March 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.
Thousands of dead fish wash up in new die off in Lim Chu Kang, Singapore
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| Thousands of fish were found washed up on shore at Lim Chu Kang jetty on Saturday in the latest in a series of mass deaths. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG |
Thousands of fish were found washed up on shore at Lim Chu Kang jetty on Saturday in the latest in a series of mass deaths.
Breeds big and small, including catfish and mullets, were discovered on the beach near where several fish farms are situated in the Strait of Johor.
Both sea and farm fish were affected.
Farmer Ong Kim Pit, 65, told The Sunday Times that he first saw fish jumping out of the water on Friday night, adding that his baby mullets were worst hit.
"It happened within minutes," he said. "My fish were jumping and jumping in the water. I don't know why."
Cleaners were seen removing bags of dead fish on Saturday.
It is not yet known what caused the mass deaths, but they came a week after a deadly wave of plankton bloom wiped out almost all of some Changi farmers' stocks.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said the bloom had killed an estimated 500 to 600 tonnes of fish as of last Wednesday, and affected 55 out of 63 farms in the East Johor Strait.
The AVA's preliminary findings showed elevated levels of Karlodinium veneficum in seawater samples, which has been associated with fish deaths worldwide.Meanwhile, photos of dead fish at Kranji Reservoir Park and Sungeh Buloh Wetland Reserve also surfaced online on Saturday. -
Straits Times.
Dozens of dead birds found in Cincinnati, Ohio
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| Dead robins |
Nearly
a dozen dead robins could be seen Tuesday around Paul Brown Stadium. On
the walkway off Central Avenue and West Pete Rose Way five lifeless
birds could easily be spotted, just below the expressway.
"Carbon-monoxide poisoning, maybe the trucks and stuff coming across and
it builds up," said Wild Birds Unlimited General Manager, Chris
Sweigard. He said the birds most likely roost in pockets of the
expressway to protect themselves from the weather and to stay warm.
Bird experts at the Cincinnati Zoo said the robins are also victims of
the harsh winter, and the stress of the weather and lack of food can
kill them.
"Right now there would be a lot of flocking birds
because they help each other find food this time of year. They won't
separate for a few weeks for nesting, but right now they are forging
together staying together," said Sweigard.
Jeffrey Kennedy, who works downtown, walks the pathway routinely and said he sees the birds almost every day.
"It's disgusting," he said. Kennedy wishes the city would clean the birds up.
City officials said they do have a department to clear dead animals
from roadways, but they wouldn't know about the birds unless they were
called. Usually, city officials said, crews are only called for large
animals on main roads. -
FOX19.
Brutal winter takes toll on wildlife around New York
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A screech owl that lost a lot of body weight
because of the harsh winter. © Loraine Izzo |
Wildlife
rehabilitators say that animals - mainly waterfowl, owls, hawks and
some mammals - are under serious stress due to the cold winter.
Two months of snow cover and brutal bouts of arctic air are endangering wildlife.
Wildlife
rehabilitators say that animals — mainly waterfowl, owls, hawks and
some mammals — are under serious stress. Many have starved because their
food sources have been covered with snow and ice and the water they
need to survive has been frozen.
"It's been a
really hard, long, cold, desperate and brutal winter for wildlife," said
Taffy Williams, a wildlife rehabilitator from Yonkers.
"A lot of raptors, hawks and owls are being found dead."
Animals have been foraging in places they usually don't — risky places
such as urban streets or sun-warmed banks along parkways.
"Anything
that's looking to graze, that includes deer, they're having a hard
time," Williams said. "The winter's been really hard on shore birds and
birds of prey and also song birds. They look on the ground for seeds and
any kind of grazing material."
A screech owl injured by a car in Pleasantville was also emaciated, said Loraine Izzo, a rehabilitator from Bronxville.
She
recently cared for a goose and mallard duck found starving near the
mostly frozen Bronx River. A redtail hawk, now on the mend, was found
near the reservoir in Yonkers.
"His feet were dug into the snow and his tail was frozen into the snow," Izzo said. "It was horrible."
A turkey vulture that almost starved to death
is recuperating in the back yard of Marilyn Leybra, a rehabilitator, of
Pomona. She said a wide range of animals have been affected.
"The Canada geese are also catching the devil," Leybra said. "I see them
day after day, just sitting ... They look like statues. They're trying
to conserve every bit of energy."
'It's hard for all wildlife'
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A red-tailed hawk being nursed back to
health after getting frozen into icy snow
near a reservoir in Yonkers. © Loraine Izzo |
Lori Severino, a public information officer with the state Department
of Environmental Conservation, said field staff have seen signs that
deer have been "pawing down" through the snow to find food and that
turkeys are seeking food at areas with "spring seep," where groundwater
keeps the area open for foraging. Ducks and geese, she said, seek out
open water and keep moving if they can't find it.
"As the cold
weather is prolonged and if we get heavy snow or ice cover on the snow,
then things become more problematic," Severino wrote last week in an
email. But, she added, "DEC has not received any reports of winter kill
so far this winter and animals that have been observed seem to be
healthy. Energy reserves are diminishing in the animals but nothing
'drastic' as of now."
Kevin Hynes, a wildlife biologist in the
department's Delmar office, recently sent out a notice asking for
carcasses of hawks and owls.
"We're getting more calls about dead hawks and owls and I wanted to confirm it was snow cover and the weather rather than some other potential disease," Hynes said.
He said hawks and owls depend on voles, a kind of small rodent, to stay
alive and that the voles have been able to hide under all the snow.
As fat deposits get depleted in the hunting birds, it gets harder for them to regulate their heat.
He said the birds impacted have mostly been redtail hawks, screech owls and barn owls.
Walter Chadwick, of the Hudson River Audubon Society of Westchester,
said feeders and a warmed drinking water dispenser for birds at Lenoir
Preserve in Yonkers have been swarmed.
"The birds flock to the
feeders," Chadwick said. "It's hard for all wildlife. They can't get
through that ice and there's been constant cold weather."
He
said people wanting to help birds should put out black oil sunflower
seeds and suet, which provide a lot of energy, and a pie pan with water.
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A view of a turkey vulture, photographed March 3, 2015 and being cared for by wildlife rehabilitator Marilyn Leybra
at her home in Pomona. © Joe Larese/The Journal News |
Migrating birds 'are probably doomed'
Snow has been covering the ground since mid-January across much of the
Northeast. The National Weather Service said February was the coldest on
record in many places in the region.
AccuWeather meteorologist
Evan Duffey said that temperatures this time of year should be in the
40s, but as of Friday, only five days had cracked 40 in 2015.
Chadwick said many resident birds have learned to adapt to the cold,
but those flying up from the south this time of year could be in peril, including redwing blackbirds and snow geese.
Joanne Dreeben, a rehabilitator from Yonkers, noted the American woodcock usually shows up this time of year.
"The early arrivals are probably doomed," she said. "They eat almost exclusively earthworms."
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Canada geese are seen huddling in the snow at the Willow Tree Park in Monsey. Wildlife rehabilitator Marilyn
Leybra says this brutal winter has been especially hard on wildlife. © Joe Larese/The Journal News |
Hynes said birds that come this time of year time their trip by hours of daylight.
"They have no idea what the temperature is up here," Hynes said.
Dreeben said starvation is not the only problem. Birds typically have
parasites in their systems that aren't a problem when healthy.
"But when a bird gets debilitated, there's a bloom of internal
parasites," Dreeben said. "It's a very difficult thing for them to
survive." -
IOHUD.
Yet another child mauled to death by a pack of dogs in India
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| Feral dogs in India |
In
a chilling replay of dogs attacking children in Bareilly, which has
become a serious menace in the district, a 10-year-old was mauled to
death by a pack of stray dogs here on Sunday, police said.
The
child, Mohd Kaif, was playing with his friend, 11-year-old Ayaan, in a
park near his house in Gulistaan colony in Jalalabad kasba at 8am when
the incident occurred. Residents said they heard the children shouting
and rushed to their aid, but it was already too late. Kaif was killed on
the spot while his Ayaan escaped with minor injuries.
Zeeshan
Ali, a resident of the colony, said the dogs were from a nearby plywood
factory. The residents of the colony protested outside the factory and
blocked traffic, before police reached the spot and brought the
situation under control.
Speaking on the issue, Satyaveer
Singh, station officer, Najibabad Kotwali police station, said, "We have
investigated the incident and found that the dogs were not from the
plywood factory. The family has not filed a complaint and the body has
been buried."
Bareilly
has seen a spate of dog attacks recently, with as many as five people
being attacked in a span of 40 days earlier this year. On March 2, a
pack of four dogs attacked a pregnant woman in Pareva village of Baheri
on Sunday while she was working in the fields. -
The Times of India.
Pit bull terrier kills man trying to help owner in East Wheeling, West Virginia
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| A pit bull terrier |
A
pit bull attacked and killed a man who was trying to help the dog's ill
owner in a home in East Wheeling, W.Va., authorities said.
Wheeling police and other emergency responders were called to the home
late Sunday night regarding a dog attack and had to force their way into
the residence, where they found both victims.
One victim was
badly injured; the other person was unconscious. Both were taken to
local hospitals, where they were pronounced dead, police said. Their
names have not been released.
Wheeling police Lt. Phil Redford
says police believe the dog's owner suffered a heart attack and that the
other man was attacked by the dog as he tried to resuscitate the owner.
Animal control officers removed the pit bull from the home and it has been quarantined.
No further information was released. -
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Kicked dog gets revenge on driver by attacking his car with friends, China
You don't kick this dog and get away with it.
An angry stray that was struck by a motorist decided to get revenge by damaging his most prized possession - his car.
The man kicked the dog because it was lying in his parking spot.
The dog then vanished but came back later with a few of his pack and damaged the car.
He was pictured biting at the wheel trims and windscreen wipers outside the flats in southwest China's Chongqing.
A neighbour took pictures of the incident last week, which he later showed to the driver.
Needless to say, the dog hasn't been seen since. -
Metro.
104 TONS of dead fish wash ashore along the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay
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Cleanup activities culminated in the capital, while in Ciudad de la Costa will continue throughout the day.
Still he could not establish the causes of the phenomenon |
The
Municipality of Montevideo (IMM) completed the cleanup on the coast
after the appearance of dead fish on Wednesday. In total, 104 tons rose.
In Canelones, tasks continue during the day and so far collected 95
tons lead. It is the fish known as menhaden, whose scientific name is
Brevoortia Pectinata.
The director of the IMM Environmental
Development, Juan Canessa, told The Observer that are not programmed new
cleanings, "unless more fish appear".
On the other hand, the
director of the National Directorate of Aquatic Resources (Dinara),
Daniel Giraldoni said that they are investigating the causes and that
none of the hypotheses discarded. One of the strongest is that it would
discard that made fishing vessels of this species, others, however,
point to contamination or a physical change in water conditions.
He
said Giraldoni, striking the large volume of fish and that the
phenomenon has also resulted in Argentine coast. In this sense, Dinara
is in communication with the Fisheries Research Institute in the country
and in the course of the week will learn a technical report.
Nauseating Beaches in Canelones
In
some spas Canelones as Shangrilá, there are still mountains of dead
fish that generated a foul smell on the beaches. From the Administration
of Canelones is expected that the cleanup, which began the weekend next
to the Emergency Committee was completed on Monday.
Worked 70
workers, seven backhoes, ten trucks and four tractors to clear 60
kilometers of coastline, told The Observer director of Environmental
Management Canaria Commune, Leonardo Herou. When lifted carried over 95
tonnes, being disposed at the site of final disposal of the commune.
"The
most complicated area, which gave us more work was El Pinar, by
characteristics. The mouth of the stream Carrasco was left for last
because the beach is there disqualified bathroom and put emphasis on the
rest of the coast if it is. Today we're reviewing and re-pick, because
in some areas the tide made out again, "he said.
Discard fishing
The
director explained that discarding Dinara is a common practice since
this species have no great commercial value. "It is an operative that is
prohibited, so fishing from the point of view is fine," he said.
"It's
an important issue that all countries want to correct. The European
Union last year began to gradually implement a regulation to reduce
discards, but has a big opposition from many countries because it
directly affects the profitability of enterprises and employment. In
Uruguay is discussing the issue with employers and workers, there is
consensus among all which is a theme solve ".
Lacha
Uruguay
exports about 1700 tons of these fish per year, according to the
Dinara, but as it is a species that is in abundance, has little
commercial value and is rapidly deteriorating, if you are fishing in the
early days of work at sea, Boats prefer discard. -
El Observador. [Translated]
250,000 birds killed due to avian flu in Monywa, Myanmar
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Mon State farmers are trying to prevent the spread of bird flu.
Photo: Staff |
Poultry
farmers in Mon State were called to an urgent meeting on March 6 to
discuss measures to prevent the spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu to
the state. The Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department called the
distributors in after an avian flu outbreak in Monywa, Sagaing Region,
led to the death of hundreds of thousands of diseased birds.
About 15 people, representing the four big poultry distributors in Mawlamyine, attended the meeting. Each owner has more than 10,000 chickens.
Dr Chit Thein, Mawlamyine township chief officer, said after the meeting, “The best way to prevent infection is get all the distributors from this area together and provide guidelines to prevent further infection in Mon State.” Outbreaks of H5N1 also occurred in 2006 and 2011.
He said the authorities had advised poultry dealers to go to the markets with municipal experts to inspect the birds on sale, and to apply pesticide on their farms.
U Hla Than, owner of the U Noe Din family farm, told The Myanmar Times that some chickens had died in his area, but only because of high temperatures. “The flu is not here yet, so we are trying to prevent infection by requiring that chickens bought from outside Mon State be accompanied by a letter guaranteeing its good health. And we also isolate the runs of any culled chickens for 20 days for cleansing,” he said.
Farm owner Arkar Min confirmed that any chickens bought out-of-state would have to be guaranteed healthy by the local Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department. “That is the only way we can prevent infection from unhealthy chickens being imported to Mawlamyine,” he said.
The Ministry of Livestock. Fisheries and Rural Development has confirmed the deaths of chickens and quail in Monywa because of bird flu. As of March 1, about 250,000 birds had been destroyed there.The chief officer of Mawlamyine Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Dr Ni Ni Maw, told the meeting that everyone shared a responsibility to prevent infection because the flu was dangerous not only to birds, but also to humans, who had not yet been infected in an H5N1 outbreak in Myanmar. -
MM Times.
19 dead turtles found on Pulau Tiga Island in Malaysia
Mystery surrounds the discovery of 19 dead turtles on an island within the proposed Tun Mustapha Marine Park in Kudat.
Acting on public information, officers from the State Wildlife department together with rangers from Sabah Parks, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine police recovered the carcasses on Pulau Tiga on March 5.
Post mortem will be carried out by the State wildlife department here to determine how the endangered Green turtles ended up dead on the island which is located about three hours by speed boat from Kudat town.
West Coast wildlife Officer, Roland Nuin said the discovery indicate that there could be a huge market for parts from the turtle species.
“I highly suspect that they are meant to be smuggled out alive to foreign countries but failed because of the heavy presence of MMEA and Marine police vessels patrolling the sea,” he added.
Roland said the case looked similar to discovery of 50 turtle carcasses last year on the same island which is believed to be used as a transit point for smugglers because of its proximity to the border.The area where the turtle carcasses were found is within the proposed park which measures almost one million hectares. -
NST.
100+ cattle have died 'due to suspected grass poisoning' in Gujarat, India
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| Representational photo (Photo: Pixabay) |
Over 100 cattle have died due to suspected grass poisoning here in the last three days, causing concern among live-stock authorities and cow protection activists.
While 41 cattle died in Drjipura area on Friday, another 61 deaths were reported in the city on Sunday, Joint Commissioner of Police D J Patel said.
The deaths were suspected to have been caused by poisoning of grass sourced from outside areas to feed the animals but exact cause will be known after analysis of the liver samples of the dead animals, he said.
Samples have been sent to Forensic Science Laboratory in Surat for detailed analysis after conducting post-mortem on the carcasses.
"Veterinarians and live-stock officials are awaiting the report from the laboratory. Only then we will be able to say the exact cause of the death of these cattle," the police official said.
Meanwhile, Viha Bharwad, an activist of Gauraksha Samiti, demanded an inquiry into the death of the cattle and wanted the authorities to take urgent preventive steps to save the remaining animals kept in the shelters here.Rajiv Shah, an official of an animal shelter at Panjrapol area, said it had been decided to feed the cattle with hay fodder for the time being as contaminated grass was suspected to be the cause of the death. -
Deccan Chronicle.
550 dead animals (mainly deer) found, 'due to snow and cold' in Leon, Spain
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| Remains of a dead deer and mutilated near Riano, in the province of León. / ILEON.COM |
More
than 500 animals have been found dead around Riano, in Leon slope of
the Cantabrian mountain range, following heavy snowfall and extreme cold
this winter. The guards of the reserve, guarding him, have already
started their transportation to areas where the bodies within the reach
of scavengers that may feed on them, especially the vultures and bears
soon leave the perido hibernation, according to the newspaper ileon.com.
The
Regional Hunting Reserves are spaces that aim to preserve and promote
certain species and achieved adequate levels of density, rationally use
the rich hunting "for maximum social and recreational satisfaction,
trying to head the regions affected a strong cash flow that will improve
their economic and social conditions. " He explains the Board holds
these lands, specifically, manages the Department of Development and
Environment.
The province of León has three of the ten community
reserves and Riano, with 78,995 hectares, more than double the sum of
the other two: Ancares Leoneses (36,342 hectares) and Mampodre (31,400
hectares). Most of its surface, which borders Palencia, Asturias and
Cantabria, is included in the Regional Park Picos de Europa. To meet the
Reserve directed by Juan Carlos Peral, the Ministry has, on the ground,
with a group of 13 environmental zealots, the front of which is, as you
save more, Felipe Campo.
The wide and varied catalog of work of
these professionals is marked by nature activities brand for different
seasons and also for the unexpected. In fire season conducted
surveillance are also fishing authority but in that forest officials
focus. It is also responsible for developing the censuses of different
species that inhabit the reserve, as chamois, roe deer, wild boar, bears
and (most listed) montess goats.
Surveillance hunting
Hunting
accounts for much of the time they spend working, shortly pending a
schedule that exceeds every day and whose excesses only resists a
resounding vocation. They are in charge of accompanying hunters in the
beatings and tell them what animals can kill. Also placed jobs in
collective hunts and are responsible, for example, to monitor the bear
habitats for the shots are not made in places that may disturb the
plantÃgrados. When the animal is killed -pelos collect samples, blood or
part of the jaw that are sent to the Regional Agricultural Laboratory
Villaquilambre. They also collaborate with the University of Barcelona
and the Atapuerca Foundation.
Monitor and review the Reserve
damage caused by animals in farms and herds is another of its missions.
The wolf attacks on cattle, sheep or horses and boars hozaduras in
individual enclosures also takes them many hours, says Felipe Campo.
Furthermore, as a good knowledge of the area, are required by the Civil
Guard when a person disappears and even in some mountain rescue. For all
these works have a fleet of vehicles that would like to renovate and a
kit also capable of being improved or expanded given the intense wear
and tear that make it.
"Almost none of which we meet a specific
schedule. It is impossible, you all day," he says, but adds that his
team does not skimp on dedication, what is especially proud. Pedro
Martinez, one of the guards, recognizes that in his previous post worked
a lot less time but says he does not miss. The partnership between the
group, he stresses, is the best reward. That does not stop mourn, with
some bitterness, some criticism they receive.
Severe winter
"It's
hard to get people to give everything in their power without saying
that not touch him do that, or has not rested and here it happens, we
are a bit like a family, everyone wanting and pulling the boat forward.
What is hard is that when you take too long without rest and all pending
day and doing things, above say we do things wrong. That will crush ...
with what we are doing and we are shaking up, "laments Field .
Refers
to complaints arising in some villages in the area following the
snowfall that lived for weeks in the mountainous areas of the province
and resulted in the death of hundreds of animals. The guards dehorned
corpses with the intent to prevent poaching who denied the headman of
the area, even questioning the fate of them. The more saved notes that
the controversy is already settled and explains that the horns are sent
to Leon and can be claimed by the neighborhood councils.
To date,
over 550 have been found dead animals and many others are expected to
become available. The bodies move, if deemed advisable, to areas where
they can be fed to vultures, "which once fed up of eating need space to
fly" or where they are to be bears, to come out of hibernation , very
fond of the carrion. "In a month will skins and bones," says Field.
Mortal stretch
Death,
mainly deer still frequently appear at the roadside in a route between
Builth Wells and Harbour Pandetrave, cold and weakness is due
accumulated during weeks of snow. "The deer eat much, heavy and easily
digs into the snow. When the snow is too tight fail to walk through it,"
sums.
The snowfall, this exceptional year, has given much work
and still "have some work because you have to work with snowshoes or
skis, there are a lot of ground and you have to enter more than once
because still overnight you find animals, still dying bugs and it is
important to know the casualties we have. "
With an average of
five feet thick at heights between 800 and 1000 meters and more from
there, many animals were trapped and were and continue to suffer from
cold and lack of food. The guards continue to carry grass some points
that are close but for some specimens survival is excluded. They also
assist those who are 'locked' by walls of snow on the road formed in the
wake of the machines.
Peter and Philip coindicen that what
happened can not be considered more than a tough selection of nature
itself. We discussed while, binoculars or telescope in hand, locate a
skill that causes admiration some deer, chamois and ibex grazing or
resting on a sunny day in mountains released in fall of snow but still
inaccessible valleys near the end a particularly harsh winter. -
Asturias 24. [Translated]
Massive die off of prawns, 'cause unknown' in Aroor, India
Prawn farmers in Aroor constituency have landed in trouble after prawns in their fields were found dead in large numbers this week. However, the exact reason for the death of prawns has not been determined. The prawns were found dead in fields at Pallithode, Valiyathadam, Kochuvavakad and western parts of Thuravoor. Udayabhanu, a farmer from Pattanakkad panchayat, said that he had suffered a loss of more than Rs 10 lakh. He had deposited 1.75 lakh seedlings in his 12 acre paddy field.
Satheesan, another prawn farmer said, the prawns afflicted with the unknown disease are 70 -days- old.
“We were about to conduct the harvesting of the prawns. But, we are in trouble now as majority of our prawns have started to die out in large numbers. Though news about the prawn’s mass death has come out, no authorities concerned have come forward and tried to understand our situation,’’ he said.
The chemical waste dumping from the various industrial units are believed to be the main reason for the sudden death of prawns.
According to Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies Vice-Chancellor B Madhusoodana Kurup, when the industrial waste reaches the fields through canals, the level of oxygen will come down drastically resulting in the death of prawns.In a rough estimate of loss prepared by the farmers in the Kari land in Thuravoor, Ezhupunna and other panchayats in the Cherthala taluk shows that more than Rs 50 lakh loss was incurred due to the death of prawns. -
New Indian Express.
10,000+ cattle dead due to flooding of the river Ebro in Spain
It is not yet known how long the Ebro to return to normal, low water slowly and then rise to the surface problems.
Remove mud, recover the supply of drinking water and, most painfully,
recover the bodies of all the dead cattle lying in the fields: over
10,000 cattle to be removed. Already have withdrawn more than 4,000 days and even take on the rest. -
Cuatro. [Translated]
Weasel attacks heron in Kent, UK
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| 'Excuse me sir, please let go of my beak’ © SWNS/Jonathan Forgham |
Warning: This article contains content animals lovers may find upsetting
The world went crazy for a weasel riding a woodpecker last week, but it
seems not all weasel/bird relationships are as harmonious as that one.
One weasel received a much colder reception
when he tried to jump on and attack the beak of a heron, which ended up eating the furry little rodent for dinner.
First the understandably annoyed heron grabbed the angry weasel in it's
beak before dunking him in the water several times, drowning him.
After making sure his nemesis was dead the bird swallowed him in one mouthful.
Bird watcher Jonathan Forgham captured the horrifying moment in the Elmley Mature Reserve in Kent.
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| ‘OK. Now I’m getting angry.’ © SWNS/Jonathan Forgham |
 |
| © SWNS/Jonathan Forgham |
He
said: 'The heron wasn't trying to eat it, it was just trying to get rid
of it. But the weasel attacked its beak again and the heron picked it
up and flew off to the pond.
'I drove the car
round there in time to see the heron try to drown the weasel. It lifted
it out of the water and then dunked it again to make sure it was dead.
'When the weasel was quite motionless the heron swallowed it.
Afterwards it didn't do much, it just stood there looking quite smug.'
Jonathan admitted that the weasel was fighting a losing battle from the
outset, but said they are 'aggressive, never give up and fight to the
death'.
Clearly.
We think it's about time ambassadors
from the both the weasel and avian kingdoms meet to try and rebuild the
peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship the two species once had.
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| Of course in reality the weasel was trying to kill the woodpecker. © Martin LeMay |
Of course in reality the weasel was trying to kill the woodpecker
But
hey, even if weasels and birds don't get along most of the time, that
one precious moment when they did has now been immortalised in the most
British way possible - with a sign.
The amazing photo has
brought such a massive amount of attention to the Hornchurch Country
Park in Essex where it was taken that someone has decided to remind all
visitors to that park that they walk upon sacred ground.
 |
| Never forget. © Julia Kenny |
Of
course, the sign wasn't put up by the council, and is thought to have
been placed by a prankster who wants to park to become listed as a
'historical site' due to the picture. -
Metro.