched itself at Maxx and her pink pajamas.

The Wildlife Investigations Lab has been involved in the investigation of three cases of severe mite infestation, or mange, affecting subadult golden eagles in central California. Two cases were reported to WIL by SPCA for Monterey County in December 2012 and August 2013, while a third case was reported by biologists with the East Bay Regional Park District, also in August 2013. The eagles had significant feather loss and crusting of the skin on their head, neck, legs, and lower abdomen.

Severe mite infestation is unusual in birds and especially uncommon in adult birds. The degree of feather loss and infestation exhibited by these golden eagles has not been previously documented. Mange likely affects the eagle's ability to maintain normal body temperature and they may have difficulty obtaining food, becoming weakened, possibly increasing their susceptibility to trauma or other disease.We are currently working with researchers from the East Bay Regional Park District, SPCA for Monterey County, and the University of California, Davis to thoroughly document these cases, identify the mite, and evaluate any underlying health conditions.

The public is urged to notify the California Department of Fish and Wildlife if additional golden eagles, or other raptors, are seen with severe feather loss. If you find a live-eagle on the ground, do not attempt to capture the bird yourself, as these birds can be extremely dangerous; rather, please contact your local licensed wildlife rehabilitation center for assistance.

The raptor displays symptoms of four others which died in Utah this month.

Mitch Lane was expecting a dead bald eagle when he responded to a report from a waterfowl hunter. His first glance at the raptor from across the river seemed to confirm the report.

But once the conservation officer with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) reached the eagle he found the bird was alive. How long it remains alive is another matter.

Lane picked up the live bald eagle Saturday in an area along the Weber River in West Weber, close to where another eagle was collected on Dec. 1. The eagle retrieved earlier - and at least three others from wide-ranging locations - eventually died from a yet unknown cause.
"There were a lot of eagles in the area this time of year. This one was on the ground and had his wings spread out; he looked dead from a distance," Lane said. "When I got closer it was obvious it was still alive."

San Francisco police and Animal Care and Control were called out to Lake Merced on Tuesday morning to clean up the scene of what appeared to be an animal sacrifice, officials said.

Police were contacted about 11 a.m. regarding two dead animals seemingly sacrificed in the area of John Muir Drive and Lake Merced Boulevard, Officer Gordon Shyy said. Police then forwarded the call to the Animal Care and Control department.

Once there, ACC officers determined that the two animals were chukars, a type of partridge, which can generally be found at live food markets sold as game birds, spokeswoman Deb Campbell said.

Rajbiraj: The death of scores of goats in the past two weeks in Rajbiraj has got farmers of Saptari worried.

The goats have suddenly started dying one after another in Sitapur, Tairahauta, Prasabanni, and Pato among other VDCs in the district.

According to Dik Bahadur Moktan, a farmer of Tairahauta-5, the goats die within two to three days after they start a fever.

"Their chins are swollen, they salivate excessively, and accumulate water in their lungs before they die," he added. Though we have informed the livestock service centre, they have not taken any initiative so far, he said.

Moktan, who has lost three dozen goats within a fortnight, said his family depended on the income from goats. "I don't know how to pay back the loan and feed my children now."

Likewise, Bishwonath Mandal has lost more than half-a-dozen goats in two days. "When we reported to the Livestock Service Sub-Centre Pato, they said there was no medicine available," he said. About 100 goats have died in the past two days in Pato VDC.

Rajlal Pandit, a technician at the centre, said the situation would not have gotten so bad if the goats had received timely treatment. He suspects the cattle might be suffering from PPR.

On par with a mammoth influx of juvenile Snowy Owls in North America (involving at least 750 so far), the UK has experienced its largest-ever influx of first-year Ivory Gulls from the Arctic ice-shelf.


Following the first off Seaburn (County Durham) on 30th November, an unprecedented five more have been discovered since......