January 6, 2015 - EARTH - The following constitutes the latest reports of unusual and symbolic animal behavior, mass die-offs, beaching and stranding of mammals, and the appearance of rare creatures.
Spate of deep sea beaked whale deaths puzzle experts in Scotland
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| The Cuvier's beaked whale is the world's deepest diving mammal. © AP |
Experts say they are baffled by a spate of mystery deaths around the west coast of Scotland
by the world's deepest diving mammal.
Scientists at the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust says it has
received
many reports over the past two weeks from members the public of
stranded cetaceans. Five were of Cuvier's beaked whales, a species that
is rarely seen due to its offshore distribution.
"Despite being rarely seen however, they are native to Scotland,
preferring offshore deep-water canyons and seamounts where they hunt for squid," said the trust.
"To
our southwest in Ireland, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group have
recorded similarly high numbers of Cuvier's beaked whales. In December,
five were found dead along the west and north coast which accounts for almost 10 per cent of all the records of this species since records began.
"This
brings to 10 the number dead Cuvier's beaked whales found in Scotland
and Ireland since December. Many more will go undetected as the
carcasses may sink or end up in very remote locations.
"There are no obvious clues as to what is causing such a sudden
increase in strandings of this species. While the very intense storms of
mid-December may be partly to blame, this does not explain why we are
finding just one deep-diving species in such high numbers.
"A
similar peak in strandings during 2008 comprised a mix of species -
including Sowerby's beaked whales and pilot whales - but the underlying
cause of this unusual mortality event (of 57 whales) was never
determined."
The HWDT appealed to people to report any dead cetaceans to it.
"Strandings provide a rare an unique insight into the lives of these
poorly understood animals, and may help us to establish more effective
conservation measures towards their protection," it said.
Among the places where Cuvier's beaked whales have recently beached are at Borve Point on Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides.
The Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme has only 37 records of
strandings of the species in Scotland in the past 25 years.
The
whale can grow up to 23 feet and is widely distributed in tropical to
cool temperate waters. Northern Scotland represents their northern-most
limit.
The species is the current world-record holder for the
longest and deepest dive for a mammal - down to 2992 metres for a
staggering two hours and 17 minutes. The pressure at this depth is 300
kg per square centimetre.
Squid form the main part of the Cuvier's beaked whale diet, although they also consume fish and crustaceans.
They can dive for over 30 minutes to reach deep-dwelling prey. Other
than the pair of teeth in adult males, beaked whales are toothless and
are thought to use suction to catch their prey.
There are no
global population estimates for the Cuvier's beaked whale although they
are generally thought to be one of the most abundant of the beaked whale
species.
The main threats include the accumulation of toxic
pollutants in whale tissue and organs, entanglement in fishing nets and
marine litter, and noise disturbance.
They may also swallow
plastic bags mistaken for prey, which can accumulate in the stomach of
the animal causing starvation and eventual death. -
The Scotsman.
Coyote attacks two residents in Groveland, Massachusetts, United States
A coyote attacked at least two people outside their homes in a northern Massachusetts town on Monday night,
sending one man to hospital with bite wounds, according to local police.
The Groveland police department issued a warning on Tuesday to
residents of the town located about 35 miles north of Boston, saying the
animal is on the loose and likely to have rabies.
"We are
asking all residents to be watchful and when outside use extra care for
your safety and the safety of your children and pets," said deputy chief
Jeffrey Gillen.
Coyote attacks on humans are generally rare, but
incidents have increased in some parts of the country in recent years alongside suburban encroachment on wild areas.
Police said the coyote bit one man as he was entering his home with his
4-year-old daughter, leading him to seek emergency treatment at a local
hospital.
The coyote later attacked another homeowner in his
front yard. That resident "had to kick the animal several times before
it left the area," the police said in a press release. -
Reuters.
Deer attacks and injures animal keeper at zoo in India
In a surprise attack,
the
first of its kind at the Nehru Zoological Park, a deer injured an
animal keeper who went to administer medicine to it here on Sunday.
According to zoo officials, the animal keeper, Akbar went to the deer
enclosure and after releasing them into the display area, sought to
administer medicine that were prescribed to a male deer.
In
what the officials describe as mock attempt at aggression, the deer hit
the keeper and pressed him to the compound wall with its antlers.
"There were no major external injuries but as he was pressed with
antlers, Akbar had some discomfort and a bit of internal dislocations.
We rushed him to Yashoda hospital at Malakpet and got him treated.
The zoo is taking care of his treatment costs," the zoo curator, B.N.N.Murthy said.
Usually, deer are reticent in nature and not known to attack, officials said adding that the mock attempt could have been a defensive response when the animal keeper went with medicine. -
The Hindu.
Elephant tramples tea garden guard to death in Dooars, India
A night guard of a Dooars tea garden was killed by a wild tusker while he was patrolling the estate last night.
According to a forest department source, Parbat Dorjee, 50, was working in Hope Tea Estate in Nagrakata.
"While Dorjee was walking in the plantation, a tusker came out of the adjoining forests of Sipchu and trampled him to death. The jumbo then went back to the forest. This morning, local people found the body and informed us," said a forest officer.
In another incident, a tusker came out of the Diana forest last night and damaged two huts in Kalikhola village.
The wild elephant later entered Luksan, a locality nearby, and damaged another house.
The animal's next destination was Grassmore Tea Estate where it damaged 12 huts.
"We fled with our families as the tusker was roaming around damaging
one hut after another. Some of us burst crackers and beat empty
containers, which made the animal move towards the forest," a worker of
Grassmore garden said.
Tapas Das, the conservator of forests
(wildlife, north Bengal), said the department would give compensation to
the deceased night guard's family as well as those whose huts had been
damaged.
In another development, officers of Kathambari forest
beat in the Dooars today trapped an adult female leopard in a small tea
plantation at Kranti near Lataguri.
"The animal had been
roaming around in the plantation for some days. We were informed by
local people and accordingly, a trap was set up. The leopard has been
taken to Gorumara National Park and will be released into the wild after
a medical examination," said Das. -
Telegraph.
Man found dead near New Mexico reservation may have been attacked by dog pack
A
Native American man found dead in a New Mexico field last week near the
Navajo Nation reservation may have been mauled by a pack of as many as
10 dogs, police said on Monday.
Gallup Police Department
spokesman Rick White said the man, who did not have identification on
him but appeared to be in his mid-40s, was found by a passer-by.
"We do not have a definitive cause of death yet but it appears he was
attacked by dogs," White said, although he could not give a precise
cause of death. "There definitely were defense wounds from dog bites."
White said the man may have fought off the dogs then succumbed to the
single digit temperatures in Gallup on Thursday night before his body
was found on Friday. The body was taken to Albuquerque for an autopsy.
Police said animal control officials had received complaints about a
pack of 10 dogs prior to the fatal incident and were trying to catch
them with traps.
The
death is not the first such fatal mauling in the Gallup area and comes
after an elderly man walking in a westside community was mauled by a
pack of dogs four years ago.
Similarly in November, a woman on
the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming died from hypothermia and blood
loss tied to severe injuries inflicted by "multiple dogs," Fremont County Chief Deputy Coroner Mark Stratmoen said in a statement at the time. -
Yahoo.
Hundreds (possibly thousands) of dead snapper fish found, 'a mystery' in Doubtless Bay, New Zealand
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| One of hundreds, possibly thousands, of snapper seen floating on the
surface in Doubtless Bay on December 21. Photo / Mark Osborne |
Taipa
man Mark Osborne wasn't as quick as some to point the finger at
commercial fishermen after he found hundreds of dead snapper floating
over a wide area at the entrance to Doubtless Bay.
He wasn't able to think of any other plausible explanation, however, when he found the fish on December 21.
The water had looked a little odd, he said, possibly as the result of an algal bloom or some such phenomenon.
However, that would not explain why only snapper had succumbed.
Mr Osborne's experience came exactly seven days after scores of dead snapper were found on Tokerau Beach.
Fish were also reported, by other sources, at Maitai Bay and Karikari Beach late last week.
Some of the fish found at Tokerau were described by locals as fresh, as were some seen by Mr Osborne a week later, making it unlikely that they all came from the same source.
Others at both locations had clearly been dead for some time.
Mr Osborne said the fish he saw were exclusively snapper, ranging from legal size to around 3.6kg. He saw no evidence that they had been hooked or suffered net damage.
"There was nothing to suggest they had been thrown overboard from a boat, but given that there were no other species I can't think of any other explanation. It's a bit of a mystery," he said.
"We saw hundreds of them, but I imagine that all up there would have been thousands," he added.
Whatever the cause, a reliably productive fishing spot had that day yielded just one snapper, smaller than the legal minimum.
Meanwhile, further angry contributions have been made to Facebook following the discovery earlier this month of a pile of snapper frames on 90 Mile Beach and dozens of empty paua shells at Tauroa, none of the latter reportedly being of legal size.There is no defence for taking excess or undersized paua, but anyone who had fish frames they didn't want might go to
www.freefishheads.co.nz to be put in touch with someone who would appreciate them, one incensed local said. -
NZ Herald.
Wild elephant kills man in Odisha, India
Following
the killing of a man by a wild elephant, irate villagers of Rasasingha
under Sadar police station blocked the national highway No. 55
paralysing traffic for more than two hours today.
A female
elephant, according to forest department sources, killed Birabar
Parida(50) after she turned furious over the death of her three-year-old
baby last night near the village. The baby elephant was killed by
another tusker.
The shocked mother elephant stayed with the
body of the baby elephant and refused to go away even in the morning.
When the villagers tried to chase her away, she strayed into the village
and found Birabar in her way and killed him instantly.
Enraged
over the incident, more than 200 people, who staged the blockade
between Cuttack-Sambalpur, demanded adequate protection against the
attack from a herd of elephants.
"We
are at the receiving end as a herd of wild elephants has created havoc
in our village for some time. They killed a villager last week and now
took one more life. There is no safeguard to our village
people on behalf of forest department who are callous to our woes. We
live in constant fear and threat from wild animals. We demand full proof
security against the menace," said a villager.
The blockade
continued from 11 am to 1 pm till the senior forest department
authorities reached the spot and assured to take all steps to safeguard
the village from recurrent attacks from the elephants roaming in that
area for some time, according to Inspector-in-Charge of Sadar police
station P. K. Jena.
Divisional forest officer of Dhenkanal P.K.
Sahu who rushed to the spot where the baby elephant died said all steps
are being taken to provide security to the people and drive away the
elephants from the area.
The calf apparently died in the attack
by a tusker in the herd last night after which the mother elephant
became hostile, Sahu added. -
Odisha Channel.
Thousands of fish have died in Sher Shah lake in India
Thousands of fish have died in historical
Sher Shah Suri Lake in Lal Bangla area of the city since Sunday evening.
Local corporator Aditya Shukla said that residents of the area saw dead
fish floating in Sher Shah Suri lake. "Again on Monday morning, we
found thousands of fish lying motionless in the river," he added.
A team from the zonal office of Kanpur Municipal Corporation visited the spot and spread chlorine in the lake.
The residents expressed apprehension about the fish being given
poison
which proved fatal. "There may be chances of fish being poisoned as
even big fish too have died. The count being high and it is not possible
for pollutant or contamination in water to cause such a high number of
deaths," they added.
The municipal authorities had assured for
cleanliness of the lake but action was missing. After much persuasion,
sanitary workers sprinkled chlorine in the lake.
The locals
helplessly watched the fish dying. According to residents, over a
quintal of dead fish were taken out from the lake on Monday evening and
buried in four big pits near the water body.
The locals were seen using submersible pumps to rotate water in the lake. -
Times of India.
