May 11, 2015 - BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA - Homes are being evacuated in small lakeside communities near Prince George as firefighters battle a wildfire.
The evacuation order covers about 80 people living on Norman Lake,
Little Bobtail Lake and Naltesby Lake, while residents to the north and
west are under an evacuation alert.
The wildfire is burning 50 km southwest of Prince George and was last
estimated to cover 2,500 hectares. As of Sunday night, 26 firefighters
were trying to bring it under control with the help of two helicopters,
and five pieces of heavy equipment, but more than 100 additional staff
have been called in to assist.
Smoke from the fire can be seen from Highway 16 and nearby communities.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Jillian Kelsh of the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch said the
evacuations are from a number of permanent and seasonal homes. She added
that the fire was about 20 hectares in size when it was first spotted
Saturday but quickly spread.
The forecast for the Prince George area this week calls for sunny skies
and temperatures as high as 24 degrees through to Sunday. Winds are
expected to gust at up to 20 km/h on Monday and Tuesday.
Kelsh said a top priority for firefighters on Monday will be to
evaluate how the warm, dry, windy weather will impact the spread of the
blaze.
B.C.'s Wildfire Management Branch is currently dealing with two active
fires larger than 10 hectares in size. The second blaze is burning 32 km
south of Lillooet off the Duffey Lake Road and spans 60 hectares, but
it is contained by natural barriers and no structures are at risk. - Vancouver Sun.
Video footage reveals the swirling winds and
flying debris surrounding a shelter in Norman, Oklahoma. In this still a
tree is in the process of being uprooted and rain lashes down
May 11, 2015 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - Few people have seen the destructive force of a storm from the inside of a tornado.
But now video footage reveals the terrifying swirling winds and flying debris surrounding a shelter in Norman, Oklahoma.
The tornado destroyed a number of buildings in the town and skirted the
University of Oklahoma's campus, according to local news reports.
Chris Mance, who lives in the neighbourhood, shot the incredible footage
on May 6, around 20 miles south (16km) of Oklahoma City.
The grey-toned video shows lashing rain and wind carrying debris such as
branches ripped from trees and various piece of debris, through the
air.
WATCH: Inside Norman tornado.
It is sometimes difficult to make out any shapes, as visibility drops to almost zero at times, Business Insider noted.
At one point some foliage and even what looks like a wheel, hits the window of the shelter.
It appears that tornado moves over the shelter so that it's in the eye of the storm.
The conditions seem suddenly calm immediately outside and a twig can be
seen lying lifeless just beyond the shelter, as other debris continues
to be whipped around by the storm, just metres away.
Aerial images from KFOR show the destruction the storm caused nearby,
with roofs ripped off buildings and a mobile home park completely
destroyed.
Officials in the area said that at least 12 people were hurt, with five of them in a critical condition.
The local news channel reported that guests sheltered in a hallway at the centre of The Normal Hotel.
Chunks of wall were ripped off the structure and the damage was described as 'significant'.
There were also reports of a storm shelter 'floating up out of the ground' as the storm raged.
Luckily, the woman noticed the shelter looked unstable as she sought a
place to ride out the storm with her family and found that afterwards,
it was floating in a pool of water, having been ripped from the ground.
'That could have been my children in there...something could have happened,' she told News9.
- Daily Mail.
May 11, 2015 - UNITED STATES - Snow, flooding and powerful tornadoes have ripped through many central
US states, emergency officials said. The most affected were Texas and
South Dakota where dozens of people have been injured and many houses
were left in ruins.
The storm hit eastern Van Zandt County and the town of Van in northeast
Texas on Sunday, the Van Zandt County fire marshal and emergency
management coordinator Chuck Allen said. At least 26 people have been
taken to hospital with injuries.
About 30 percent of Van, a town with 2,500 people, was damaged.
"Damages range from completely destroyed homes, damaged homes, to trees and power lines down,"Allen
said, adding that utility companies are now restoring "vital
infrastructures." Also the American Red Cross is to open a shelter at
First Baptist Church in Van, Allen said.
At least six people have been pulled out of homes by rescue helicopters
in Denton County thunderstorms brought heavy rains in the area,
officials said.
WATCH: Tornado near Denton, Texas.
The storms have been affecting Texas for almost a week now. On Saturday, one person was killed in a tornado.
Powerful storms have also hit South Dakota where at least nine people
received non-threatening injuries. A local Lutheran Church and 20 more
buildings have been destroyed.
WATCH: Tornado damage in Delmont, South Dakota.
"Our house is flat. There is nothing left," Stephanie Lunder Delmont told AP. The officials have been evacuating the residents of Delmont, a town of 234 people. "It's a voluntary evacuation: there's no water, no heat, no electricity," Tony Mangan, public information officer for the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, told Reuters.
WATCH: Tornado damage in Delmont, South Dakota.
David Mathews, 70, who owns Old Bank Mini-Mart in Delmont, said that the storm was very fast.
"We were in our house and knew something was going on and
getting ready to go to the basement, then it was over. We just built a
brand new fire hall and it was destroyed. Also a row of houses near the
fire hall."
The Black Hills, a small, isolated mountain range, in South Dakota has
seen 30cm of snow. Tornadoes hit central Iowa where a roof from a high
school was ripped off. Snow fell in parts of the Rocky Mountains and
western Nebraska.
WATCH: Rescuers airlift stranded residents in flood devastated Texas.
A tropical storm has struck the southeastern US as it created wet and
windy conditions in North and South Carolina. The Miami-based National
Hurricane Center said the Tropical Storm Ana should be taken seriously
and issued a 14 advisory, saying that "Ana [is] moving farther inland
across North Carolina." - RT.
May 11, 2015 - IOWA, UNITED STATES - Central Iowa was hit hard by severe storms and tornadoes on Sunday, May
10, 2015.
In Lake City, the roof of Southern Calhoun High School was
ripped off while 100 people were inside for an awards ceremony.
According to a report in the Des Moines Register, the school's girl's
basketball coach says they received the warning and got everyone into
the school's basement and locker room area just two minutes before the
twister hit.
The exact moment was caught on video from only a few blocks away.
Luckily, no one was hurt. Classes at the school were canceled for
Monday, May 11.
There
were nine reports of tornadoes in North Central Iowa.
WATCH: Tornado rips off school roof in Iowa.
Survey teams from
the National Weather Service will assess the damage to determine
whether damage reported in Calhoun, Carroll, and Pocahontas Counties was
caused by tornadoes or straight-line winds. - WQAD.
Turns out it wasn't the end of the world, as someone had suggested. It
was a solar halo surrounding the sun, as the name implies; and it seemed
to absorb the whole sky.
According to Wikipedia: A halo, also known as a nimbus, is produced by
light interacting with ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere,
resulting in a wide variety of colored or white rings, arcs and spots in
the sky."
Closer to home, University of the Virgin Islands physics professor David Smith shared a professional view on the phenomenon.
"Ice crystals in the upper atmosphere create this halo, like little
rainbows," he said. "It's produced by light interacting with the ice
crystals."
Smith said the phenomenon isn't all that rare further north.
"It's not as common in the tropics, since there are fewer ice crystals in the upper atmosphere," he said.
A previous halo also appeared in the local sky a few weeks ago,
Smith said, adding he had seen very few in the 30 years he has lived
here.
Of sharing his store of knowledge, Smith had this to say: "When
something about the sciences happens, we're usually quite happy to talk
about it." - St Croix Source.
May 11, 2015 - TECHNOLOGY - Technology enhanced with artificial intelligence is all around us.
You might have a robot vacuum cleaner ready to leap into action to clean
up your kitchen floor. Maybe you asked Siri or Google—two apps using
decent examples of artificial intelligence technology—for some help
already today. The continual enhancement of AI and its increased
presence in our world speak to achievements in science and engineering
that have tremendous potential to improve our lives.
Or destroy us.
At least, that’s the central theme in the new Avengers: Age of Ultron
movie with headliner Ultron serving as exemplar for AI gone bad. It’s a
timely theme, given some high-profile AI concerns lately. But is it
something we should be worried about?
Artificial Intelligence Gone Rogue
How bad is Ultron? The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe lists
his occupation as “would-be conquerer, enslaver of men” with genius
intelligence, superhuman speed, stamina, reflexes, and strength,
subsonic flight speed, and demi-godlike durability. The good news is
that Ultron has “normal” agility and “average hand to hand skills.”
Meaning if you can get in close to an autonomous robot with superhuman
speed, you should be good to go. At least briefly.
But perhaps most importantly, Ultron represents the ultimate example
of artificial intelligence applications gone wrong: intelligence that
seeks to overthrow the humans who created it.
WATCH: Avengers - Age of Ultron Official Extended Trailer.
Subsequent iterations of Ultron were self-created, each one getting
stronger, smarter, and more bent on fulfilling two main desires:
survival and bringing peace and order to the universe. The unfortunate
part for us humans is that Ultron would like to bring peace and order by
eliminating all other intelligent life in the universe. The main theme
in Age of Ultron is this fictional conflict between biological beings and artificial intelligence (with a mean streak). But how fictional is it? Thinking Machines
The answers are found in scientific research related to the fields of
machine learning, artificial intelligence, and artificial life. These
are fields that continue to expand at a ridiculous, if not superhuman,
pace.
One of the most recent breakthroughs was a study in which Volodymyr
Mnih and colleagues at Google DeepMind challenged a neural network to
learn how to play video games.
The point was to see if the software (rather ominously called a “deep
Q-network agent”) could apply lessons learned in one game to master
another game. For more than half of the games examined, the deep
Q-network agent was better than human level. This list includes Boxing,
Video Pinball, Robotank (a favorite of mine), and Tutankham.
And though arcade games may seem trivial, the takeaway here really
had nothing to do with games per se. The relevance is that an AI system
could adapt its skills to situations for which its programmer had never
prepared it. The AI was effectively learning how to apply skills in a
new way, basically thinking on its own. Which is relevant in considering
the possibility of an AI going rogue.
IBM’s Watson computer is a well-known instance of AI. Credit: Clockready
Sounding an Alarm
So, is this a problem? Coverage in popular media often seems to give
the spin that machine learning and artificial intelligence are things to
fear. There is a boundary that separates helpful applications of
AI—imagine a scenario of robot-conducted surgery performed in a remote
community and overseen by a physician in a distant location—from truly
frightening scenarios of near-future military applications. Imagine the
combination of current combat drone technology with artificial
intelligence computer engines giving independence to machine warfare.
The real problem is that we don’t often recognize that we have
crossed these kinds of boundaries until we are already on the other
side. In science we often push to discover and apply things before we
truly understand all the implications—both positive and negative—that
will accompany them. We often do things because we can without fully
considering if we should, in fact, do them at all.
It’s a sentiment that has been surprisingly echoed among various tech
cognoscenti in recent months. In late 2014, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told an MIT symposium,
“I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I
had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably
that.”
And in January he put his money behind the cause, donating $10 million to a non-profit for AI safety.
Bill Gates revealed his reservations about AI in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session
later that same month, writing, “I agree with Elon Musk and some others
on this and don’t understand why some people are not concerned.”
And last year, Stephen Hawking co-authored an article on the risks of AI, saying it could be the “worst mistake in history.”
A Different Vision
Central to these concerns is artificial intelligence’s theoretical
independence from human regulatory interaction. To avoid such extreme
independence—and that sci-fi end-game of Ultron—maybe we’d be better off
adopting the approach of “collaborative intelligence” as computer
scientist Susan Epstein proposed in a recent study.
We traditionally build machines because we need help, Epstein writes.
But perhaps a less-capable machine could be equally helpful, by
allowing humans to do things that they’re better at anyway, such as
pattern recognition and problem solving. In other words, built-in
inabilities in our intelligent robots could allow them to perform their
jobs better while keeping them in check—though at the cost of requiring more interaction with their human overseers.
In the tradition of sci-fi futurists Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and
Isaac Asimov, the future is “supposed to be a fully automated,
atomic-powered, germ-free utopia” Daniel H. Wilson wrote
some years back.
A collaborative view of AI, on the other hand, equates
to thinking about robots as tools—sometimes very smart ones—that humans
can employ and work with rather than a replacement for humans
altogether.
This view, though, is at odds with the imperative to instrument and
mechanize operations of all sorts wherever they are found. The end
game—as Ultron’s creators discover—has disastrous ramifications. We all
get to enjoy watching this dystopian future play out on the big screen
this week.
Luckily for our future selves, in the real world these
conversations are still happening as we continue to progress toward
smarter and smarter machines.
But maybe not too smart. I still want to win at Robotank. - Discover Magazine.
May 11, 2015 - SHANGHAI, CHINA - Moms across the city received a gift from the heavens yesterday when a
beautiful pearl-colored halo around the sun greeted them on Mother's Day
morning.
While some web users saw this as a celestial blessing for Shanghai moms,
the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau had a more prosaic explanation.
It was a result of altostratus cloud, formed by the lifting of a large stable air mass, explained forecasters.
That causes invisible water vapor to condense into cloud, creating optical phenomena — such as the sun halo.
Around 10am, many Weibo and WeChat users posted pictures, with many seeing it as a good omen.
According to a Chinese proverb: "When there is a solar halo, it will rain; when there is a lunar halo, it will blow."
And sure enough, rain was forecast overnight.
Today should see a rainy start to the week with possible rumbles
of thunder and a slight drop in temperatures, forecasters said. The
mercury will range between 17 and 24 degrees Celsius.
But tomorrow will be sunny with the high likely to soar to 28 degrees,
and reaching 30 degrees on a clear Wednesday. Wednesday's low is also
expected to rise from 17 degrees to 19 degrees.
Thundershowers are forecast to return to the city late Thursday with the mercury dipping to 27.
Not much change in temperature is expected on Friday with showers or thundershowers still likely.
Lows on Thursday and Friday will remain at around 19 degrees. - Shanghai Daily.
A teddy bear lies on the top of debris as Indian rescue workers look for survivors and bodies trapped in a building in Katmandu.(Photo: Manish Swarup, AP)
May 11, 2015 - NEPAL - Nepal's prime minister said Tuesday the death toll from the
devastating earthquake that rocked the country Saturday could reach
10,000, and the United Nations estimated 8 million people have been affected.
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala made the statement to Reuters as he appealed for tents and medicine and ordered rescue efforts to be stepped up. International aid has started arriving in the country.
The death toll from the magnitude-7.8 quake has soared past 4,700. Hundreds of thousands of people are sleeping outdoors and living in the open because they are homeless or out of fear of being inside amid aftershocks. It rained heavily Tuesday in the capital of Kathmandu, forcing people to find shelter wherever they could.
WATCH: Devastating Nepal earthquake aftermath.
Gautam Rimal, an official in rural Nepal, said 250 people are believed missing following a mudslide and avalanche in the isolated village of Ghodatabela, not far from the epicenter of the quake, the Associated Press reported.
Among those killed are 18 people, including four Americans, who died on Mount Everest after the quake triggered an avalanche that buried part of the base camp at the world's highest mountain.
WATCH: New video of Nepal earthquake shows building collapsing on motorists.
At least 61 people died in India, and 25 were reported dead in Tibet as tremors from the quake rippled across the region.
"The
government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing,"
Koirala told Reuters. "It is a challenge and a very difficult hour for
Nepal."
People walk in the street in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo: David Ramos, Getty Images)
Earthquake survivors prepare a meal before spending a night at an open shelter in Kathmandu. (Photo: Philippe Lopez, AFP/Getty Images)
Rajan,
a 37-year-old father of three, looks toward the building that
collapsed over his wife and two sons after being informed by Nepali
soldiers and Israeli rescue team IsraAid that the building where their
bodies are still trapped will be sealed off due to being unstable and in
danger of collapsing further. (Photo: Diego Azubel, European PressPhoto Agency)
With its sewage system badly damaged, carcasses rotting in the rubble
and thousands of people sleeping rough, experts say Nepal faces a race
against time to ensure a devastating earthquake does not trigger a
public health disaster. AFP
The death toll and the number of injured — which the
United Nations puts at nearly 7,000 — is expected to rise as
search-and-rescue teams reach remote areas in the Himalayan country.
American
doctor Rebecca McAteer, who is working in the quake zone, told the AP
that most rural people were working in the fields when the earthquake
hit around noon, meaning they escaped injury when buildings collapsed.
"In
some villages, about 90% of the houses have collapsed. They're just
flattened," she said. "The immediate need is getting support to where
it's needed, but there will be a lot of work rebuilding."
Thomas
Meyer, an engineer with the International Nepal Fellowship, added:
"This is a long-term emergency," AP reported. "This will need major
attention for the next five years. People have nothing left."
A U.N. situation report said 1.4 million people are in need of food, according to early indications.
"Of
these, 750,000 people live near the epicenter in poor quality housing,"
the report said. "Impact on agriculture-based livelihoods and food
security is expected to be extremely high."
Jamie McGoldrick, the
U.N. resident coordinator in Kathmandu, told reporters that 8 million
people had been affected by the quake, the AP reported.
The United
Nations Population Fund warned that hospitals in the Katmandu Valley
are overcrowded, while the Injured are being treated in the streets.
Women and girls are especially vulnerable, the fund said.
"The
Fund is particularly concerned about the fate of pregnant women who have
been affected by this tragedy, including those who might face
potentially life-threatening complications," said Babatunde Osotimehin,
UNFPA's executive director.
Emergency workers were being deployed
and dignity and reproductive health kits were on the way to the country,
the organization said. - USA Today.
May 11, 2015 - AFGHANISTAN - Afghanistan state news agency, Bakhtar News Agency (BNA) report that at
least 7 people have been killed in flash floods in Faryab Province in
the north of the country.
Flash floods in Baghlan Province have killed 1
person and injured around 10 others.
Flash floods struck on 08 May 2015 in Faryab Province after a period of
heavy rainfall.
The districts of Garyzan, Pashtunkot and Belcheragh were
worst affected. BNA report that at least 7 people were killed and over
1,500 homes damaged.
The Faizabada-Takhar highway have been closed to
traffic and wide areas of crops and orchards have suffered damaged.
Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA) also report that flooding struck in the
Baghlan-i-Markazi district of Baghlan province, where 1 person was
killed and several injured early on Saturday 09 May 2015.
"There was heavy rain in Baghlan-e-Markazi district Friday evening and
the people left their houses to safer areas.
It was early Saturday when a
flash flood hit the area and washed away more than 500 houses,"
district Governor Gohar Khan Babri told reporters in provincial capital
Pul-e-Khumri, 160 km north of Kabul. - Floodlist.
May 11, 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.
Dead whale found on beach at Bald Head Island, North Carolina
The UNCW Stranded Marine Mammal Team is determining the cause of death.
- WECT.
Wild animals in drought-stricken Western states are dying for a drink
As thousands of acres of grassland have turned to desert, the giant kangaroo rat has disappeared.John Roser/University of California at Berkeley
For the giant kangaroo rat, death by nature is normally swift and dramatic: a hopeless dash for safety followed by a blood-curdling squeak as their bellies are torn open by eagles, foxes, bobcats and owls.
They’re not supposed to die the way they are today — emaciated and starved, their once abundant population dwindling to near nothing on California’s sprawling Carrizo Plain, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, where the drought is turning hundreds of thousands of acres of grassland into desert.
Without grass, long-legged kangaroo rats cannot eat. And as they go, so go a variety of threatened animals that depend on the keystone species to live. “That whole ecosystem changes without the giant kangaroo rat,” said Justin Brashares, an associate professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of California at Berkeley.
Endangered kangaroo rats are just one falling tile in the drought’s domino effect on wildlife in the lower Western states. Large fish kills are happening in several states as waters heated by higher temperatures drain and lose oxygen. In Northern California, salmon eggs have virtually disappeared as water levels fall. Thousands of migrating birds are crowding into wetlands shrunk by drought, risking the spread of disease that can cause huge die-offs.
As the baking Western landscape becomes hotter and drier, land animals are being forced to seek water and food far outside their normal range. Herbivores such as deer and rabbits searching for a meal in urban gardens in Reno are sometimes pursued by hawks, bobcats and mountain lions. In Arizona, rattlesnakes have come to Flagstaff, joining bears and other animals in search of food that no longer exists in their habitat.
“You think about it. In our urban environments, we have artificial water. We’re not relying on creeks,” said David Catalano, a supervisory biologist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. “We have sprinkling systems. We water bushes with fruit and water gardens. That’s just a magnet for everything.
“We’ve seen an increase in coyote calls, bear calls, mountain lion calls — all the way to mice and deer,” Catalano said of the distress calls made to his department by residents. “At your house, everything is green and growing and flowering, and they’re being drawn to it.”
The state wildlife agency said it is preparing for a deluge of calls reporting bear sightings from Lake Tahoe this summer when berries and other foods they eat disappear for lack of rain.
About 4,000 mule deer have vanished from a mountain range near Reno since late last year, probably because of drought. “Our level of concern is very high,” Catalano said. Nevada has placed low fiberglass pools called guzzlers that hold up to 3,600 gallons of water at more than 1,000 wilderness areas across the state to provide water for wildlife.
For a second year, the Arizona Game and Fish Department warned people in Flagstaff, near Grand Canyon National Park: “Don’t be surprised if you see more wild animals around town in the next few months. Drought conditions may cause creatures like elk, deer, bobcats, foxes, coyotes and even bears to wander further into town than normal, as they seek sources of food and water.”
California water regulators adopted unprecedented restrictions on how people, governments and businesses can use water amid the state's ongoing drought. (AP)
Don’t feed them, the department cautioned. Remove pet food, water bowls, garbage and other items that attract wild animals. It does more harm than good.
In California, where mandatory water restrictions were passed by the state water board on Tuesday, humans are already coming into contact with desperate wildlife from the 250,000-acre Carrizo Plain National Monument in the Central Valley, near Bakersfield.
“Just today, 20 minutes ago, four coyote cubs arrived” from Bakersfield’s outskirts, said Don Richardson, curator of animals for the California Living Museum, which has an animal shelter in the city.
“We actually get everything from reptiles to mammals,” Richardson said. “We have 13 San Joaquin kit foxes, an endangered species. They were abandoned, orphaned. The kit foxes’ health was impacted by the struggle to make it with reduced resources. Then, of course, we see a lot of birds of prey — owls and golden eagles.”
The animals are already suffering from the fragmentation of their habitat because of ranching and urban development. “It’s looking to be a very, very difficult year for wildlife,” Richardson said.
Endangered San Joaquin kit foxes, coyotes and birds in the wildlands outside Bakersfield all rely on the giant kangaroo rat to survive. But those rodents are struggling themselves.
“We fear that a semi-arid grassland is becoming a desert,” said Brashares. “The giant kangaroo rat can’t survive in desert.”
A study by the university recorded a 95 percent population loss since 2010.
Before the drought, 60 percent of their habitat was covered in grasses that they eat and seeds that they store for hard times in a network of underground burrows, Brashares said. Four years of little rain has reduced the cover to 18 percent.
“They simply lack food, so they starve,” Brashares said. As the state wildfire season approaches, the remaining grasses could be wiped out.
For a study, biologists caught a few kangaroo rats this year to study their condition. “They were skinny,” Brashares said. “We looked at females to see whether they had young, whether they were lactating.” They weren’t.
In this reality, where food is scarce and births are few, kangaroo rats are still a top prey, further shrinking their numbers.
The demise of this species would be unthinkable, Brashares said. There’s no overstating how important the rodent is in the ecosystem. Few others are around to feed snakes, badgers, weasels and animals already mentioned. Even the soil kangaroo rats dig for burrows creates moist habitat for insects.
A worse situation is hard to imagine, said Stafford Lehr, chief of fisheries for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. But there is one.
Chinook salmon are in great danger, he said. For two years, only 5 percent of their eggs have survived winter and spring migrations because the cold water their eggs need to survive drains from rivers and reservoirs.
“If you draw down a reservoir, cold water at the bottom drains first,” Lehr said.
To save them, wildlife officials tried to replenish cold water that drained from Shasta Lake north of Sacramento last year. “It didn’t work,” Lehr said.
“Ninety-five percent of eggs and juvenile brood in 2014 were killed,” Lehr said. “Those would be expected to return three years later. We also had heavy mortality in 2013, expected back in 2016. The 2015 fish are spawning right now. We’re trying everything in our power to have enough cold water in Shasta so we don’t have what we had last year.”
Salmon are only part of the problem. Smelt are at the lowest number ever recorded in the state. They are a major forage fish, feeding other fish and birds in the marine ecosystem.
“It’s part of the heritage resource in the state of California. It’s our responsibility to ensure they are protected,” Lehr said. “Every time you lose something, it puts pressure on the environment.
“You lose it and something else will replace it, but it will be lost. They’re part of the ecosystem. Millions of dollars have been invested in their survival.” - Washington Post.
Blue whale found decaying on Hunt's Island off Newfoundland's southwest coast
A dead blue whale has washed up on the southwest part of Hunt's Island.
Too often, scenes of dead whales are seen around shores. This whale,
believed by locals to be a giant blue whale, has died and will soon
begin to decay on the southwest part of Hunt's Island.
The temperature in Burgeo is still fairly cold and it is not composing
fast, there is a lot of meat and blubber to decompose there.
It is more than a mile from town so the smell hasn't had any effect.
After the gulls have picked holes in it, it is speculated it will sink
because the holes will release the air.
Times have changed since the days of Farley Mowat and Moby Joe, people
look at a dead whale now sadly, they love to see those huge beautiful
mammals swimming and spraying their mists into the air.
- The Gulf News.
A sunbathing seal has been spotted in a river 40 miles from the sea in Cambridgeshire.
Nathaniel Gore, 33, was out walking near his home in St Ives on Sunday when he spotted the animal splashing around in the water.
The editorial project manger stopped to film the seal and said it was not put off by the attention.
He added: "I've heard stories of seals being found inland before and he seemed perfectly happy so I wasn't too concerned.
"I stopped for about 20 minutes and he seemed to be enjoying the
attention. He was splashing around in the water and sunbathing by the
side of the river. I was able to get within three feet and it was a
great sight to stop and enjoy."
WATCH: Seal spotted splashing around and sunbathing - 40miles inland.
In 2013, another seal was found 50 miles from the sea in Fen
Drayton Lakes, near St Ives. It is believed the animal swam along the
Great River Ouse from Norfolk.
While the animals often survive quite happily before returning to their
habitats, one seal found in a field in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside,
shortly before Christmas was not so lucky.
The animal, later named Dumbledore, died at the RSPCA East Winch
Wildlife Centre, Norfolk, in January after suffering from pneumonia. - Daily Telegraph.
Animal weirdness: Wild boar drops through roof of store in Hong Kong
Surprise: Wild boar gets trapped inside a children's clothing store
Shocked shoppers were given quite the surprise on Sunday when a wild
boar fell through the ceiling of a children's clothing store.
The unusual customer had wandered into a Hong Kong shopping centre where it was then trapped and unable to get out.
Video aired by local TV stations showed the boar, which had apparently
climbed up a ladder, punching a hole through the showroom's false
ceiling with a trotter.
WATCH: Who said shopping was boar-ing? Customers squeal as wild pig drops through roof of store.
News reports said the animal was a 25kg, metre-long young female.
A crowd of shoppers, watching from behind a line of police, squealed in
amazement as the boar clambered down onto the top of display case,
jumped to the floor and skittered around the shop, knocking over
mannequins and signs.
The boar was eventually tranquillised by a vet and taken to an animal rehab centre, the South China Morning Post reported.
Wild boars are common in Hong Kong, where they are often found roaming the forested hills of the southern Chinese city. - Mirror.
Officials have yet to confirm the carcass is that of a killer whale
The carcass of what appears to be a dead killer whale has washed up in Burrard Inlet next to downtown Vancouver.
Officials have yet to confirm the species of the whale, but Biggs killer
whales, also known as transients, have been spotted in recent months
heading through the busy harbour on their way to nearby Indian Arm,
where they are known to prey on seals.
- CBC.
Angry elephant leaves water to kill a man on shore
Tragic: The elephant viciously throws the onlooker in the air
A rampaging elephant in India has been filmed trampling a man to death after it was provoked to charge them.
Horrific footage shows the animal stamping and throwing him after he fell and twisted his ankle as he attempted to escape.
As the attack unfolds onlookers desperately attempt to distract the enraged animal.
A few minutes earlier someone had launched a firework at the animal, sending it running along the opposite bank.
WATCH: Angry elephant comes on shore to kill a man in front of many people.
The clip shows a man then being helped out of a river and carried along
the shoreline with two dozen more people scattered around nearby.
As the injured man limps along, the elephant can be seen in the
background, wading out of the water, and for a few seconds it looks as
if everyone is safe.
However, the elephant then begins charging, sending the people nearby running for their lives.
Tragically, one man falls down and the elephant brutally attacks him, tossing him into the air to the shock of the onlookers.
One man runs forward and waves his arms in the air in a bid to lure the elephant away, but it proves fruitless.
The clip ends with the elephant circling in rage by the water. - Daily Mail.
Mystery of giant yellow rat snake seen slithering in suds by the seashore in Mayport, Florida
Lifeguards said snakes on the beach are rare, but the tides have been unusually high in recent days
A Florida surfer sparked a little bit of a panic after he spotted a
large snake on the beach and posted pictures of it slithering through
sea foam on the internet.
Swimmer and surfers alike were alarmed to see the reptile, believed to
be a yellow rat snake, in the online photos from the seashore in
Mayport.
They needn't have worried as yellow rat snakes are nonvenomous and mostly harmless.
Pictures of this snake were first posted on 911surfreport.com.
Surfer Bo Miller said: 'It's definitely sketchy.'
Lifeguards said snakes on the beach are rare, but the tides have been unusually high in recent days, News4Jax reported.
The tides may have caused the snake's arrival or it's possible it was
accidentally dropped by a bird of prey that was trying to eat it for
dinner.
Photos of the reptile, believed to be a yellow rat snake, were posted online and scared swimmer and surfers
The snake's arrival, however it occurred, caused some exits.
Swimmer Teresa Quin said: 'I think I'd rather stay in the pool.
'I'm a fish girl. I like to go to the beach, but it's kinda scary.'
Although the snakes are not poisonous, they will bite if provoked, according to First Coast News.
Photos of the reptile, believed to be a yellow rat snake, were posted online and scared swimmer and surfers
WATCH: Surfers shocked after giant yellow rat snake appears on beach.
Mike Taylor with Jacksonville Zoo said: 'I've been bitten by them before.
'If you grab it, they will bite you.'
They usually live near water, but like to hang out in trees and grassy area.
However, some yellow rat snakes have been spotted in dunes near the beach in the past.
That is where animal control officers put the snake after they captured it. -
Daily Mail.
Man killed by bull shark in New Caledonia waters
Shark
A man has died after being bitten multiple times by a shark while
swimming off the Pacific Ocean island of New Caledonia, famed for its
idyllic turquoise waters and white sandy beaches, police said Sunday.
The man, described as around 50 years old, who was on a cruise with friends in the south of the archipelago, was swimming just metres from the boat when he was attacked by a bull shark, a military police spokesman told local radio.
"It was really a savage and sudden attack.Most people
onboard were health workers, the first aid given was significant but the
injuries were such that unfortunately there was not much that could be
done," said the spokesman, without giving the dead man's nationality.
New Caledonia, off north-eastern Australia, is a French overseas
territory but formulates its own tax, labour laws and trade policy.
The sun-drenched island, which boasts the world's largest enclosed
lagoon with magnificent coral, is a popular tourist destination. - The Peninsula.
Camper killed by black bear near Mackenzie, British Columbia
"After getting up in the morning, [she] realized something was wrong and went for help," said spokesperson Barb McLintock.
The incident was reported to RCMP at 10 a.m. Sunday, and conservation
officers located the bear believed to be responsible a short time later.
The 300-pound male black bear, as well as a wolf, were shot dead after
the 27-year-old's body was found on a remote logging road.
"The injuries Mr. O'Connor suffered were consistent with a black bear
attack," said McLintock, adding that campers need to be well aware of
the risks that wildlife can pose in remote campgrounds.
- CTV News.
Dead sperm whale found floating off the Bermuda coast
Straddling a dead whale floating on the open ocean as its carcass is
ripped apart by three species of shark isn't something you can expect to
do every day but it's something Bermudian videographer Choy Aming can
now add to his bragging rights.
He received a text on Sunday from a fisherman telling him that there was
a dead adult sperm whale floating in the water about 12 miles off shore
on the eastern side of Challenger Banks. Within an hour Mr Aming, along
with photographer Chris Burville and a small group of friends, were
able to watch the drama unfold as about a dozen tiger, blue and dusky
sharks made a meal of the 30-35 feet leviathan.
Mr Aming told The Royal Gazette: "I had two sharks within two
feet of my face while I was sitting on the back of a dead whale just
ripping flesh out of it. I have never been able to get that close. It's
not the largest number of sharks I have seen at once but it was just
pretty intense over all because the feeding was quite ravenous.
"We were on Chris's boat but once I saw the sharks sticking their heads
out of the water I thought, 'I've got to climb on the whale'. I was
probably sitting there for 45 minutes with my GoPro camera but it was
very shaky and unstable — when the swells came the whale would roll.
"I wore my mask and fins because I genuinely thought there is a
good chance I would roll off and if I did at least I would have a good
chance of seeing everything and be able to move out of harm's way."
Mr Aming spent eight years satellite tagging sharks along with the late
Neil Burnie as part of the Bermuda Shark Project and said he was able to
observe feeding behaviours that were new to him.
"They were really in a different mindset — I have never been able to put that much chum out before.
"Probably the biggest tiger was probably in the nine to ten feet range
and at one point I saw him bury about three feet of his head inside the
whale.
"When we go out tagging and put a marlin head in the water, the sharks
take in turns in a sort of pecking order. This time because it was so
large three or four could feed uninterrupted — if you give them enough
bait they will all have a go."
Mr Aming said that above the water — aside from severe sunburn on its
skin — the carcass was relatively unscathed but from below the surface
massive bite marks had opened up the body. - The Royal Gazette.
Young girl dies in possible bear attack at Garden Hill, Manitoba
Sources say the girl was Theresa Robinson from Garden Hill First Nation.
A northern Manitoba community is in shock after an 11-year-old girl was
found dead, her body showing signs of a possible bear attack.
Teresa Robinson went missing on May 5. Her body was discovered six days later, on Monday.
David Harper, Grand Chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said
Robinson's remains were found near her Garden Hill First Nation home. He
told The Canadian Press that it appears the girl was mauled by an animal, and that a bear in the area could be the culprit.
"Bears were seen wandering there Tuesday night on the east side," he
said. "It's just awful ... no one's heard of this happening before."
Investigators have yet to release an official cause of death for the
girl. Harper said wild dogs also live in the area, and it could be up to
48 hours before it's clear exactly what killed Robinson.
In the meantime, First Nations leaders have already gathered in
the community, and Harper plans to accompany Robinson's grandparents as
they travel from Winnipeg to pay their respects.
A black bear is also suspected in the death of a camper in northern
British Columbia this weekend. Daniel Ward Folland O'Connor fell asleep
near a fire pit at a remote campsite near MacKenzie, B.C. His body was
later found near a logging road, with injuries consistent with a black
bear attack. - CTV News.
Winter proves tough on deer, states weigh hunting limits
In this Dec. 1, 2014, file photo, a pair of deer move along the edge of
the woods during the first day of Pennsylvania's white-tailed deer
hunting season in Zelienople, Pa. A
tough winter across the northern
states killed off many deer, and wildlife regulators in many states are
implementing or considering deep cuts to hunting
permits. In
Pennsylvania, wildlife officials are reducing the number of hunting
permits for antlerless deer in 2015 by 30,000, or about
4 percent,
following a 7-percent reduction the previous year. (AP Photo/Keith
Srakocic, File)
Wildlife regulators in states where deer hunting is a way of life and an important tourism draw are implementing or considering deep cuts to hunting permits after a tough winter killed off many of the animals.
Severe winters are perilous for deer because they risk running out of fat reserves and dying. Fawns, whose health determines the future stability of the herd, are especially susceptible.
A winter of heavy snow and bitter cold may have resulted in increased mortality rates from the upper Midwest to New England.
In Maine, biologists are recommending a cut of 23 percent to the state's deer hunting permits. In Vermont, the number of antlerless deer permits is being cut nearly in half. In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, deer hunting could be halted altogether.
"This last winter was one of the worst that I can remember. I suspect that we lost a lot of deer," said David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine. "Although it's disappointing to see permits go down, I would have to agree."
Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologists are recommending the state issue 28,770 "any deer" permits, which allow hunters to harvest bucks or does. The cut would come a year after the state reduced permits from 46,710 to 37,185, a 25 percent cut that was also motivated in part by winter die-offs.
Maine's deer herd was about 200,000 a year ago. State biologist Kyle Ravana said this year's estimate should be ready soon. The state Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Advisory Council is expected to vote on the permit recommendations this spring or summer.
"Generally you can expect a higher level of mortality than an average year," Ravana said. He added that the damage to the state's deer herd might not have been as bad as some fear because the heavy snow didn't arrive until late in the season.
In this Dec. 1, 2014, file photo, Pennsylvania Game Commission Officer
Terry Beer, right, checks the hunting licenses of Dante Bauccio, center,
and Aaron Rech during the
first day of Pennsylvania's white-tailed deer
hunting season in Butler, Pa. A tough winter across the northern states
killed off many deer, and wildlife regulators in many
states are
implementing or considering deep cuts to hunting permits. In
Pennsylvania, wildlife officials are reducing the number of hunting
permits for antlerless
deer in 2015 by 30,000, or about 4 percent,
following a 7-percent reduction the previous year. (AP Photo/Keith
Srakocic, File)
In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where the fall deer hunt is an annual ritual, the population has dropped as much as 40 percent after two bitterly cold and snowy winters. The state's Natural Resources Commission will discuss the situation Thursday during its monthly meeting in Lansing.
A memo prepared by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources lists six options, including canceling this year's Upper Peninsula deer hunting season. Spokesman Ed Golder said it's doubtful the commission would go that far, but the report says many hunters want something done in response to the peninsula's lowest deer numbers in about 30 years.
In Pennsylvania, wildlife officials are reducing the number of hunting permits for antlerless deer this year by 30,000, or about 4 percent, following a 7 percent reduction the previous year. One commissioner said the harsh winter weather factored into his decision, but there's also a broader effort to boost deer populations in certain areas.
In Vermont, officials estimate there will be a deer population of 115,000 to 120,000 at the start of the fall hunting season — a decrease of more than 11 percent from a year ago. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is cutting its antlerless deer permits nearly in half, to 9,250.
New Hampshire officials are also concerned about the possibility of above average deer mortality and might consider trimming hunting days in 2016, said Dan Bergeron, a state wildlife biologist. Minnesota and Wisconsin also have taken steps in recent years to try to replenish deer herds hit hard by winter. - Yahoo.
May 11, 2015 - NICARAGUA - Nicaragua's Telica volcano, the country's most active, has spewed fiery rocks and gases, dusting nearby towns with ash.
The volcano has registered 30 small eruptions since it rumbled to life on Thursday, the strongest yet occurring on Sunday night, according to the Nicaraguan Geological Institute.
'It spat hot rocks, gas and ash, reaching a height of 400 metres,' the agency said in a statement.
The flaming rocks caused vegetation on the volcano's slopes to catch fire, and fiery balls of burning foliage created a spectacle for observers.
The nearby towns of Posoltega and Guanacastal were dusted in ash following the eruptions, though no major damage or injuries were reported.
Telica, which is 1,061 metres high, is located in the foothills of the Maribios, about 112km northwest of the Nicaraguan capital Managua. - SKY News.
