February 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.
Scientists today examined a dead female humpback whale that washed ashore Tuesday afternoon.
The juvenile was found near the Lighthouse Road beach access in Corolla with entanglement scars from fishing nets.
The whale, which was about 30 feet long and weighed 25,000 pounds, otherwise appeared healthy and had recently eaten menhaden, said William McLellan, the North Carolina State Stranding Coordinator.
Whale strandings -- especially this time of year -- are not uncommon and happen frequently on the Outer Banks, more so than anywhere else on the East Coast, he said. There have been 100 whale strandings in 15 years, he said.
Humpback whales are an endangered species.
Scientists collected the head and tissue samples to find out how it died. They will also examine whether it was affected by cetacean morbillivirus -- which affects the lungs and brain -- suspected of killing dozens of dolphins in Virginia and North Carolina in 2013. - Hampton Roads.
Three people were killed and another injured Friday after they were attacked by an elephant in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, a forest official said.
The incident happened when the tusker strayed into the Kathambari village under the under the Apalchand range of Baikunthapur forest division.
"The elephant had strayed into the village and attacked people killing three of them and injuring another. While one person was killed on the spot, two others succumbed to their injuries in a hospital," Divisional Forest Officer (Baikunthapur) P.R. Pradhan told IANS.
The victims have been identified as Rabin Orao, Surajit Katham and Benoy De Sarkar.
Forest officials later managed to push the animal back into the jungle.
Locals staged a demonstration outside the forest official office seeking compensation for the dead. - Zee News.
An alarming increase in the number of dead and dying band-tailed pigeons along the California coast has prompted wildlife biologists to ask the public for help documenting the apparent decline of the only native pigeon left in the state.
At least 1,000 of the pigeons, which winter in Central and Southern California, have been found dead in Santa Clara and Santa Barbara counties since December, the apparent victims of a parasite spread by the common rock pigeon, said Krysta Rogers, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The sudden increase in mortality is disturbing, Rogers said, because the closest living relative to the extinct passenger pigeon has been struggling for decades to recover from rampant hunting, habitat loss and other environmental problems.
"The potential death of a thousand pigeons is very concerning, especially since they have a relatively low reproductive rate. A pair produces about one chick per year," Rogers said. "When there is really high mortality like this, it can take the population years to recover. In addition to that, these mortality events with band-tailed pigeons have been reported with increasing frequency over the past 10 years."
Band-tailed pigeons are the West Coast version of the passenger pigeon, which was once the most abundant bird in North America until it was hunted to extinction. Millions of band-tailed pigeons used to inhabit California, but they too were hunted for food throughout the 19th century, and much of their habitat was destroyed. They were eventually protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which was passed largely out of guilt over the wholesale slaughter of many bird species, including the killing off of the passenger pigeon.
Band-tailed pigeons, which are not listed as endangered, prefer redwood and pine forests in higher elevations along the Central Coast and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. The pigeons spend their winters in oak and conifer forests between the Bay Area, Santa Barbara County and the San Bernardino Mountains before migrating in late winter or early spring to the northernmost regions of Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.
About 500 dead band-tailed pigeons have been found over the past two months in the Saratoga and Los Gatos areas of Santa Clara County. An additional 500 carcasses were found in the Solvang, Los Olivos and Santa Ynez areas of Santa Barbara County. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife Investigations Laboratory determined the cause of death to be avian trichomonosis or, more specifically, Trichomonas gallinae.
It is believed that non-native rock pigeons, the species commonly seen in urban areas, including San Francisco, are spreading the parasite. Rock pigeons were introduced to North America from Europe.
"Researchers believe that this trichomonosis parasite evolved with these rock pigeons in Europe, and they are immune to it but can carry it," Rogers said. "Right now, it's really hard to estimate mortality because the reports I am getting are all in locations where people live. So if there are deaths in remote locations,we're not getting reports. That's the challenging thing about this."
The parasite was first reported in band-tailed pigeons in the 1940s, but Rogers said it has become more common over the past 10 years. It lives in the mouth and throat of infected birds, causing lesions in the mouth or esophagus that eventually block the passage of food. Infected birds die from starvation or suffocation.
"Band-tailed pigeons are highly susceptible to it," she said. "When band-tailed pigeons get infected by it, they die."
Rogers is researching the disease to determine exactly how it is being spread, whether from direct contact or whether other species are also carriers. It is believed that water sources, like bird feeders and stagnant pools, may play a role. She said the death toll from the parasite seems to be worse during dry winters.
"These events seem to be more common in winters with less precipitation, so I do suspect there is some weather component in these mortality events," Rogers said. "When you have large flocks and there is a disease like this circulating, and you have stagnant pools and puddles and not much flowing water, the parasite can become more concentrated in that small amount of water and the disease is going to spread more easily."
Rogers urged residents to be on the lookout for band-tailed pigeons this winter and to report sick or dead birds.
"It's very complex, but that's part of the research, to test these ideas out and get some real proof that these things are happening," Rogers said. "My job is to determine whether these mortality events are contributing to the decline, why they occur and how many birds die when they do occur." - San Francisco Chronicle.
A
total of 674 poultry farms around Taiwan have been hit by avian
influenza as of 3 February since the outbreak began in mid-January,
according to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and
Quarantine's latest update on the epidemic.
Focus Taiwan reports that the farms confirmed as having been affected by bird flu were among 701 goose, duck and chicken farms that have experienced suspicious animal deaths and have been tested for bird flu inflection.
Though the 701 poultry farms that have been tested and the 4.29 million birds they raised account for only a small percentage of Taiwan's overall poultry industry, the outbreak has dealt a serious blow to the country's goose farmers.
According to the Council of Agriculture, there were 103 million chicken, geese and ducks raised in Taiwan in the fourth quarter of 2014.
But of the 2.3 million land and water fowl culled to date at 602 farms to prevent the bird flu outbreak from spreading, 1.07 million of them have been geese, the report said, accounting for more than half of the two million geese raised in the country.
The infected farms have been located throughout western Taiwan, spanning Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli counties in the north, Changhua, Yunlin and Nantou counties in central Taiwan, and Chiayi and Pingtung counties and the Tainan and Kaohsiung metropolitan areas in the south, according to Focus Taiwan.
The only poultry farm in eastern Taiwan hit by the bird flu outbreak has been a chicken farm in Taitung County, the bureau said, noting that quarantine measures have been tightened to prevent the flu from spreading. - The Poultry Site.
The dog turned on the family just before 6 p.m. inside their home in the 3000 block of Kingsbury Drive, according to a McKinney police spokesperson.
One of the girls was attacked, but managed to escape the home with her sister.
One neighbor said she heard screams and saw the younger of the two girls bleeding in front of the home, with serious injuries to her lower legs.
Another neighbor was helping to apply pressure to her wounds.
The dog was still attacking the mother inside the home when officers arrived. Police said at least one officer shot and killed the dog to prevent further harm.
WATCH: Mother, daughters attacked by their dog.
The three were taken to Medical Center of McKinney for treatment. The severity of the injuries was not released, but a family friend said they are expected to be okay.
"They were also just completely in shock and terrified and there was quite a bit of blood," said neighbor Catherine Williams. "My daughter didn't sleep last night. Everyone was really shaken in the neighborhood, just really worried about them and praying for them."
Neighbors told News 8 that a second dog was found in the victims' home and taken by animal control.
Animal control and McKinney police were investigating the incident. - WFAA.
The Plateau State government has confirmed that cases of avian influenza, aka bird flu, have been recorded in the state.
The disclosure was made on Wednesday, February 4, by the Chief Veterinary Officer for the state, Doris Bitrus.
“Seven poultry have been destroyed and more than 20,000 birds killed following the outbreak of the dreaded diseases,” Bitrus said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.
“We have also ensured that that the carcasses and wastes are adequately disposed of,” she added.
Bitrus also said that the state had implemented the necessary measures to contain the disease and keep it from spreading. - Pulse.
Significantly, it is a place where many people usually have fished and where many children choose to swim during hot summer days.
Given this fact, the neighbors alerted and asked the relevant authorities to use the site and verify the dangerousness of the situation and alert the community if the case of water pollution. - Diario Norte.
Dead Humpback whale found on Corolla beach, North Carolina
 |
| A 29-foot female juvenile humpack whale was found near the Lighthouse Road beach access in Corolla, N.C. © Karen Clark | Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education |
Scientists today examined a dead female humpback whale that washed ashore Tuesday afternoon.
The juvenile was found near the Lighthouse Road beach access in Corolla with entanglement scars from fishing nets.
The whale, which was about 30 feet long and weighed 25,000 pounds, otherwise appeared healthy and had recently eaten menhaden, said William McLellan, the North Carolina State Stranding Coordinator.
Whale strandings -- especially this time of year -- are not uncommon and happen frequently on the Outer Banks, more so than anywhere else on the East Coast, he said. There have been 100 whale strandings in 15 years, he said.
Humpback whales are an endangered species.
Scientists collected the head and tissue samples to find out how it died. They will also examine whether it was affected by cetacean morbillivirus -- which affects the lungs and brain -- suspected of killing dozens of dolphins in Virginia and North Carolina in 2013. - Hampton Roads.
Elephant kills three people in West Bengal, India
 |
| Charging Asian elephants. © Jagdeep Rajput |
Three people were killed and another injured Friday after they were attacked by an elephant in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, a forest official said.
The incident happened when the tusker strayed into the Kathambari village under the under the Apalchand range of Baikunthapur forest division.
"The elephant had strayed into the village and attacked people killing three of them and injuring another. While one person was killed on the spot, two others succumbed to their injuries in a hospital," Divisional Forest Officer (Baikunthapur) P.R. Pradhan told IANS.
The victims have been identified as Rabin Orao, Surajit Katham and Benoy De Sarkar.
Forest officials later managed to push the animal back into the jungle.
Locals staged a demonstration outside the forest official office seeking compensation for the dead. - Zee News.
Mass die-off of hundreds of pigeons alarm biologists in California
 |
| California's only native pigeon is the band-tailed pigeon, which spends springs and summer in the Bay Area and other parts of Northern California. © Krysta Rogers |
An alarming increase in the number of dead and dying band-tailed pigeons along the California coast has prompted wildlife biologists to ask the public for help documenting the apparent decline of the only native pigeon left in the state.
At least 1,000 of the pigeons, which winter in Central and Southern California, have been found dead in Santa Clara and Santa Barbara counties since December, the apparent victims of a parasite spread by the common rock pigeon, said Krysta Rogers, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The sudden increase in mortality is disturbing, Rogers said, because the closest living relative to the extinct passenger pigeon has been struggling for decades to recover from rampant hunting, habitat loss and other environmental problems.
"The potential death of a thousand pigeons is very concerning, especially since they have a relatively low reproductive rate. A pair produces about one chick per year," Rogers said. "When there is really high mortality like this, it can take the population years to recover. In addition to that, these mortality events with band-tailed pigeons have been reported with increasing frequency over the past 10 years."
Band-tailed pigeons are the West Coast version of the passenger pigeon, which was once the most abundant bird in North America until it was hunted to extinction. Millions of band-tailed pigeons used to inhabit California, but they too were hunted for food throughout the 19th century, and much of their habitat was destroyed. They were eventually protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which was passed largely out of guilt over the wholesale slaughter of many bird species, including the killing off of the passenger pigeon.
Band-tailed pigeons, which are not listed as endangered, prefer redwood and pine forests in higher elevations along the Central Coast and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. The pigeons spend their winters in oak and conifer forests between the Bay Area, Santa Barbara County and the San Bernardino Mountains before migrating in late winter or early spring to the northernmost regions of Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.
About 500 dead band-tailed pigeons have been found over the past two months in the Saratoga and Los Gatos areas of Santa Clara County. An additional 500 carcasses were found in the Solvang, Los Olivos and Santa Ynez areas of Santa Barbara County. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife Investigations Laboratory determined the cause of death to be avian trichomonosis or, more specifically, Trichomonas gallinae.
It is believed that non-native rock pigeons, the species commonly seen in urban areas, including San Francisco, are spreading the parasite. Rock pigeons were introduced to North America from Europe.
"Researchers believe that this trichomonosis parasite evolved with these rock pigeons in Europe, and they are immune to it but can carry it," Rogers said. "Right now, it's really hard to estimate mortality because the reports I am getting are all in locations where people live. So if there are deaths in remote locations,we're not getting reports. That's the challenging thing about this."
The parasite was first reported in band-tailed pigeons in the 1940s, but Rogers said it has become more common over the past 10 years. It lives in the mouth and throat of infected birds, causing lesions in the mouth or esophagus that eventually block the passage of food. Infected birds die from starvation or suffocation.
"Band-tailed pigeons are highly susceptible to it," she said. "When band-tailed pigeons get infected by it, they die."
Rogers is researching the disease to determine exactly how it is being spread, whether from direct contact or whether other species are also carriers. It is believed that water sources, like bird feeders and stagnant pools, may play a role. She said the death toll from the parasite seems to be worse during dry winters.
"These events seem to be more common in winters with less precipitation, so I do suspect there is some weather component in these mortality events," Rogers said. "When you have large flocks and there is a disease like this circulating, and you have stagnant pools and puddles and not much flowing water, the parasite can become more concentrated in that small amount of water and the disease is going to spread more easily."
Rogers urged residents to be on the lookout for band-tailed pigeons this winter and to report sick or dead birds.
"It's very complex, but that's part of the research, to test these ideas out and get some real proof that these things are happening," Rogers said. "My job is to determine whether these mortality events are contributing to the decline, why they occur and how many birds die when they do occur." - San Francisco Chronicle.
1.07 MILLION geese killed (more than half of geese population) due to avian flu in Taiwan, China
Focus Taiwan reports that the farms confirmed as having been affected by bird flu were among 701 goose, duck and chicken farms that have experienced suspicious animal deaths and have been tested for bird flu inflection.
Though the 701 poultry farms that have been tested and the 4.29 million birds they raised account for only a small percentage of Taiwan's overall poultry industry, the outbreak has dealt a serious blow to the country's goose farmers.
According to the Council of Agriculture, there were 103 million chicken, geese and ducks raised in Taiwan in the fourth quarter of 2014.
But of the 2.3 million land and water fowl culled to date at 602 farms to prevent the bird flu outbreak from spreading, 1.07 million of them have been geese, the report said, accounting for more than half of the two million geese raised in the country.
The infected farms have been located throughout western Taiwan, spanning Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli counties in the north, Changhua, Yunlin and Nantou counties in central Taiwan, and Chiayi and Pingtung counties and the Tainan and Kaohsiung metropolitan areas in the south, according to Focus Taiwan.
The only poultry farm in eastern Taiwan hit by the bird flu outbreak has been a chicken farm in Taitung County, the bureau said, noting that quarantine measures have been tightened to prevent the flu from spreading. - The Poultry Site.
Mom and two daughters attacked by family dog in McKinney, Texas
A mother and her two daughters were taken to the hospital after being attacked by their own pit bull Thursday evening in McKinney.The dog turned on the family just before 6 p.m. inside their home in the 3000 block of Kingsbury Drive, according to a McKinney police spokesperson.
One of the girls was attacked, but managed to escape the home with her sister.
One neighbor said she heard screams and saw the younger of the two girls bleeding in front of the home, with serious injuries to her lower legs.
Another neighbor was helping to apply pressure to her wounds.
The dog was still attacking the mother inside the home when officers arrived. Police said at least one officer shot and killed the dog to prevent further harm.
WATCH: Mother, daughters attacked by their dog.
The three were taken to Medical Center of McKinney for treatment. The severity of the injuries was not released, but a family friend said they are expected to be okay.
"They were also just completely in shock and terrified and there was quite a bit of blood," said neighbor Catherine Williams. "My daughter didn't sleep last night. Everyone was really shaken in the neighborhood, just really worried about them and praying for them."
Neighbors told News 8 that a second dog was found in the victims' home and taken by animal control.
Animal control and McKinney police were investigating the incident. - WFAA.
20,000 Chickens killed due to avian flu in Plateau State, Nigeria
 |
| Dead birds are gathered to be burnt in Kano, Nigeria in a bid to contain the spread of bird flu.( Pius Utomi Ekpei / AFP-Getty Images) |
The Plateau State government has confirmed that cases of avian influenza, aka bird flu, have been recorded in the state.
The disclosure was made on Wednesday, February 4, by the Chief Veterinary Officer for the state, Doris Bitrus.
“Seven poultry have been destroyed and more than 20,000 birds killed following the outbreak of the dreaded diseases,” Bitrus said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.
“We have also ensured that that the carcasses and wastes are adequately disposed of,” she added.
Hundreds of dead fish appear, 'causing concern' in the Black river in Argentina
This morning Centener fish found floating dead on the shore of the Black River.
Concerned about the situation, neighbors alerted the community through
the social network Facebook and then gained significant impact, among
which stressed that "it is not the first time they appear dead fish in
there."
Significantly, it is a place where many people usually have fished and where many children choose to swim during hot summer days.
Given this fact, the neighbors alerted and asked the relevant authorities to use the site and verify the dangerousness of the situation and alert the community if the case of water pollution. - Diario Norte.
