October 20, 2011. Associated Press . Animal Rights Advocates Agree There Was Little Authorities Could Do After Exotic Animals Escaped.
Sheriff's deputies shot 48 animals -- including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions -- after Terry Thompson, owner of the private Muskingum County Animal Farm near Zanesville
"What a tragedy," said veterinarian Barb Wolfe, of The Wilds animal preserve sponsored by the Columbus Zoo. "We knew that ... there were so many dangerous animals at this place that eventually something bad would happen, but I don't think anybody really knew it would be this bad."
As the hunt winded down on Wednesday, a photo showing the remains of tigers, bears and lions lined up and scattered in an open field went viral provoking visceral reactions among viewers, some of whom expressed their anger and sadness on social networking sites.
Some local townspeople also were saddened by the deaths. At a nearby Moose Lodge, Bill Weiser said: "It's breaking my heart, them shooting those animals."
Authorities said the slain animals would be buried on Thompson's farm.
Will Travers, chief executive of the California-based Born Free USA animal welfare and wildlife conservation organization, said police had no choice but to take the action they did.
"It's a tragedy for these particular animals, for no fault of their own they've been shot, and I can see how difficult that decision was for the police," he said.
Jack Hanna, TV personality and former director of the Columbus Zoo, also defended the sheriff's decision to kill the animals, calling deaths of the endangered Bengal tigers especially tragic.
The animals destroyed also included six black bears, two grizzlies, a baboon, a wolf and three mountain lions. Six -- three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys -- were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo.
"It's like Noah's Ark wrecking right here in Zanesville , Ohio
Officers were ordered to kill the animals instead of trying to bring them down with tranquilizers for fear that those hit with darts would escape in the darkness before they dropped and would later regain consciousness. A wolf was later found dead, leaving a monkey as the only animal possibly still unaccounted for in the mostly rural community of farms, widely spaced homes and wooded areas about 55 miles east of Columbus. "These animals were on the move, they were showing aggressive behavior," Sheriff Matt Lutz said. "Once the nightfall hit, our biggest concern was having these animals roaming."
Veterinarian Wolfe had tried to save a tiger in a heavy bramble by using a tranquilizer dart, but the animal charged her then tried to flee. It had to be shot and killed by sheriff's deputies.
"I was about 15 feet from him and took a shot, and it didn't respond too much, and I thought we were OK, but within about 10 seconds he roared and started toward me," she said.
Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Merry, among the first to respond on Tuesday, said he shot a number of animals, including a gray wolf and a black bear who charged him from 7 feet away. He said he's an animal lover and only took pride in knowing he was protecting the community.
"All these animals have the ability to take a human out in the length of a second," he said.
The Humane Society of the United States
"Every month brings a new, bizarre, almost surreal incident involving privately-held, dangerous wild animals," Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the Humane Society, said in a statement. "In recent years, Ohioans have died and suffered injuries. ... Owners of large, exotic animals are a menace to society, and it's time for the delaying on the rulemaking to end."
"Surely, after this latest incident, enough blood has been shed for the state to take action," the group said in a statement.Activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also called for emergency regulations and pointed the finger at Gov. John Kasich, saying the incident should serve as his "wake-up call."
Born Free USA says it has tracked 1,500 attacks on humans or other animals, and escapes by exotic animals since 1990, with 86 being in Ohio
"Legislation should be there to protect the animals from the people and to protect the people from the animals," he said.
Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said Wednesday the governor had called on Lutz to commend the job he had done and to ask him to be part of the process of putting into law what the executive order failed to do.
"Clearly, we need tougher laws. We haven't had them in this state. Nobody's dealt with this, and we will. And we'll deal with it in a comprehensive way," Kasich said earlier in the day at a meeting of Dix Communications editors at which The Associated Press was present.
The Ohio Veterinary Medical Association also called for exotic animal regulations. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland
"By enacting more stringent restrictions on owning exotic pets in Ohio
He had gotten out of federal prison just last month after serving a year for possessing unregistered guns.Thompson, 62, had had repeated run-ins with the law and his neighbors. Lutz said that the sheriff's office had received numerous complaints since 2004 about animals escaping onto neighbors' property. The sheriff's office also said that Thompson had been charged over the years with animal cruelty, animal neglect and allowing animals to roam.
Thompson had rescued some of the animals at his preserve and purchased many others, said Columbus Zoo spokeswoman Patty Peters.
It was not immediately clear how Thompson managed to support the preserve and for what purpose it was operated, since it was not open to the public. But Thompson had appeared on the "Rachael Ray Show" in 2008 as an animal handler for a zoologist guest, said show spokeswoman Lauren Nowell.
October 19, 2011. Wolf and monkey only two animals still on the loose in Ohio
ANDY BROWNFIELD and KANTELE FRANKO, Associated PressZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Sheriff's deputies shot nearly 50 lions, tigers and other beasts in a big-game hunt across the Ohio countryside Wednesday after the owner of a wild-animal park threw their cages open and committed suicide in what may have been one last act of vengeance against neighbors and police.
As homeowners nervously took cover indoors, officers spread out through fields and woods to hunt down about 56 animals, including bears, wolves and monkeys.
Schools closed in the mostly rural area of widely spaced homes 55 miles east of Columbus
Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said at an afternoon news conference that the danger had passed and they could reopen. The animals killed included 18 Bengal tigers, 17 lions, eight bears and a wolf, he said.
The owner of the privately run Muskingum County Animal Farm, Terry Thompson, left the cages open and the fences unsecured before committing suicide, Lutz said earlier.
Authorities would not say how he killed himself, and Lutz wouldn't speculate on why he did it or why he went out with what appeared to be one last act of vengeance.
"This is a bad situation," the sheriff said earlier. "It's been a situation for a long time."
OCTOBER 19, 2011. HSUS blames Ohio
The Humane Society of the United States
After about 50 wild animals such as lions, bears and wolves escaped the home of Terry Thompson of Zanesville
Authorities say Thompson let the animals loose and then committed suicide.
Wild animal keepers are supposed to have an exhibitor license issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but Thompson for unknown reasons was not licensed.
The HSUS is calling on state officials to issue an emergency rule to crack down on keeping dangerous exotics until the Ohio Department of Natural Resources or the Legislature can adopt a permanent legal solution.
According to HSUS:
A previous emergency order issued by former Gov. Ted Strickland, which expired in April, prohibited people convicted of animal cruelty from owning exotic animals. Terry Thompson, found dead on his The Kasich Administration has convened a stakeholder group to develop standards, including The HSUS, but immediate interim action is required given the public health and animal cruelty concerns. Ohio
HSUS president Wayne Pacelle decried the failure of the state to protect animals and its citizenry by allowing unfit - and in some cases unlicensed - operators to continue.“Every month brings a new, bizarre, almost surreal incident involving privately held dangerous wild animals,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States
The previous emergency order had banned the sale and acquisition of certain dangerous exotic animals such as bears, big cats, primates, wolves and large constrictor and venomous snakes, but grandfathered in existing owners, as long as they registered with the state by May 1, 2011, and had not been “convicted of an offense involving the abuse or neglect of any animal pursuant to any state, local, or federal law.” Thompson was convicted in December 2005 on one count of having an animal at large, two counts of rendering animal waste without a license, one count of cruelty to animals.
October 19, 2011. Ohio escape renews call for exotic-animal crackdown.
James Eng. msnbc.com. 'Owners of large, exotic animals are a menace to society,' Humane Society says 
The case of an Ohio man who set loose his collection of wild bears, lions, tigers and other beasts before apparently killing himself has animal-welfare organizations renewing their call for a clampdown on ownership of exotic animals.
“Exotic, dangerous animals simply do not belong in private hands. It’s not worth the risk,” said Adam Roberts, executive vice president of Born Free USA.
Authorities believe Terry Thompson, owner of a 73-acre exotic-animal farm near rural Zaneville , Ohio Muskingum County Bengal tigers.
By late Wednesday afternoon, authorities said only one animal remained missing — a monkey carrying potentially deadly herpes B virus.
Thompson, 62, had a criminal record. He was released from federal prison just last month, after serving a one-year term for weapons violations stemming from the discovery of more than 100 guns on his property in 2008, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Story: Sheriff defends order to shoot bears, tigers
He was also convicted in municipal court in 2005 of cruelty to animals, having an animal at large and two counts of rendering animal waste without a license, according to the Dispatch. His preserve was home to a menagerie of lions, tigers, bears, wolves, giraffes, monkeys and
Animal-welfare groups say Ohio
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the An executive order issued by former Gov. Ted Strickland just days before he left office in January prohibited people convicted of animal cruelty from owning exotic animals. The administration of current Gov. John Kasich allowed the order to expire in April, noting concerns about its enforceability and its impact on small businesses.
Story: Animal advocates defend shootings on Ohio
Kasich has convened a stakeholder group to develop standards, but Pacelle said immediate action is needed until the Ohio Department of Natural Resources or the Legislature can adopt a permanent legal solution.
“Every month brings a new, bizarre, almost surreal incident involving privately held dangerous wild animals,” Pacelle said in a statement. “In recent years, Ohioans have died and suffered injuries because the state hasn’t stopped private citizens from keeping dangerous wild animals as pets or as roadside attractions. Owners of large, exotic animals are a menace to society, and it’s time for the delaying on the rulemaking to end.”
The Humane Society says it has documented 22 "incidents" with dangerous exotic animals in Ohio since 2003, including the widely reported killing last year in Lorain County
Animal-welfare activists wanted the bear's owner, Sam Mazzola, charged with reckless homicide, but Kendra's death was ruled a workplace accident. The bear was later euthanized.
Mazzola was found dead in July, face-down on a water bed and restrained with handcuffs and chains, in his Columbia Station home. Authorities said he apparently choked on a sex toy.
Born Free says it has tracked more than 1,598 reported attacks and incidents since 1990 across the United States , including 86 in Ohio
Laura Jones, director of comminations for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said a stakeholders group hopes to have a wild-animal proposal completed by the end of the year for the state Legislature to consider early next year.
"We’ve been working aggressively on having this proposal in place. I’m sure yesterday’s situation will be uppermost in their (lawmakers') minds as they consider this legislation," Jones told msnbc.com.
Roberts said the mass-escape of wild animals from Thompson's compound is particularly troubling because animal-welfare groups have been trying for years to get Ohio
"The bottom line is, because Ohio like many other states didn’t have necessary laws in place to prevent this kind of exotic animal ownership, it really sets the stage for a potential catastrophic incident," Roberts told msnbc.com.
According to Born Free, Ohio
"The biggest lesson is, when groups like Born Free and others advocate against keeping of exotic animals as pets and the general reaction is we’re nothing more than Chicken Little going around saying the sky is falling, that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," Roberts said.
October 19, 2011. Police Kill Dozens of Animals Freed on Ohio
BISHOP and TIMOTHY WILLIAMS. 
Both the woman and the operator seemed surprisingly calm considering that it was not merely a bear and a lion but 56 exotic creatures — a fierce menagerie that included wolves, monkeys and 18 Bengal tigers, an endangered species whose numbers total less than 3,000 in the wild — that had fled their cages on a 73-acre private reserve. Friends described the couple who ran it as animal lovers, but they also had a history of run-ins with the authorities.
By late Wednesday, a day after the hunt began, the authorities in this central Ohio
The animals’ release set off a day of tense watches, frantic searches and a news media frenzy in the rain-soaked hills along Interstate 70 an hour’s drive east of Columbus
And while there were multiple sightings of wild animals on farmland in and around Zanesville
Terry Thompson, 62, who officials said let the animals out, had assembled the exotic collection, creature by creature, with his wife, largely out of their love of wild animals, friends said. But there had been trouble in their lives: Mr. Thompson was released from a federal prison three weeks ago after a serving a year for possessing illegal firearms, and friends said he and his wife were estranged.
The creatures were eventually hunted down and killed by At least 49 had been killed by Wednesday afternoon, most of them within 500 yards of their pens, including 17 lions and at least one animal described as a big cat that was hit by a car as it tried to cross a street. It was later euthanized by the authorities.
Six other animals — three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys — were shot with tranquilizer darts and sent to the Columbus Zoo, where they were placed under quarantine. And various species of monkeys, found alive in cages inside the Thompson house, were also spared.
Mr. Thompson’s wife, Marian, arrived at the property on Wednesday and pleaded with officials not to kill her animals.
Jack Hanna, the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, was helping the authorities at the scene and said that Ms. Thompson had begged them, “Please don’t take my babies,” as they tracked down the wild creatures.
Animal rights advocates criticized the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Department for killing so many of the animals, but Sheriff Matt Lutz took pains on Wednesday to illustrate the danger of using nonlethal force in such circumstances.
The sheriff described some of the animals that had been killed as “mature, very big, aggressive” with “high potential” for being dangerous to humans. “We could not have animals running loose in this county,” he said. “We could not have that.”
The Sheriff’s Department shut down all roads leading to Mr. Thompson’s sprawling farm, where most of the animals were kept in pens and cages at the top of a hill, although some were also in the garage and in the house. Neighbors gathered at the blockade, more excited than frightened about the unusual proceedings in their normally quiet town, perhaps best known as the birthplace of the Western writer Zane Grey. Schools were closed for the day out of fear that children might be attacked.
Mr. Thompson, who had run afoul of the law dozens of times over questions of whether his animals were being fed regularly and kept in sanitary conditions, pleaded guilty to federal charges in April 2010 of possessing eight illegal firearms — five automatic weapons and three short-barreled guns whose serial numbers had been filed off, according to court documents.
He spent a year and a day in prison, said Fred Alverson, a spokesman for the United States attorney’s office in Columbus Columbus
Local law enforcement officials said they repeatedly visited the Thompson farm after receiving complaints, but could do little more than make sure that Mr. Thompson had the proper permits for keeping the animals. He did.
“We’ve handled numerous complaints, numerous inspections,” Sheriff Lutz said. “This has been a huge problem for us.”
Dave Sacks, a spokesman for the United States Department of Agriculture, said that under the federal Animal Welfare Act, the agency monitors exotic animal owners only if they exhibit the animals to the public for compensation.
“The rub in Ohio
Will Travers, the chief executive of Born Free USA, a nonprofit advocacy group that supports wild animals and opposes the exotic pet trade, said that Ohio is one of only eight states that does not regulate exotic animals. It did briefly after a bear mauling, but Gov. John Kasich allowed the ban to expire.
“Ohio
Although many details remained unclear, the authorities described a chaotic, bloody scene on Tuesday after deputies first responded to two 911 calls about Mr. Thompson’s animals running free — not an unusual occurrence.
But when deputies arrived about 5:30 p.m. , they were confronted by several of the animals.
Sheriff Lutz said that with night falling he had little choice but to give his deputies permission to shoot. They do not normally carry tranquilizer darts, he said.
During the height of the confusion on Tuesday night, Sheriff Lutz said, it was unclear how many animals had been killed. “When they’re shooting animals in all directions, it’s hard to keep track,” he said.
On Wednesday, he told reporters that his officers were unprepared to deal with large, frightened animals. “I had deputies that had to shoot with sidearms,” Sheriff Lutz said. “These are 300-pound Bengal tigers that we had to put down.”
Once the extent of the danger to his deputies became apparent, he said, deputies were given high-powered rifles and stationed in the beds of pickup trucks, where they shot the animals as they cornered them.
During the night, deputies found Mr. Thompson’s body in the driveway of the house with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The authorities and friends of Mr. Thompson said most of the animals had been purchased legally at local auctions. One friend, Quentin Krouskoupf, 38, said that at one point Mr. Thompson had owned two lions that had belonged to the boxer Mike Tyson.
As rain poured down on Wednesday, Mr. Hanna of the Columbus Zoo defended the sheriff’s actions. “What was he supposed to do?” he asked.
To the sheriff, though, the pressure of the previous 24 hours was evident. “It’s just terrible,” he said. “These killings were senseless. It was nonsense. It was crazy.”
Mr. Krouskoupf also found no sense in the tragedy. Mr. Thompson had loved his animals, Mr. Krouskoupf said. It was inconceivable to him that Mr. Thompson had freed them, knowing what would happen. “He would have known if he let them out they would be killed.”
October 13, 201. David Challenger. Thais race to shore up Bangkok defenses against floods.
(CNN) -- Workers in Thailand are racing against time Thursday to shore-up protective floodwalls in Bangkok with sandbags and mud to stop the country's devastating floods from engulfing parts of the capital.So far, 281 people have been killed and two people are missing in Thailand, according to the government website Thaiflood.com. Some 61 of the country's 76 provinces have so far been affected, impacting more than eight million people.
Following significant floods in Thailand's northern and central plains, Bangkok is now being hit, where officials and citizens are scurrying to beef up prevention measures as waterways, including the main Chao Phraya River, become bloated by rising water.
"Between seven and eight billion cubic meters of water a day is being released from the Bhumibol dam in the north of the country, which is heavily affecting provinces like Nahkon Sawan and Ayutthaya," government official Wim Rungwattanajinda tells CNN.
Flood walls reinforced to protect Bangkok Rain, flooding wreak havoc in Thailand Bangkok fears worst flooding in decades Thailand flooding impacts economy"From that, about one to 1.2 billion cubic meters of water is reaching Bangkok every day."
Wim believes that inner city Bangkok will not flood and is confident the defenses that have been built will hold, though he's worried about a low weather depression that's expected to arrive in the next couple of days.
"It's a race against time, as Bangkok is only two meters above sea level," reports CNN's Paula Hancocks.
"Of particular concern is that the waters that are coming down from the north may merge with predicted high tides from the south, expected from Thursday onwards."
Hancocks also reports that the country's economy may be badly affected from the floods. Manufacturing areas just north of Bangkok have been particularly hard hit hard, including a Honda factory that has been submerged ruining hundreds of cars.
The giant Rojana Industrial Park has also halted operations for the time being, director Amara Charoengitwattanagun told state-run news agency MCOT, and the facility may be further damaged if the flooding worsens. One plant in the park, Single Point Parts, evacuated all workers from the premises and built flood prevention embankments around its building.
"The Thai finance ministry says overall damage from the floods could be more than $2 billion, with the worst yet still possibly to come," Hancocks says.
Meanwhile, the UNESCO-listed Ayutthaya historical park, where the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya are located, has been submerged since last week, according to local authorities.
"This is the worst flood in our historical site in 16 years," said Somsuda Leeyawanich, from the Thai Fine Arts Department. She said the water level in the park is almost three meters, compared to levels of around 80-90 centimeters during the floods of 1995.
"We are very concerned that if the site is under water for more than 30 days it may cause serious damage," she added. "The temples are over 400 years old."
October 13, 2011. Deer me: Tourists tangle with stags at London park
BUSHY PARK, England (AP) — They call it the Beast of Bushy.For the past week, this massive, short-tempered stag has been charging into British headlines, goring a man in the middle of a picnic and chasing one woman through the brush.
The stag's rampage has cast a shadow of fear over Bushy Park, a quiet suburban expanse of tree-lined avenues and ponds popular with retirees and stroller-pushing parents some 13 miles (21 kilometers) southwest of central London.
"I've been in and out of the park for 20 years, and this is the first time I've heard of people being attacked in such quick succession," said Robert Piper, a sports and wildlife photographer whose dramatic shots of the angry deer have kept it in the headlines.
The beast didn't seem so fearsome Wednesday, when it was seen lazing in the mud and long grass across from the park's model boat pond.
"He's had a rough couple of weeks," joked Piper. But as he inched forward to take a few last photos, the stag lifted a pair of sharpened antlers into the sky.
"Let's not push our luck," he said.
Bushy Park holds 320 deer, which roam freely across a 445-hectare (1,100-acre) area of meadows and forested areas that look much as they did when King Henry VIII used to hunt there.They are generally gentle creatures — until fall's rutting season.
"Every year there's the odd incident," says park veteran Dick Hill, a 64-year-old retiree with binoculars dangling from his neck. "There have been quite a few of them this year."
Hill said a shortage of female deer could be to blame for the aggressive behavior, although a park official said the unseasonably warm weather — which drew large numbers of visitors at the height of the rutting season — was the deciding factor. The official asked not to be named.
Whatever the cause, this year's stag attacks have produced some dramatic photos. One showed a middle-aged man being bowled over by a charging deer in a picnic area. Hill, who was there, said the man emerged covered in blood.
Another incident, this one witnessed by Piper, showed a woman racing for her life, with the stag so close that its antlers lifted up her black leather jacket. She managed to escape after Piper distracted the animal.
"It was a happy ending," he said. "But it could easily have been a goring."
London's feisty press have traced the path of the stag's rampage under articles bearing names such as "Stag Fright."
Hill said the fuss was a bit overdone, and in any case, the Beast of Bushy's days may be numbered.
The park's deer are regularly culled.
October 4, 2011. Associated Press. When Animals Attack! Bear Mauls Couple In Pennsylvania.
NEWPORT, Pa.— A married couple was injured early Monday when a bear followed the family dog into their rural central Pennsylvania home and went on the attack, state Game Commission officials said. Rich and Angie Moyer suffered back and leg injuries, respectively, but they weren’t considered life-threatening, said Rich Moyer’s mother, Leeann Moyer. Their 10-year-old son was at home at the time but was not involved, she said.Tue Oct 04 2011, Express News Service. Rhino attacks photographer in N Bengal forest.
A male rhino which strayed from Gorumara Reserve Forest on Sunday attacked a photographer and flung him in the air several times while he was trying to click the animal’s pictures. According to Forest officials, the incident happened after the photographer, Deepankar Ghatak tried to click the animal’s pictures by going very near to him. Prior to this incident, the rhino had frightened the villagers in Fatakpara to death by charging at them menacingly. A large number of onlookers at the spot made it difficult for the forest officials to push the animal into the forest.
On Monday, the one-horned rhino was escorted deep inside the Gorumara Forest Reserve with four trained Kunki Elephants. “Our patrol party and the animals followed the footsteps and the animal was left deep inside the Forest,” Raj K Mahtolia, the chief conservator of Forest (wildlife), North Bengal told The Indian Express over telephone. Mahtolia said the photographer was lucky to have saved his life. He has sustained injuries in thighs and back and is admitted in a nursing home. No internal injuries have been reported. The rhino had come out of the Gorumara Reserve Forest on Sunday morning and had taken shelter between Jaldhaka and Betegada areas of Mainaguri block of Jalpaiguri. The photographer along with a few others took a boat ride and crossed two streams to locate the animal. While he was taking the pictures, the animal rushed to him and flung him high
October 1, 2011. Hairy, crazy ants invade from Texas to Miss. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It sounds like a horror movie:
Biting ants invade by the millions. A camper's metal walls bulge from the pressure of ants nesting behind them. A circle of poison stops them for only a day, and then a fresh horde shows up, bringing babies. Stand in the yard, and in seconds ants cover your shoes. It's an extreme example of what can happen when the ants — which also can disable huge industrial plants — go unchecked. Controlling them can cost thousands of dollars. But the story is real, told by someone who's been studying ants for a decade. "Months later, I could close my eyes and see them moving," said Joe MacGown, who curates the ant, mosquito and scarab collections at the Mississippi State Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University. He's been back to check on the hairy crazy ants. They're still around. The occupant isn't.
The flea-sized critters are called crazy because each forager scrambles randomly at a speed that your average picnic ant, marching one by one, reaches only in video fast-forward. They're called hairy because of fuzz that, to the naked eye, makes their abdomens look less glossy than those of their slower, bigger cousins. And they're on the move in Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. In Texas, they've invaded homes and industrial complexes, urban areas and rural areas.
They travel in cargo containers, hay bales, potted plants, motorcycles and moving vans. They overwhelm beehives — one Texas beekeeper was losing 100 a year in 2009. They short out industrial equipment. If one gets electrocuted, its death releases a chemical cue to attack a threat to the colony, said Roger Gold, an entomology professor at Texas A&M.
"The other ants rush in. Before long, you have a ball of ants," he said. A computer system controlling pipeline valves shorted out twice in about 35 days, but monthly treatments there now keep the bugs at bay, said exterminator Tom Rasberry, who found the first Texas specimens of the species in the Houston area in 2002. "We're kind of going for overkill on that particular site because so much is at stake," he said. "If that shuts down, they could literally shut down an entire chemical plant that costs millions of dollars." And, compared to other ants, these need overkill. For instance, Gold said, if 100,000 are killed by pesticides, millions more will follow.
"I did a test site with a product early on and applied the product to a half-acre ... In 30 days I had two inches of dead ants covering the entire half-acre," Rasberry said. "It looked like the top of the dead ants was just total movement from all the live ants on top of the dead ants." But the Mississippi story is an exception, Rasberry said. Control is expensive, ranging from $275 to thousands of dollars a year for the 1,000 homes he's treated in the past month.
Still, he's never seen the ants force someone out of their home, he said. The ants don't dig out anthills and prefer to nest in sheltered, moist spots. In MacGown's extreme example in Waveland, Miss., the house was out in woods with many fallen trees and piles of debris.
They will eat just about anything — plant or animal. The ants are probably native to South America, MacGown said. But they were recorded in the Caribbean by the late 19th century, said Jeff Keularts, an extension associate professor at the University of the Virgin Islands. That's how they got the nickname "Caribbean crazy ants." They've also become known as Rasberry crazy ants, after the exterminator.
Now they're making their way through parts of the Southeast. Florida had the ants in about five counties in 2000 but today is up to 20, MacGown said. Nine years after first being spotted in Texas, that state now has them in 18 counties. So far, they have been found in two counties in Mississippi and at least one Louisiana parish. Texas has temporarily approved two chemicals in its effort to control the ants, and other states are looking at ways to curb their spread.
Controlling them can be tricky. Rasberry said he's worked jobs where other exterminators had already tried and failed. Gold said some infestations have been traced to hay bales hauled from one place to another for livestock left without grass by the drought that has plagued Texas. MacGown said he hopes their numbers are curbed in Louisiana and Mississippi before it's too late. The hairy crazy ants do wipe out one pest — fire ants — but that's cold comfort. "I prefer fire ants to these," MacGown said. "I can avoid a fire ant colony."
September 24, 2011. Bear attacks
The 40-year-old man was airlifted to a hospital suffering from a broken arm and wounds to his hand that required surgery, but his injuries were not life-threatening, said Gregg Losinski, regional conservation educator with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.The attack was the latest in an unusual spate of bear attacks in the Yellowstone area this year. Losinski said the man and a hunting partner were seeking elk near Island Park , Idaho , south of the Montana
The bear charged at the hunter, who was nearer the animal than his partner. The partner used a bear spray canister, which shoots an aerosol mixture of hot pepper, as the animal retreated.
Wildlife officials decided not to capture the animal, based on the description of the attack provided by the hunters, both from Island Park
"It's very clear from the incident that the bear was surprised and ran away. It did not intend to kill or consume the men," said Losinski, who is a member of a federal-state task force on grizzly bears.
Thousands of black bears roam Idaho Wyoming , Idaho and Montana
Grizzly attacks on humans are rare in the Northern Rockies , where the vast majority of conflicts between people and bears involve damage to property -- from trash cans to livestock -- by the bruins.
Even so, the number of deadly grizzly encounters in the region so far in 2011 is higher than the average of one every two years, government figures show.
In July, a female grizzly in Yellowstone killed a hiker it perceived as a threat to its two cubs in the park's first fatal mauling since 1986.
Then last month, park officials said a grizzly had also killed another hiker whose body was found on one of the park's backcountry trails amid circumstances that remained under investigation.
Earlier this month in Montana
In that case, a Nevada man hunting black bears in the rugged mountains of northwest Montana
Grizzly bears are protected in the Lower 48 states under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, making it illegal to kill them unless they are threatening human life.
Sep 23, 2011. Kangaroo that attacked Ohio
Laura Jones, of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said no one government entity in Ohio
Jones said Gov. Ted Strickland signed an emergency administrative rule to ban the possession, sale or transfer of exotic animals in Ohio
"There was no framework in place to do that," Jones said. "Gov. Kasich asked our agency to take the lead in putting together a work group to take a look at this issue."
The work group, which includes organizations like the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Humane Society of the United States
"They are the voice of the issue," Jones said. "Whatever recommendation they come up with will then go to the legislature."
Jones said local governments may have ordinances against exotic animals, but there is nothing for the state.
Chad Grody, the Marion County
"We regulate the fish and wildlife native to Ohio
Grody said he conducts annual inspections at Kokas Exotics, and that the owners have the required permits for their animals.
Sen. Dave Burke, R-Marysville, represents Ohio 's 26th District, which includes Marion
"There is a problem. We want to make sure this doesn't happen again," Burke said.
September 16, 2011. jmickley@njherald.com.Bear attacks, kills pony in Frankford
FRANKFORD – Nick Civitan awoke just before 6 a.m. Friday to a combination of animal noises, all warning him that something was wrong.One of his two dogs was whimpering at the foot of Civitan’s bed, while the other paced across the room.
The worst sound came from outside.
“I heard this screaming noise. It turned out it was the pony,” Civitan said.
When he stepped outside, with shotgun in hand, Civitan saw a bear on top of the 250- to 300-pound, 16-year-old pony. He shot at the bear twice, which then fled. Though the wounded pony was breathing, it was “pretty chewed up” Civitan said, and later passed away.
According to Civitan, the Department of Fishing and Wildlife confirmed that bear blood had been found near the location of the incident. The department also said that the bear was a good size, and likely a mature male.
State police were called and officers responded about 6 a.m., police confirmed.
The Civitans acquired the pony, named Peewee, along with a miniature donkey, from the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange about five or six years ago. The two animals, Civitan said, were not show animals and were at the back of the exhibits.
Civitan’s daughter, now almost 10, had always wanted a pony, so the family took the animals in.
In the years to come, the Civitans also acquired two riding horses,which were unharmed by the bear.
Civitan’s last major run-in with a bear on his property was seven or eight years ago when a goat was attacked.
“It’s been relatively quiet until this morning,” Civitan said.
Civitan went out about 5 p.m. Friday for another tour of his property, with hopes of finding the wounded bear.
“It was quite a way to start a Friday morning, I’ll tell you,” Civitan said
September 15, 2011. Commissioners Change Dangerous Animal Resolution
"Additionally, the judge is going to have the ability to order restitution be paid," said Aimee Betzen, Assistant County Counselor. "So if somebody's injured by another person's animal, the judge may require that person to pay for any damages that person incurred, like hospital bills and things like that. And those can be substantially higher than a fine."
Before this change, pet owners were given a warning the first time their animal attacked
Sep 15, 2011. USA
Killer bees attacked several farm animals at an Freelance videographer Al Signori provided KOLD News 13 with some footage of the attack, saying it was one of the worst bee attacks he has ever filmed, the station says.
Signori was with "The Bee Killer," Reed Booth, responding to the call of a huge hive found in an outbuilding of the farm in Bisbee, KOLD says. Booth says the hive weighed about 200 pounds and was home to more than 250,000 Africanized killer bees.
The video showed a big swarm of bees buzzing around a hog and stinging it. Farm owner Jane Hewitt was stung several times on her face and arms when she tried to save the animal, the station says.
"I jumped into a car, but the passenger side window was down, and they came in a black cloud towards me," she tells KOLD. Hewitt says at least three bees went into her ears, and one got stuck between her glasses.
Booth says he has responded to several killer bee attacks this year, and they seem to be much worse. "They're much ornerier this year for some reason. This is the worst I've seen in 10 years," he says.
Sep 15, 2011Emily Le Coz/NEMS Pit bulls eyed in Tupelo
A group of municipal leaders and other stakeholders who have studied the issue will recommend the measure within the next few weeks. It aims to reduce hundreds of monthly calls about aggressive dogs – especially pit bulls – and prevent future attacks.
But some animal advocates blast the measure for unfairly targeting specific breeds, saying it punishes responsible pet owners whose dogs have done nothing wrong. They want an ordinance against aggressive animals without identifying pedigree.
“Unfortunately you need a first-bite incident to say that’s a dangerous dog,” said Tupelo
Dogs, from pit bulls to teacup poodles, are only as aggressive as their owners allow, he said.
Those in favor of the ordinance agree with King about owner-induced aggression but argue that Tupelo’s specific pit-bull problem can’t be ignored. The bloodline has a history of violent behavior perpetuated by some of the owners who typically choose this type of pet, said Tupelo-Lee Humane Society Debbie Hood.
“I blame the irresponsible owners of these pit bulls for the ordinances to come down on the other, responsible owners,” Hood said. “We agree it should be a dangerous dog ordinance, but the city doesn’t want to wait until a dog is deemed dangerous.”
Hood said the animal shelter fields about 200 calls monthly, and the vast majority involve errant and aggressive pit bulls.
In addition to pit bulls, other breeds also could be singled out in the proposal, said the subcommittee’s chairman and Ward 5 City Councilman Jonny Davis. He wants to recommend mandatory registration and annual permit fees for owners of Rottweilers, German Shepherds and Doberman Pinschers, too.
Owners of these animals would face stricter requirements for confining their pets and higher fines for failure to comply than would owners of non-dangerous pets.
Other dogs would fall into the dangerous category only after having shown signs of aggression, like biting a person or another pet or acting in a threatening manner. Such incidents would be investigated by the city’s animal control officer before a dog could be deemed dangerous.
Tupelo’s current ordinance requires all dogs be kept on a leash or in a pen with a maximum $50 fine for violations. With only one full-time animal control officer, though, it’s hard to enforce.
“We’re trying to make the city a safer environment for other citizens and still respect dog owners,” Davis said. “We don’t want to wait until a citizen gets hurt or, God forbid, a child gets killed.”
In the past two years in Northeast Mississippi, pit bulls have attacked at least four children and four adults – two of them fatally. One of the incidents happened on Feemster Lake Road in Lee County, where a family pit bull ripped into the face of an 18-month-old girl. She survived.
Communities across the region have wrestled to deal with the situation. Many now are considering ordinances similar to the one floated in Tupelo. But it’s not an easy matter, as evidenced by Tupelo’s own struggle to adopt a solution.
The city had launched a task force about five years ago to recommend a vicious dog ordinance. It never gained enough steam to pass a council vote and eventually died.
Ward 3 Councilman Jim Newell said he’d like to see it pass this time, as long as it doesn’t target specific pedigrees. He also wants to see a citywide pet registration requirement for all cat and dog owners. The permit fees would raise much-needed revenues for the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society, while the registration would help reunite lost pets with their owners.
“I would support a citywide pet registration, a dangerous dog act and a leash law with teeth in it,” Newell said. “But I’m opposed to breed specific.”
September 12, 2011.Amy Calder. Waterville
Request comes after two pit bull attacks by same dog at same house
That same dog on Aug. 18 bit a 6-year-old boy in the same Louise Avenue Maine Medical Center in Portland
Norman St. Michel is registered as the dog's owner and it was his 6-year-old son who was bitten Aug. 18, Massey said. He said police officers and Animal Control Officer Chris Martinez went to the home and spoke with St. Michel. St. Michel, 42, was summoned for keeping a dangerous dog and is scheduled to appear in Waterville District Court Dec. 6, Massey said.
The civil infraction carries a fine of between $250 and $1,000, he said. St. Michel's stepdaughter is the mother of the 2-year-old who was bitten Sept. 1, he said. Police did not release the woman's name, but her Facebook page lists it as Crystal Cougle. On the page, Cougle wrote that the toddler had surgery Wednesday and would be home the next day. Someone asked on her Facebook page if the boy was OK.
"Yeah. He's fine," Cougle replied. "He's getting plastic surgery next week."
Cougle did not return calls placed to her cell phone; St. Michel's telephone number did not work. No one answered either the front or back door at their Louise Avenue
Massey said he has seen many maulings by dogs during his career. "Every time one of these maulings happen, I get self-proclaimed dog experts who will immediately respond that it's not the dog's fault; it's the owner. I don't doubt in some cases they may be, but the bottom line is, there are some breeds we have that are more aggressive by nature than others. You cannot predict with certainty that they won't turn on not just a child, but other people."
He said the size and temperment of the dogs can be a dangerous mix. "These are powerful dogs -- they cause a lot of damage," he said. "They're powerful wounds, ripping of skin and muscle and tissue. They're disfiguring in some cases." Several years ago, Massey worked to help amend a law that ultimately allowed police to report dog bites; before that, a complainant had to be someone other than police, he said.
"Parents or anybody who's going to consider getting a family pet and who have small children living in an apartment block or area with a lot of children should do their research on what pet would be suited to your environment," he said.
Paula Mitchell, executive director of the Humane Society Waterville Area, said that a smaller dog can also be a biter but does not do as much damage as a pit bull. Pit bulls get more publicity because they do more damage, she said. "They do have that tendency, especially now, because they're bred to be fighters, protectors -- that's what people breed and train them for," she said.
She said a Humane Society policy prohibits the Webb Road
Mitchell says she believes someone can raise a pit bull as a puppy and train it properly to be a wonderful pet. Most of the time, she said, it can live in a home with a family that has no children or other pets. "But we've had some we'd never place because of their behavior," she added. Arthur Clement of Clinton
Clement said his daughter and her 16-month-old child moved in with him recently, and the dogs were gentle with the child. "They were good-natured dogs -- both of them," he said. He said the 1- and 2-year-old dogs, who were let outside without a leash, had always stayed in the back yard, until this time when they wandered. "These were the family pets," Clement said. "They're not ugly dogs. They never bit anybody -- ever."
September 10, 2011. Reuters. Tiger in "love triangle" kills mate at Texas
EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - A female tiger has killed her mate at a West Texas zoo, authorities said on Friday, in a rare attack that came after months of simmering jealousy in a feline love triangle.
Three-year-old Malayan tiger Seri killed 6-year-old Wzui at about 4 p.m. on Thursday in an enclosure at El Paso Zoo, zoo spokeswoman Karla Martinez said on Friday,As soon as the incident was reported, zookeepers closed the tiger exhibit and veterinary staff were called. They examined Wzui, and found he was dead.
"Tragic incidents such as this are not unheard of but we don't consider this common," zoo Director Steve Marshall said. Marshall
Malayan tigers are a critically endangered species, with just 500 or so of the animals remaining in the wilds of Thailand and Malaysia
Both Seri and Wzui were on loan from other zoos as part of the American Zoo Association's Species Survival Plan to aid in their conservation through captive breeding.
However, in June, zoo authorities reported what they called a "tiger love triangle" between Seri, Wzui and a 15-year-old female called Meli, who was transferred to El Paso from a zoo in Fresno , California
"The male tiger Wzui likes both females, but the two females don't like each other," the zoo said in a press release dated June 14. "The girls are jealous of each other," collections Supervisor Griselda Martinez said.
Staff expect that another tiger will be transferred to the El Paso Zoo to replace Wzui for breeding purposes.
September 7, 2011. Bill Lindelof. Animal control shoots three raccoons after attack
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Three raccoons were shot last night by animal control after another Sacramento
The attack at 21st and D streets was the third recent attack on a Sacramento
All of the attacks occurred as residents were walking their dogs. Aggressive behavior by raccoons is not typical and it was reasonable to suspect that raccoons that display such behavior have rabies, said Dr. Glennah Trochet.
In the most recent incident, the city received a call about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. A woman said her dog had been attacked by raccoons.
The woman was scratched trying to separate her dog from a raccoon but not bitten. The raccoons retreated up a tree.
An Animal Control officer hoisted up in a bucket truck lift shot three raccoons. They will be transported today to a Sacramento County lab for testing, said Gina Knepp, acting animal care services manager for the City of Sacramento
September 07, 2011. Kassata Edwards. Dog attacks in Schenectady
"This isn't just a pop up problem the pit-bull situation's been going on ever since the 90's when the drugs were so prevalent out here in Schenectady" says Shirleen Lucas who is slowly recovering after three pit-bulls attacked her in Hamilton Hill last month. The dog's owner was issued an appearance ticket for having an unlicensed dog and for harboring dangerous dogs. As the city starts to look at ways to improve animal control those laws could change, something Lucas would love to see.
"No fine should be good enough for this situation. I think she should be criminally prosecuted" adds Lucas.
"There are also jail penalties for some sections" says Acting Mayor Gary McCarthy.
Meantime last week two pit-bulls attacked a mail carrier on Bluff Ave Schenectady
"They were already on top of her and sitting there shaking her and I'm running down the street screaming to get the dogs off of her" says Bluff Ave. Resident Robert Peek.
Since the attack on Bluff Ave.
"This is the second time we can't have mail delivered here because of a dog incident with the mail lady" adds Peek.
An ongoing problem tough to battle with only two animal control officers for the entire city. The Animal Protective Foundation in Scotia helps out by taking in stray dogs found roaming the streets --70 percent of those are pit-bulls. Now the foundation is at capacity and hopes Schenectady
"Now that we're seeing more dogs in the community at large, possibly more dangerous dogs at large it needs more attention by the city. It's the responsibility of each municipality to manage an effective dog control program and we're doing as much as we can but we can't fully meet the need" says Marguerite Pearson, Director of Communications for the Animal Protective Foundation.
CBS 6 asked McCarthy if there’s a chance that Schenectady
Right now Schenectady
September 5, 2011. HOUSTON (AP). Newborn fatally mauled by family dog near Houston
A two-week-old Houston-area boy has died after being mauled by the family dog.
The incident happened Saturday night as the baby sat in an infant carrier on the floor of a room in the family house. Harris County sheriff's spokesman Thomas Gilliland says the dog, a Labrador mix, began sniffing the child and attacked him before the parents could pull it away.
The child was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital
September 5, 2011. AP. NY seeks stop to wild hogs; may ban captive hunts.
Feral swine are breeding in three counties in central New York , according to a federal study done last year with funding from New York
That's small compared with Texas
Eurasian wild boars have become popular on private hunting ranches throughout the U.S.
"We're not talking about Porky Pig getting loose from the farm," Rusz said. "These are Russian wild boars. Those animals are Houdini-like escape artists and they breed readily in the wild. We've had domestic pigs for centuries and never had a feral hog problem until the game ranches started bringing these in."
Wild pigs are intelligent and adaptable, eating almost anything and able to live in a wide range of habitats. They dig up cropland and lawns. They damage ecosystems by rooting and digging for food and devouring roots, stems, leaves, fruit, nuts, bark, bird eggs, mice, snakes and fawns. They compete with native wildlife for food such as acorns, carry diseases that can be transferred to wildlife, and destroy wetlands with their wallowing.
Feral swine multiply rapidly, with sows producing several litters a year of four to six piglets, so as with any invasive species, it's crucial to mount aggressive eradication efforts before the population is widely established, Batcheller said. They're also wily and secretive, and become even more so when people try to shoot or trap them.
"Stopping escapes is the biggest and most important issue we're challenged with," Batcheller said. "It might require legislation so we can shut down the source of these animals before they get on the landscape."
A number of states have banned the captive wild boar hunts as a first step in controlling the wild population, including Michigan Michigan
"That's a travesty," he said. "We need an aggressive, common-sense approach.
"Delays are just working in favor of the hogs."
Other northern states concerned with the spread of feral pigs include Maryland , Ohio , Wisconsin , Nebraska , Kansas , Missouri , Oregon and Pennsylvania
The boars are seen as a scourge for livestock, too. USDA wildlife biologist Justin Gansowski traps feral swine in New York
Another problem comes when preserve operators don't take adequate precautions to keep hogs from escaping, said Dave Vanderzee, owner of Easton View Outfitters, a game-hunting and breeding ranch about 20 miles northwest of Albany in Valley Falls. He keeps his Eurasian wild boars behind an 8-foot-tall wire mesh fence encircling about a quarter-acre, with the bottom of the fence buried to prevent burrowing out.
"As an operator, you don't want to lose your livestock," Vanderzee said. They're too valuable."
While deer are hunted from September through January, when they have nice racks of antlers, boar provide an exciting hunt and tasty meat year round, making them popular with hunters and valuable to preserve operators, he said.
"With the cold winters and deep snowpack in the Northeast, I don't think New York
Rusz said no fence is foolproof, and the only sensible solution is to ban captive boar breeding and hunting, just as it's illegal to propagate other exotic invasive species.
In Michigan
"Biologists will tell you, once they get established, they're going to come to a neighborhood near you," Rusz said. "The hogs will find you. That's the situation we're in."
September 4, 2011. Altus
Main items to be discussed during the AMA will be adding another $4,000,000 in MAPS funds, and decreasing the Economic Development Corporation compensation by $80,000. This amount will later be considered for the new City
The council will discuss the situation at Altus Animal Control since they received a letter from Altus Animal Aid to terminate their annual agreement. Many citizens are concerned regarding whether the facility would still be able to remain partly a "no kill" shelter.
The council will vote on a resolution concerning two workmen's comp cases. Other items concern a Federal Aviation Administration grant for $6,500, and consideration of True Steel LLC of Ada to do roofing and sidewall repairs to the former Quartz Mountain Aerospace facility
September 3, 2011. THOMAS LESKIN. Pit bull bites woman; is shot, killed
TOWER CITY - A man shot and killed a pit bull after it reportedly attacked his wife Friday afternoon, according to initial police scanner reports. Borough police, with state police assisting, were dispatched to The trooper said the dog's owner lived about one block away at 500 E. Colliery Ave.; however, he declined to give more information and said Tower City police were investigating the incident. Attempts to reach Tower City
Brittny Eichert, Tower City 507 E. Grand Ave.
Eichert wasn't aware of any problems with the dog previously. The incident joins a string of other dog attacks that occurred in the county this summer, including one other in Tower City
September 1, 2011. Sam Cohen. FOX40 News.
Last week two people were attacked by a raccoon at 9th and P Streets, and at 4th and P Streets. Health officials say they assume the animal has rabies because aggressive behavior is not typical of raccoons. Both victims are being told to undergo rabies prevention treatment.
Traps have been set up in both of the attack areas, and they are being checked throughout the day by Sacramento Animal Care Services.
The raccoon attacks follow recent incidents involving skunks near 4th and J Streets. The skunk that was chasing people at a parking garage was captured and tested positive for rabies. Read FOX40's story about the skunks here.
Three other skunks have been captured since, however these three tested negative for rabies.
If you see a wild animal near your home, call city services at 311.
August 30, 2011. Man Shoots Neighbor’s Pit Bull After It Attacks His Dog. A pit bull shot and killed near Greeley
The Evans man who shot the dog won’t face any charges, but the owner of the pit bill will face charges because the animal has had many run-ins with the law.
The dog, named Deuce, was a good dog gone bad, according to his owner, Robert Delarosa.
“He got into an incident with a little coyote in the back yard,” Delarosa said. “Ever since then he started attacking every little dog.”
Deuce apparently jumped his fence and attacked a neighbor’s dog.
“I witnessed it. It happened right in front of me. I (saw) him shoot the dog,” neighbor Ruben Mengia said. “I felt it wasn’t right. I felt something else could have gone on instead of just shooting it right away.”
Deuce’s criminal record includes a capture running loose, attacking a beagle and woman, another dog and its master, and now the latest attack.
Evans has no ban on pit bulls like some other towns.
“It’s not really been a topic of discussion in council since I’ve been here. I don’t know that we have had significant problems with pit bulls,” Evans Police Chief Rick Brandt said.
Delarosa will end up going to court over the matter. He said he probably would have also shot the dog if he was in his neighbor’s shoes.
“Yeah I probably would have done same thing, he had no choice,” Delarosa said. “I wish I would have been there. I would have broke it up.” Delarosa faces charges of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog.
August 30, 2011. News Channel 36. Dogs found dead at Lincoln County Animal Services
LINCOLNTON, N.C. – Two dogs were found dead last week at Lincoln County Animal Services, and the employee responsible for the incident has been fired.
The dogs were found around 12:15 p.m. on August 22 at 650 John Howell Memorial Drive
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and a veterinarian investigated the incident and concluded the dogs had signs of being suffocated and suffered from heatstroke.
“The dogs had been tied up in the outside, fenced-in, grassy holding area during the regularly scheduled cleaning activities of their inside, temperature controlled enclosures,” said Lincoln County EMS
But animal services does not think a person choked the dogs.
“It was determined that the dogs became hyperactive/excited due to the other dogs in the yard and they choked themselves by pulling on the leashes that were attached to the fence.”
The name of the fired employee who was responsible for the care of the dogs in this incident has not been released.
August 30, 2011. WVEC.com
The fire was reported about 3:00 at 2016 E. Ocean View. No people were hurt.
Crews got the fire under control in about 25 minutes. The cause is still under investigation but fire chief Harry Worley believes it may be a kitchen fire.
East Ocean View was closed in both directions.
AUGUST 27, 2011. Kashmirdispatch. Boy killed, 5 injured in wild animal attacks in Kashmir
A boy was killed and five people injured during attacks by wild animals separately on Saturday, an official said here. He said, Ishtiyaq Ahmad Famda son of Mohammad Younis resident of Shelnagh was mauled to death by a leopard at Shelnagh, Dooru, in south Kashmir's Anantnag.Ishtiyaq succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital.
Meanwhile, Tariq Ahmad Sheikh, Mohammad Ayub Najar, Riyaz Ahmad Najar, Adil Zargar and Haja Begum residents of Drager Basant Wader, in central Kashmir's Khansahib, were injured by a bear.
All the injured were hospitalized.
Aug ust 23, 2011. Amanda Goodman. Dog mauled to death by pit pulls
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - A morning walk turned deadly for a small dog in northwest Albuquerque Tuesday morning. A man was out with his dog when he said two pit bulls came out of nowhere and attacked his dog. The results were horrific. “They just came from behind and attacked her,"said the dog’s owner Julian Paco. "The male just attacked her, wouldn’t let go of her throat. It was terrible,”He said it all happened so fast. While returning home from the park, Paco said two pit bulls pounced on his 1 1/2-year-old terrier mix. “Just attacked my baby," Paco said. "The female started in on her. The neighbor hit them with a baseball bat. They wouldn’t break up and wouldn’t let go till she died, just kept on grabbing on to her throat." When there was nothing left the dogs took off.
Paco said he has never seen them in the neighborhood before. An off-duty Albuquerque Police Department detective was in the area and saw the pit bulls walking down the street after the attack.
“He saw two dogs full of blood. He opened up his car door and the dogs hopped in,” said Lt. Earl Baca with Animal Welfare. The dogs had no collars or microchips. They were taken to the West Side Animal Shelter and deemed dangerous. Early last month there was a similar situation in another northwest Albuquerque neighborhood. “He just got a hold of the little dog and just ripped him to pieces,” said Marsha Ewantis. A neighborhood bull terrier attacked Ewantis’ Chihuahua Julius killing it.
Animal Welfare officers said during the summer, animal-on-animal attacks increase, mostly because there are more chances of running into other animals. “Just be vigilant, be aware of your surroundings. Some people like to carry some type of protection as they're walking,” Baca said. Paco said his dog’s death was horrific, and the vicious attack was unlike anything he had ever seen.
“They didn’t even bark, nothing. They jus--boom--attacked my dog,” Paco said. Animal Welfare believes the pit bulls belong to someone because they look healthy and are people-friendly. It hopes the owners will come forward and claim the dogs. They have three days to do so or the dogs could be put down. Anyone with information about who the dogs may belong to can call the city’s 311 hot line.
August 21, 2011. Aspen Daily News Staff Writer. Bears attack two campers near
After two bear attacks in the Maroon-Bells Snowmass Wilderness in the past two days, wildlife officers and specialized hunters on Saturday were searching the area of Crater Lake to locate and kill the animal.
Two men were attacked in separate incidents early Friday and Saturday mornings while camping near Crater Lake . Both men were bit in the leg and were able to hike out of the backcountry. One camper, who was bit seven or eight times in the lower leg, required surgery at Aspen Valley Hospital
The first incident occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m., Friday when a bear jumped on a tent housing two men near Crater Lake . One was bitten on his left side but was not seriously hurt.
Those men reported that they saw the bear raise up on its hind legs, then stomp the tent. The man it landed on lay still, but when he moved, the bear bit him, causing small puncture wounds. Those campers started shouting and the bear ran off. In that incident, the two campers reported that all food items were properly secured, hanging in a tree, at least 75 feet from the tent, according to Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Mike Porras. They reported that there were no food items in the tent.
The second, more serious attack occurred about 1 a.m. Saturday. John Stewart, 51, who lives on the Front Range, was attacked by a bear while sleeping in his tent alone above Crater Lake . He was awoken from sleep when the bear ripped into his tent. The unprovoked attack occurred in a backcountry campsite in the Minnehaha Gulch area above Crater Lake, approximately 14 miles southwest of Aspen
After the bear made entry into the tent, it repeatedly bit Stewart in his lower right leg, through his sleeping bag. He was able to fight the bear off and call to the other nearby members of the group for help.
The bear lingered around the campsite after the attack, despite many efforts to scare it away. The campers threw rocks at the bear and even lit a fire, which eventually was enough to send it away.
Using first aid supplies on-hand, the bleeding was controlled and the group began a slow descent back to the trailhead at Maroon Lake Aspen Valley Hospital Front Range , Lumsden said.
Stewart told officials that he had an empty wrapper of freeze-dried food in his backpack in the tent, which may have attracted the bear.
“That certainly is enough to attract the bear,” Porras said. “It was a very determined fashion to get into that tent.” Porras said wildlife officials are concerned that the bear now sees tents as an opportunity for food.
DOW officers are working with hounds that track the scents from the campers to locate the bear, as well as relying on the assistance of USDA Wildlife Services, which part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If located, the bear will be put down.
“These situations indicate that the bear is associating tents with food and has become dangerous to even campers that are doing things correctly,” said Perry Will, area wildlife manager. “We’ve got lots of good camping weather left this summer and it continues to be important for everyone to do their part to keep wild bears wild.”
Porras said the DOW contracts with USDA Wildlife Services, which employs specialized hunters for matters such as this. “They are good at it; it will be done in a humane way,” Porras said of euthanization. “We don’t feel like we have any choice.”
After the sighting, the Forest Service put an indefinite ban on tents and soft-sided campers at the Difficult campground, but did not close it.
About a half dozen employees of the Forest Service were going through the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area on Saturday to tell hikers and campers about the attacks.
But as Porras noted, people have a better chance of getting struck by lightning or being bitten by a dog than attacked by a bear. Regardless, hikers and campers were being given information about alternate camping areas if they choose to leave. There is plentiful natural food for bear in the area, but Forest Service employees were being frank that bear attacks remained a danger.
August 19, 2011. Roanoke
Roanoke Police say no charges will be filed.
It happened Thursday afternoon in the 700 block of 9th Street Roanoke
Thomas Rakosky told Roanoke Police that he was walking his border collie on the sidewalk when he passed Steve Butler's home on Elm Avenue
Two of Butler
“I got a hold of them and I asked the people if they were alright and they kept coming toward me with their dog while I'm holding my dogs back," says Butler, "Well, next my other dog got out."
August 18, 2011. The Lookout. A mysterious rodent turns up. Yoo-hoo! Anybody missing a jumbo rodent?
In Paso Robles, Witnesses estimate the creature, called a capybara, weighs at least 100 pounds. According to an article from Reuters, the capybara has the dubious honor of being the world's largest rodent. This is the third sighting in three years. Experts believe it is the same creature.
News of the odd animal's appearance sparked a flurry of searches on the Web. Over the past 24 hours, online interest in the animal surged an astounding 9,553%. Related lookups on "capybara pets" also spiked. According to Tognazzini, people have been known to keep the rodents as pets. "The Internet is fraught with examples of people scratching them on the belly and thinking they're cute and making pets of them," he said.
But don't go thinking these things are easy to care for. You need a special permit to have one in California
August 16, 2011. GALLUP, N.M. (AP) Reservation dogs roam unchecked; attacks common
The 55-year-old man was found lying on the side of the road on the Navajo Nation, a pack of dogs mauling him relentlessly. Emergency workers chased them away, but the pack — their ribs sticking out — kept trying to circle back. It was not determined whether the dogs or a seizure felled Larry Armstrong as he went for a walk near his rural home last December. An autopsy report said he died from the bites, but investigators were unable to determine if he was even conscious when he was attacked. Regardless, the case vividly underscored the problems the Navajo Nation — and many other tribal lands — have with stray, feral or just neglected and loose dogs. On the vast Navajo Nation, wildlife and animal control manager Kevin Gleason estimates there are four to five dogs for each of the more than 89,000 households — or as many as 445,000 dogs, most of which roam unchecked, killing livestock and biting people with alarming regularity."They kill everything," Gleason said in a recent interview. "Cats, dogs, cattle, sheep, horses. We've also had people severely injured by them. We've had people with horrendous bites. We just had a case ... where a man lost 37 sheep to a pack of dogs. "We have that going on all the time. Our officers respond to more than 25 bite cases a month, and 25 livestock damage cases a month." Attempts to diminish the problem with round-ups by animal control officers, weekly spay and neuter clinics in Gallup, and ongoing efforts by small group of volunteers to ship a few healthy puppies and dogs to shelters in Albuquerque and Colorado have had virtually no impact.
"You look at the Sundance area where that gentleman was killed, we went in and removed 79 dogs after that and it looked like we never touched it," Gleason said. Dogs roam the sides of highways, restaurant, gas station and store parking lots and just about anywhere else they might find food. Their carcasses in various stages of decomposition litter spots along the sides of the main roads and interstates. After Gleason added the animal control operations to his duties in October, he said he ordered his officers to conduct a series of roundups. Between October and April, he said officers picked up 2,332 dogs. Of those, only 79 were adopted and 313 were released back to their owners. The rest were euthanized. The roundups were cancelled shortly after that, he said, "because we ran out of money." On average, he said, the Nation euthanizes about 6,000 dogs a year. In McKinley County and the city of Gallup, which are surrounded by tribal lands, nearly 4,000 dogs, cats and other animals were euthanized last year.
The problem goes back to a contrasting mix of cultural and socioeconomics issues. For some tribes, respect for dogs dates back to a time when canines served as pack animals and protectors of the camp. Others believe dogs belong to the spirits and should not be killed. But care for the animals varies widely. On the Navajo reservation, many people are too poor to even get their dogs to a vet — if there was one around — let alone pay for medicine or a spay or neuter procedure. Dogs are referred to as feces eaters, and children are taught to never cry for or bury a dog. At the Navajo Nation shelter in Fort Defiance recently, there was no emotion as two kids and a woman unloaded three seemingly well-taken care of family dogs from the back of their truck, dragging and eventually having to carry them into the small, dilapidated building where they huddled together in a cage, waiting to be euthanized for attacking the neighbor's sheep.
Donna Damon, a Navajo who is a vet tech at the Gallup Humane Society, said her father still doesn't understand why she chose a career taking care of animals. "He said, 'Why can't you be a nurse,'" she said. Animal rescue groups say dog overpopulation is a problem on most reservations. "They have varying levels of seriousness," said John Polis, a spokesman for the Best Friends Animal Society, a rescue group that runs a sanctuary for thousands of animals in rural Utah, "but they are all kind of dealing with the same problem. "We get calls from people all over the place who happen upon a reservation during their vacation or have taken in a reservation dog and want to know how to socialize it," Polis said.
He said the group has worked with the Navajo Nation and occasionally takes some of its animals but "it is such a gigantic problem we haven't been able to tackle it with enough resources to make a huge impact." Both Polis and Gleason cited cultural barriers and mistrust as impeding efforts by rescue groups and tribes to work together. Gleason said the Navajo Nation has no choice to but to continue to euthanize dogs at a high rate. "Prior to me coming here, we weren't really doing adoptions. We are trying to get as many dogs out as we can. But the thing is, we don't pick up one or two dogs. We pick up 50, 60, 70 at a time." After the sweep that netted 79 dogs in Sundance in December, he said, only 12 were claimed by owners. Gleason said he has tried to work with off-reservation rescue groups, but many don't want to deal with the tribe, he said, because of its high euthanasia rate.
Polis said there are also problems with outsiders going on tribal lands and "stepping on toes." "A lot of people think they should round them up and take them off. But a lot of them are people's pets. Sometimes people take a dog and we tell them you are stealing." While the problems are pervasive across many reservations, Polis pointed to a project on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota as an example of a progressive community-based effort to stem unwanted breeding. "We don't have a big problem with (attacks on people) although we do occasionally have dogs that are hungry and will pack up and kill young livestock," said Virginia Ravndal, who started the Lakota Animal Care Project. "Probably a bigger issue for us is disease, starvation and freezing. Mange is a huge problem. And going into South Dakota winters without hair, a lot of dogs don't make it." Ravndal said the project has worked to train tribal members to provide basic care like treatment for mange and worms. After they gain the trust of pet owners, they talk to them about spay and neutering. "You can't just go in and say your animal has to be spayed and neutered. You really have to develop a relationship," she said.
She has also developed a kids program called Shunka Scouts (shunka means dog in Lakota), in which children can interact with animals and earn "acts of kindness badges" that help teach them basics of animal care. Part of the message: "Animals are our relations and no one should go hungry, no one should go cold, no one should be sick."
The program, which also works with rescue groups and no-kill shelters, has had to temporarily shutter some of its programs because it has run out of money, Ravndal said. She hopes to host a gathering of nations next summer to help other tribes set up similar programs designed to make long-term changes to how tribal members view and care for their pets.
When the project started, she said people who could no longer care for a starving or freezing dog would call and say, "'Can you shoot the dog for us.' Now they call and say, 'Can you help us find it a home.'"
Aug 15, 2011. (Reuters). Pregnant woman killed by pit bull died from blood loss, shock.
Preliminary autopsy results show that a pregnant San Francisco-area woman who was killed by her pit bull died from blood loss and shock, police said on Monday.An autopsy on 32-year-old Darla Napora, along with analysis by dog bite experts, also concluded that only one of her two dogs, a 2-year-old male named Gunner, took part in last Thursday's fatal attack.
Police say Napora's husband returned to the couple's home in the Bay Area village of Pacifica about noon on Thursday to find his pregnant wife's mauled body, with the bloodied pit bull standing over her.
First responders failed to revive Napora, who was suffering from massive trauma to her upper body, police say, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, along with her unborn baby, Pacifica police said.
Gunner was shot and killed by officers in the front yard of the couple's home after he apparently got free from a back room, where Napora's husband had tried to confine him, police said.
A second pit bull, a female, was found cowering in a corner.
Impressions taken from both dogs show that all of Napora's injuries were consistent with bites from Gunner and that there was no evidence that the female dog took part in the attack, Pacifica police said.
Pacifica Police Capt. Dave Bertini said that authorities were still trying to determine why Napora's dog attacked her.
"We may never know why it happened," Bertini said, adding that the couple was keeping both pit bulls as pets. Bertini said there was so far no evidence to indicate that the dogs had been trained to be aggressive.
August 14, 2011 AFP. Smuggled Dogs Rescued From Slaughter By Thai Authorities
Over one thousand dogs intended for consumption were rescued by Thai authorities on
Four trucks were stopped in the Nakhon Phanom province of northeastern Thailand Laos
According to a Nakhon Phanom livestock development official, the dogs died either from suffocation, or from being thrown from the trucks when the alleged traffickers tried to flee the scene.
The dogs were being sent across a Laos river and into Vietnam
According to police, traffickers are known to round up stray dogs in rural Thai villages, and sell them for up to $33 per dog in Vietnam Indonesia
In April, hundreds of dogs were rescued from slaughter in Beijing , China
While most reactions to these incidents are ones of horror, and many cultures are disturbed by the thought of eating a dog, some have asked -- what is the real difference between eating dog meat and cow meat? Or eating any other animal for that matter? While the condition that these dogs were found in is considered atrocious, many other animals face similar mistreatment in the United States
Earlier this summer, Mercy for Animals, a Chicago-based animal welfare group, unveiled to the public undercover videos of livestock mistreatment. The Associated Press reported that in the video, “sows are shown in small cages, known as gestation crates, that limit their ability to move, and workers are shown castrating piglets and removing their tails without anesthetics…There are repeated shots of workers tossing piglets across a room.”
August 13,2011.Mike Manzoni. Pit bull attacks Albany
Walter Braswell, an Army veteran, was no match for the pit bull that came charging at him Aug. 3 while he was working on his car outside at 102 Wescott Drive
Braswell said someone who was visiting his neighbor let the pit bull – and two dachshunds – out of an adjacent house.
“Out charged the pit bull along with two dachshunds, and the distance is so short, and as fast as the dog was charging out, I had virtually nowhere to go,” said Braswell. The pit bull, he said, jumped to bite him, and he tried to protect himself by shielding his neck and face with his left arm.
Braswell said he intends to sue the dog’s owner, John Sowell, in civil court.
We were unable to reach Sowell, but he told The Albany Herald that Braswell provoked the incident by kicking one his dachshunds. Braswell denies that claim.
Sowell was charged with leaving an animal at large and having no rabies tags on the dog, according to the Herald.
Braswell was taken to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital
August 11, 2011. LA Times. Seven coyotes killed after attacks on dogs in Laguna Woods
Aggressive coyotes have kept Laguna Woods residents on edge for weeks, but authorities said trapping efforts are working and seven of the animals have been killed, including two on Tuesday.The news comes days after an 82-year-old woman said a coyote snatched her small dog off its leash as she was stepping out of her patio for a morning walk. The dog, a parti poodle named Mocha, was killed, the woman's daughter told the Orange County Register.
Police and animal control officers stepped up their efforts to prevent such attacks after two incidents in which women were injured while trying to protect their dogs from coyotes. Extra traps were set for the wild animals, and the city hired a professional hunter to shoot any coyotes he saw. So far, seven coyotes have been removed from the area, said Jim Beres, a civilian supervisor for the Laguna Beach Police Department, which oversees animal services in Laguna Woods. Six of the animals were caught in traps and euthanized. One was shot and killed by the licensed hunter on Tuesday.
Still, Beres said, authorities believe there is one more aggressive adult male coyote still prowling the area, and they hope to catch him.
"After we find him, we're going to reassess and see if the attacks stop, and if they do then we know we've gotten all of the problematic coyotes," Beres said.
The goal isn't to remove all of the coyotes from the area, Beres said. Instead, authorities want to make sure the overly aggressive animals -- the ones who stalk the neighborhoods and attack pets in broad daylight -- are gone.
"You want them to have that fear of humans," Beres said. "When they lose that, that's not good."
It's standard industry practice to euthanize captured coyotes rather than relocate them, Beres said. Otherwise, the animals would just continue the dangerous behavior somewhere else.
"It just relocates the problem to another community," Beres said. "They propagate so quickly -- they're not an endangered species by any means -- and once they've learned to come in contact with humans, that doesn't go away."
Beres said the trapping operations would continue until authorities were satisfied the problem was solved, but pointed out that coyotes are par for the course in Southern California . People can reduce the risk of having coyotes near their homes by not leaving food out for outdoor pets, making sure garbage cans are secured and keeping small pets indoors, but ultimately the wild animals are here for good.
"Coyotes are endemic," Beres said. "They've been here and will continue to be here."
August 10. 2011. Nick Lawton. NewsWest 9. Million Dollar Punishment For Dangerous Dogs
"The ordinance amendment would increase the amount of liability insurance from $250,000 to $1 million," City of Midland Director of Animal Services, Paul O'Neill, said.
A million-dollar liability insurance policy would have to be bought in order to keep the dog. Charges to keep the dog at the Midland Animal Shelter during its 10-day quarantine are also increased and add that to court fees.
Officials said if a dog attacks someone enough to be dangerous, they want to make it nearly impossible for them to get the dog back.
"The vicious ones, where there's serious injury, those are the ones we look heavily at filing," O'Neill said. "The dog comes out and bites them multiples times, two, three, four times, knocks them down, that to me is a dangerous dog."
Midlander Leslie Hahn spoke in support of the increase at the City Council meeting after her granddaughter was attacked by a dog years ago, when she was just two-and-a-half years old.
"She turned around to run, to get away from the dog, and the dog chased her, knocked her down, got on top of her, and then just, just chewed on her," Hahn said.
Harley was playing in the front yard of her home in Midland
Now, seven years later, Hahn said Harley still has scars on her body and her mind.
"She has scars in her hair lining where the hair won't grow back and she has scars under her arms, and not just that but mentally," she said. "She's afraid of dogs. She'll take that with her forever, I'm sure."
Hahn said the dog's owner was never found, and if that happens, the dog is euthanized.
Hahn said she is just happy that the dog did not test positive for Rabies and wants the City Council to push the increase through.
"I felt like it was very important that this amendment needed to be passed," she said. "I think that people need to understand that the dogs do get out. Children do not understand that these dogs are not friendly."
A concern that Tall City
The proposed change to the dangerous dog ordinance in Midland Odessa
Aug 10, 2011. Dog attacks, injures two in Elkhart County
Police are trying to catch a dog that bit and injured its owners in their home Tuesday night.
The attack occurred just after 10:30 p.m. at their home in the 2600 block of Leland Road Simonton Lake
The Elkhart County Sheriff's Department says the dog bit a man on the hand. He was transported by ambulance to Elkhart General Hospital
The dog also bit a woman on her thigh, leg and hand. Police say all of the bites were minor. The woman drove herself to the hospital, where it was discovered she was intoxicated.
Police are still looking for the dog. They say it ran off after the attack. The dog is a mixed breed. Once the animal's caught, police will investigate whether it's up-to-date on its immunizations.
August 9, 2011. Hi-Desert Star. Two children bitten in dog attacks
The boy was flown to Loma Linda University Medical Center
At 3:38 p.m. Monday, a male shepard-chow mix was in its own fenced yard in the 6800 Palisade Way Hi-Desert Medical Center
“In Yucca Valley Yucca Valley
August 8 2011. BBC.. Beached baby humpback whale returns to sea in
A baby humpback whale that beached in Australia
The week-old mammal was found on Surfers Paradise beach early on Monday, not moving freely.
It had been separated from its mother. Lifeguards and staff from the nearby SeaWorld searched by air and sea but couldn't find the whale's mum.
It took around 50 rescuers to haul the whale back into the water, with the help of two jetskis.
A digger was used to clear a path in the sand, while rescuers poured water over the whale to keep it cool and wet. Once back in the sea, the calf swam into deeper water, where it's hoped it will be able to find its mum.
August 8, 2011. Guy Kilty. Polar bear attack: British survivor had animal's teeth removed from his skull
One of the British teenagers injured in a Norwegian polar bear attack last week had an operation to remove some of the animal's teeth from his skull, his father has revealed.Patrick Flinders, from Jersey, suffered a fractured skull and arm injuries after the 19-stone beast entered the campsite where he was staying on the Norwegian Arctic island of Svalbard
Horatio Chapple, 17, died in the bear attack, while three others were hurt, including 16-year-old Scott Bennell-Smith. Trip leaders Michael "Spike" Reid, 29, and Andrew Ruck, 27, were severely injured, but are now stable. Patrick's father Terry said his son was being treated at Southampton General Hospital
He went on to reveal that his son punched the animal on the nose and used his rifle "like a baseball bat" to fight it off. Mr Flinders admitted he was concerned about his son's mental health following the incident. "I imagine the horrors of seeing his friend savaged and killed by a polar bear just inches away will play through his mind time and time again," he remarked. "It would be bad enough for an adult, let alone a young lad."
Christine Pendleton remembers the sound of bones “popping and crushing.” The mother of two young boys was standing outside the fence of a B.C. petting zoo when a llama suddenly reared back its legs and knocked a 75-year-old woman down to the ground. Pellets of food scattered out of her hand. Pendleton watched from a metre away as two goats rushed to get the food, trampling the small woman in the process. “I could hear the bones popping and crushing. She cried out, ‘I think I broke my hip.’ And I thought, ‘Yeah, she’s broken,’ ” Pendleton told the Star. “It was a crazy moment.” France Pilotte has spent more than nine hours in the operating room at Langley Memorial Hospital since the July 28 attack, according to the Vancouver Sun. Surgeons inserted metal rods and plates to mend her shattered right femur, hip, elbow and arm. She still needs surgery on her broken knee. The enclosed petting zoo where animals roam free alongside visitors is billed as a family-friendly place to feed and touch baby animals. Pilotte was there with her daughter and grandson. Pendleton had gone to Krause Berry Farm, about 50 kilometres east of Vancouver, to pick up crates of blueberries and raspberries. She brought her sons, 1 and 3, along with their 4-year-old friend to look at the animals, but decided not to go inside when she notice the llama acting “aggressive.” “It was nibbling at (Pilotte’s) backpack and following her really closely. At one point she even batted it away,” said Pendleton. “I didn’t feel it was safe for the children to be inside the pen.” She said the children were not too shaken up after witnessing the attack. “The kids didn’t seem very aware. I don’t think they understood the gravity of her injuries,” Pendleton said. Pendleton watched staff bring the woman ice and an umbrella to shade her from the hot sun while they waited for an ambulance. She said the animals were put in the barn after the attack. Farm owner Alf Krause said this is the first time an animal has turned on a petting zoo visitor. The llama in question is seven months old, he added.
“An unfortunate accident happened. That’s all I can say,” Krause told the Star. The Abbotsford SPCA is investigating the attack. Pendleton questioned why visitors were allowed to roam free alongside the llamas in the first place. “The llama was not a good idea to have in a petting zoo,” Pendleton said.
Lionel’s Farm in Stouffville has llamas at its petting zoo but visitors can touch and feed them only through a chain-linked fence. Even though the petting zoo animals are domesticated, “there’s always a chance” they could react aggressively an unusual scent, colour or desire for food, said Blair Purcell, who works at the family-run farm. “Animals have a mind of their own,” Purcell said
Ani Haas went jogging last Friday on a trail near Missoula, Mont. Suddenly she came face to face with a female black bear, on the attack. Why? Because the former U.S. ski team member, known for freestyle, inadvertently came between the mother and her two cubs, she told NBC's Today show. London's Daily Mail reported on the interview , saying Haas first felt like fleeing, then decided to stand her ground."I realized running from wild animals is the worst thing you can do," she said on the show. She had grown up being told what to do when animals attack. Her instinct was to run, and she took steps away but then stopped. The bear caught up with her and clawed her chest and left arm, she said.
And she said that while she was told to lie down in a fetal position and protect her vulnerable parts if encountering a grizzly, that she should face a black bear and stay strong. So she made herself look as big as possible and confronted the angry mother. "Running from wild animals is the worst thing you can do," she said, according to msnbc.com.
She told Today she punched the bear on the head, threw a rock and started backing up slowly. The bear left her alone, went back to her cubs, and Haas had time to escape back to her car
August 3, 2011.BBC. Peacock escapes from
August 3, 2011. Tehran Times. Snakes masquerade as poisonous vipers to avoid attacks
Harmless snakes can apparently squish their heads to look like venomous vipers and avoid getting eaten, scientists find. Vipers such as rattlesnakes are notorious for their venom. They also have distinctive triangular head shapes, due to how their venom glands fill up the backs of their heads. Scientists noticed that many grass snakes (Natrix natrix), viperine snakes (Natrix maura) and a number of other nonvenomous serpents could flatten their normally rather narrow heads into triangular shapes.
Researchers suspected they might do so in order to mimic their more dangerous brethren, which many predators would reasonably want to avoid — indeed, viperine snakes also have a zigzag pattern on their backs, something commonly seen in European vipers. Protective mimicry is common in the animal kingdom. A number of spiders resemble ants, mimicking them not only physically but in the way they walk, and the extraordinary mimic octopus can shift its color and shape to impersonate anything from sea snakes to stingrays.
To investigate whether these harmless snakes were contorting their heads to protect themselves, evolutionary biologist and herpetologist Janne Valkonen at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland and his colleagues experimented with fake snakes made of modeling clay. Some had triangular heads while others had narrower heads; some had zigzag patterns on their backs while others were plain.
The researchers took nearly 600 replica serpents into Coto Doñana Natural Park in southern Spain. The ""place is perfect for this kind of experiment because there is a large amount and variety of raptors (birds of prey) nesting in the area,"" Valkonen explained.
The scientists left the clay snakes out for up to three days and found that replicas with triangular heads got attacked a lot less often than ones without them. Only about 6 percent of the fake serpents with either viper heads or zigzag patterns or both were assaulted, while nearly 15 percent of snakes with neither viper heads nor zigzag patterns were clawed at by raptors Saving snakes
The fact that nonvenomous snakes can benefit from mimicking their more lethal relatives could prove important when it comes to conserving both kinds of serpents. ""Harmless mimics cannot gain the benefit of avoidance of predators if the venomous snakes that they are mimicking are not common enough,"" Valkonen told LiveScience. ""If the real thing becomes too rare, predators 'forget' the danger.""
These fake snakes did not fool mammals — the scent of modeling clay seemed to give them away, the researchers said. In fact, the researchers had to spray the replicas with insect repellent to deter foxes, as past field work revealed they apparently enjoyed biting the fake snakes. Future research with scent-disguised replicas could test whether this snake head shape mimicry tricks mammals. The scientists detailed their findings online July 27 in the journal PLoS ONE
Monday 1st August 2011.BBC. Chimpanzee feeds baby tigers in Thailand
A two-and-a-half-year-old chimpanzee called Dodo has been trained to feed tiger cubs out of a bottle.
Dodo's trainers say that he wasn't afraid of the tiger cubs, so they taught him how to feed them.
But sometimes he ignores his feeding tasks, and just wants to play!
July 30, 2011. FOXNY. Dog Attacks Girl in the Bronx.
A pit bull dog bit a 4-year-old girl in the Bronx on Friday afternoon, authorities said. It happened near 3rd Avenue and East 170th Street in the Claremont section of the borough.
Medics rushed the girl to Lincoln Hospital shortly after 4:30 p.m., according the FDNY. She suffered bites to her face and was listed in serious condition.
The NYPD said the dog has been caught.
August 2, 2011. LINH LY. HAVE YOUR SAY: Dog attacks unleashed in Brimbank. A SAVAGE dog attack in St Albans that left a small terrier dead has provoked calls for better dog management by owners.
Keilor Downs resident Andrew Watters said his father-in-law, who wished not be named, was taking the family’s dogs for a walk on July 22 when they were set upon by two wandering dogs. His father-in-law, 77, was bitten on the hand by one of the dogs - thought to be a pit bull terrier or pit bull cross - and his chihuahua cross jack russell terrier, Jesse, was badly mauled and had to be put down because of her injuries “I’m a dog lover but if it was a child (that was attacked), where do you go from there?” Mr Watters said. Brimbank Council acting general manager of city development Stuart Menzies said despite patrols the dogs had not been found. Dogs Victoria spokeswoman Sylvia Power said it was a serious problem that a dog was running around out of its owner’s control. “It’s the owners’ fault,” Ms Power said. She said some dogs were placed in inappropriate situations. Ms Power also warned against stereotyping breeds, saying it was the “deed, not the breed” that was the problem.
Last year, 84 dog attacks were reported to Brimbank Council. In just four of those cases dog owners were issued with fines. “The frequency of dog aggression incidents in public places is of concern,” Mr Menzies said. Councils have the right to ask for attacking animals to be euthanised and matters of a more serious nature are brought before the Magistrates Court. The State Government introduced tougher laws against dangerous dogs in 2010, providing councils more power to prosecute.
The maximum penalty for the owner of a declared dangerous dog that has attacked a person or animal, causing serious injury, is $14,334 and six months imprisonment. The maximum penalty for a dog which is not declared dangerous is $4778.
August 02, 2011. Bridget Albert. Attacks on small animals, caution and vigilance urged
Bethany Veterinarian Kimberly McClure Brinton and Woodbridge Animal Control Officer Paul Neidmann are urging residents to keep a close eye on small companion pets. This past Friday a small dog was attacked and had to be euthanized. The wild animal attack occurred on Amity Road in Bethany McClure Brinton said. “The dog was less than 10 pounds and in the front yard for less than five minutes,” McClure Brinton said. The owner, who was not identified, contacted McClure Brinton that an animal had grabbed the canine. McClure Brinton said the injuries were so extensive the canine could not be saved. Both Niedmann and McClure Brinton said various animals
could have been responsible for the attack including bobcats, fishers as well as coyotes. McClure Brinton said that because the animal was not dragged off it may not have been attacked by a coyote as they tend to take their prey away. McClure Brinton said small domestic animals – including dogs and cats – are easier prey.
She cautions never to leave your domestic animals outside unattended. The veterinarian has canines of similar size and always takes them outside on a leash due to the fact that she lives in a community were attacks do happen. According to Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection coyotes were not originally found in Connecticut. They were first reported in the state in the mid 1950s.
According to the CT DEP a typical coyote resembles a small, lanky German shepherd, but several characteristics distinguish it from a dog. Coyotes tend to be more slender and have wide, pointed ears; a long, tapered muzzle; yellow eyes; slender legs; small feet; and a straight, bushy tail which is carried low to the ground. Most adults are about 48 to 60 inches long from nose to tail and weigh between 30 and 50 pounds, with males typically weighing more than females. Coyotes are opportunistic creatures and will dine on a variety of habitats, including developed areas, parks, beaches, and office parks. Some coyotes will also prey on small livestock, poultry, and small pets. In Connecticut, unsupervised pets, particularly outdoor cats and small dogs (less than 25 pounds) are vulnerable to coyote attacks.
Fishers can weigh 4 to 16 pounds and measure approximately 2 to 3 feet from head to tail. With the tail accounting for approximately 1/3 of the total body length. Fishers are shy and elusive animals that are rarely seen even in areas where they are abundant. They can be active day or night. Their primary foods include small rodents, squirrels, rabbits, birds, eggs, fruit, porcupines, and carrion. However they are opportunistic and will prey on poultry and domestic cats. McClure Brinton and Neidmann urge animal owners to keep cats inside and small dogs on a leash when outside always in attendance. In addition, the CT DEP recommends that homeowners eliminate other sources of attraction including pet food left outdoors, table scraps on compost piles, and decaying fruit below fruit trees.
Bethany and Woodbridge residents should direct questions to Woodbridge Animal Control at 203-389-5991. Milford and Orange residents should direct questions to Milford/Orange Animal Control at 203-783-3279.
July 30, 2011. FOXNY. Dog Attacks Girl in the Bronx.
A pit bull dog bit a 4-year-old girl in the Bronx on Friday afternoon, authorities said. It happened near 3rd Avenue and East 170th Street in the Claremont section of the borough.Medics rushed the girl to Lincoln Hospital shortly after 4:30 p.m., according the FDNY. She suffered bites to her face and was listed in serious condition.
The NYPD said the dog has been caught.
JULY 29, 2011. The Edmonton Journal. Dog owner charged after couple mauled
An Alberta couple were "down to their last ounce of fight" when they escaped a vicious dog attack at their home near Didsbury. A 27-year-old man and his 28-yearold girlfriend suffered wounds to their chests, hands, forearms and thighs when they and their beagle were attacked by two Akitas Tuesday night at the property where they rent a suite. The man received more than 600 stitches.
The Akitas and a litter of seven puppies belonging to Andrea Strang, a 34-year-old who also rents at the home, were being kept in a common garage at the property when the attack happened at about 10 p.m. The father of the female victim, who called for the dogs to be euthanized after Strang was charged Friday, said the injuries are horrific. Speaking on the couple's behalf, Terry Stewart struggled to hold back tears as he described the attack. The victims have to pass through the garage to get into their suite and were heading inside with their beagle when the Akitas attacked, he said.
Akitas are a Japanese breed of dog, which can range anywhere from 58 to 70 centimetres in length. They're renowned for their loyalty, but are also known to be aggressive. The couple struggled to defend themselves. Fending off the attackers with metal rods, he said they barely escaped through a side door.
Stewart arrived shortly after neighbours called emergency services and said it was like looking at a murder scene. "It's devastating as a father to see your child moments away from death," he said. "They were down to their last ounce of fight by the time they got out of the garage. "They're not just dog bites," Stewart said. "They're rips and tears and hunks out of them." Some of the wounds are 10 to 15 centimetres long, he added.
The couple required an overnight stay in hospital before being released Wednesday. Mountain View County has charged Strang under its local bylaws with two counts of a dog biting a person and one count of causing damage to another dog. Because the case is so serious, the county is exercising its option to take the case to court, where the maximum penalty is a $10,000 fine or six months in jail. Strang is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 2. Now that they've tasted blood, Stewart said he'd like to see the dogs euthanized. "They were out to kill," he said. "Once they've done that, they have to be put down."
Amanda Stuhl, a peace officer for Mountain View County, said the county also wants to have them euthanized. She said Strang is expected to surrender the dogs to them on Tuesday. "For this attack to happen is just unbelievable," she said. Although the Akitas have a litter of newborn puppies, Stuhl said she doesn't believe the attack was motivated by protective instincts directed at the couple and their dog. "These people had interaction with these dogs every day. Their beagle had contact with these dogs every day," Stuhl said, adding the victims have lived at the property since April and it was common for them to feed the Akitas and play with them. The victims had been feeding the dogs as a favour to Strang while she was out of town, but Stuhl said they were simply on their way home when the attack happened. "They were just passing through the garage," she said. Animal control officers who went to seize the dogs following the attack were able to trap the female, but Stuhl said the male Akita was still aggressive. It took several tries for officers to catch the male with a long snare pole. "The male kept grabbing the end of the snare pole. It was like a tug of war," said Stuhl. Didsbury veterinarian Janice Reid said the couple's beagle, an older female named Kiwi, suffered bite wounds in five places including the neck and shoulders. Reid said she expects Kiwi to recover in four to six weeks. The Akitas are now under a 10-day quarantine at the City of Calgary's animal services kennel so authorities can test for rabies.
July 29, 2011. CBC News .Couple and their beagle escape bloody dog attack
Two dogs will likely be put down after a bloody attack on a man and woman and another dog north of Calgary on Tuesday. The couple was badly bitten while trying to feed the two Akita dogs, who were being kept in the garage adjacent to their rental suite at a house southwest of Didsbury.The female Akita had had puppies four days earlier. "It looked like a murder scene," said Mountainview County Protective Services officer Amanda Stuhl, adding that she had never seen such severe injuries in an animal attack incident.
One of two akitas which officials said might be destroyed after a bloody attack. Meghan Grant/CBCThe attack began while the 27-year-old male victim was tending to the dogs. As his 28-year-old girlfriend entered the garage with her beagle, the female Akita immediately mauled her and her dog. The male Akita joined in the attack and turned on the man, police said. "All three were bleeding badly from their wounds and had to fight their way out of the garage and shut the door on the dogs to keep them inside," police said in a release.
The couple had left their cellphones inside the garage, but neighbours overheard the commotion and called 911, police said. The victims were taken to Didsbury for medical attention and released the next morning. The man and woman suffered bites and tear wounds to their chests, forearms, hands, and thighs, police said.
"It looks like someone took an ice cream scoop to her, there are huge chunks of flesh missing," said Terry Stewart, the father of the injured woman. The injured couple had to struggle to escape the attacking dogs. Meghan Grant/CBC"It's going to take a long time for the physical and emotional wounds to heal." The beagle sustained bites and tears to its entire back. Officers from Mountainview County Protective Services have laid charges against Andrea Strang, 34, the owner of the Akitas, under bylaws governing dangerous dogs.
Strang has been cooperative and has offered to "do anything to rectify situation," said Stuhl. Her first court appearance has been set for Sept 2. The maximum penalty is $10,000 or six months in jail. The dogs are being held in Calgary for a 10-day quarantine to check for rabies. Strang has tentatively agreed they should be euthanized after that
July 28, 2011.The Canadian Press. Four-year-old boy badly injured in sled dog attack in Saskatchewan
SOUTHEND, SK - A four-year-old boy was in hospital with serious injuries on Tuesday after being attacked by a sled dog on a northern Saskatchewan reserve.RCMP say the boy and a care-giver from the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation were helping feed 14 musher dogs in the bush near Southend last Saturday.
The boy, identified by relatives as Kalvin Jobb, had been told to stay in a truck while his care-giver, also identified by relatives as the boy's grandfather Daniel Jobb, finished feeding the dogs. Sgt. Paul Dawson said the boy got out of the vehicle and met one of the dogs that was off its leash.
"And that was the dog that did inflict some injuries on the youth before the care-giver was able to separate the dog from the child."
Dawson said community members in Southend acted quickly to help the little boy, who was taken to the medical clinic before being flown by air ambulance to Saskatoon. "His injuries are serious but not life-threatening," said Dawson.
Kalvie's uncle Ronnie Jobb says his nephew has lost the use of an eye and is undergoing skin grafts to his face at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon.
Dawson said the dog was struck by a motorist a short distance away and died.
The dog's remains are being sent away for analysis. The remaining 13 animals were destroyed by their owner. Southend is 220 kilometres northeast of La Ronge.
28 July 2011. RIA Novosti. Russian circus goes unpunished after leopard attacks girl. The circus accused the girl's parents of extortion after they attempted to gain compensation for the incident.
Russian police said on Thursday they would not be charging the owners of a circus where a leopard mauled a small girl, as the law failed to provide adequately for such an event.The incident took place in Smolensk, a city some 400 km to the southwest of Moscow on July 8. The leopard bit the girl's thigh and scratched her shin before being restrained by circus staff.
"Russian law does not provide any clear description of how to act with regard to wild animals, including in a circus, and does not state any punishment for the owner of an animal that attacks a person," said Alexander Borovikov, a senior aide to the prosecutor for the Smolensk Region. The circus accused the girl's parents of extortion after they attempted to gain compensation for the incident. Police have refused to open an investigation.
Jul. 27 2011. CP. Shark Attack in North Carolina: 6-Year-Old Survivor Forgives Animal
A six-year-old girl, who was ferociously attacked by a shark while on a family vacation, has declared she forgives the shark for biting her.Lucy was in 18-inches of water at Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, when her right leg was bitten twice by the shark.
Craig and Jordan Mangum, Lucy’s parents, took immediate action. Mr. Mangum, an emergency room doctor, moved his daughter onto the beach and quickly realized the seriousness of her injuries. Mrs. Mangum reported that Lucy asked, “Am I going to die? Am I going to walk?” Lucy then asked her parents to say a prayer just before she was rushed to the hospital via helicopter, according to ABC News.
The attack caused a 90 percent tendon tear, a 90 percent muscle tear, as well as a damaged artery, and the wound needed more stitches than doctors could count. However, Lucy avoided severe nerve damage and will keep her right foot and leg.
“She’ll be in a wheel chair for a little bit… But she’s going to walk and function pretty well, dance and run and play like she should,” Mr. Mangum told ABC. Lucy will undergo physical therapy, and doctors expect she will be fully recovered in six to eight weeks. Lucy stated in the past, “I hate sharks. I like dolphins way better.”
However, Mrs. Mangum recently relayed to the Today Show that Lucy was now maturely saying, “I don’t care that the shark bit me, I forgive him”.
With Lucy’s parents’ explanation that the shark made a mistake in biting her, the family told ABC that the attack will not prevent Lucy from getting in the water again, or deter them from beach vacations in the future.
The U.S. averages less than 40 shark attacks a year, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), located at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Wildlife experts say shark attacks are extremely rare, and ISAF research finds: “The growth in the shark attack numbers does not necessarily mean that there is an increase in the rate of shark attacks, rather it most likely is reflective of the ever-increasing amount of time spent in the sea by humans, which increases the odds of interactions.”
North Carolina ranks fifth behind Florida, Hawaii, California, and South Carolina in states with the most unprovoked shark attacks.
Lucy’s bite was the fifth unprovoked shark attack in the state since last summer, and the second in the area in the last month, local media groups have reported. Beach goers are warned to avoid the water between dusk and dawn, when sharks are most likely to be in shallow water feeding
July 27, 2011. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Two fox attacks in Richmond early Sunday
A Richmond man fought and killed a rabid fox during an early morning walk Sunday along the James River, just hours after another man reported being bitten by a fox at Belle Isle.Richmond City Health District officials said they strongly suspect the same fox attacked both people but cannot be certain.
"If you look at the locations on Belle Isle and (the Lee Bridge path), it could have been the same fox," said Kenneth W. Smith, environmental health manager for the Richmond City Health District.
Smith said both fox bite victims are being treated with a post-exposure rabies vaccination.
In the first fox attack, the man went to VCU Medical Center for treatment after being bitten at about 1:30 a.m. at Belle Isle. Hospital officials reported the case to the health department.
Hours later, at around 4 a.m., a man walking his dog on a path along Riverside Drive near Belle Isle encountered an aggressive young fox.
Smith said the man told authorities he kicked at the fox numerous times to try to shoo it away before the animal bit him on his lower leg.
Smith said the man subdued the animal and killed it. The man called emergency communication, which notified city animal control.
The dead fox was taken to a state laboratory for testing, which confirmed it was rabid.
Smith advised people to stay away from wild animals, and if bitten by a potentially rabid animal, not to panic.
"Wash and clean the wound with soap and water," he said. Seek medical attention, call animal control and report the bite to your local health department, he added.
If possible, restrain the animal so that it can be tested
July, 26 2011. AP. Australian police use pepper spray on kangaroo
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Two Australian police officers used pepper spray to fight off a rogue kangaroo that had attacked an elderly woman in her backyard in an Outback town, an official said Tuesday.Kangaroos rarely attack humans. Senior-Sgt. Stephen Perkins, head of police in the Queensland state town of Charleville, said he had never before heard of police using pepper spray against one — but that the tactic worked.
"It did subdue the animal and drew its attention away for the officers, so it worked," Perkins told The Associated Press.
The 94-year-old victim, Phyllis Johnson, was taken to a hospital for treatment for cuts and bruises after the attack Sunday afternoon. She told The Courier Mail newspaper that she tried unsuccessfully to fight the kangaroo off with a broom after it attacked her while she was hanging her laundry.
"I thought it was going to kill me," she told the newspaper from her bed in Charleville Hospital on Monday. "It was taller than me and it just plowed through the clothes on the washing line straight for me."
She said the kangaroo knocked her to the ground before she crawled to her house, where her son called police. The AP could not immediately contact her for comment Tuesday.
Perkins said the first police officer to reach the backyard was forced to spray the kangaroo to avoid being injured.
"The animal jumped away, then saw another officer at the back of the police car and went for that officer, and he also had to deploy his capsicum spray — so the roo had to get sprayed twice," he said. "After that, it hopped away from the scene, but police could still monitor its location — it didn't go too far."
Wildlife rangers trapped the kangaroo, Perkins said. State wildlife authorities could not be immediately contacted Tuesday for comment on its fate.
Perkins said it was described as a male red kangaroo, the world's largest marsupial. Red kangaroos, named for their ginger fur, can stand as tall as a man and usually weigh around 200 pounds (90 kilograms).
July 26, 2011. 48NEWS . A Decatur Animal Services traps coyote
DECATUR, AL (WAFF) -Decatur Animal Services caught a young female coyote over the weekend where several pets were killed earlier this year. Animal Services Director Carol Wicks said the coyote was caught in a "large dog" or box-style humane trap in southwest Decatur. She said the coyote went into the trap to reach a chicken carcass used as bait. She was taken to the animal shelter where she was put down.
The coyote was a little over a year old and weighed about 18 pounds.
"The fact that this coyote deliberately went into a box trap indicates how habituated to humans this particular pack of urban coyotes have become, as it's not common to actually catch coyotes in such an obvious trap" said Wicks. "We believe she is one of a pack of some seven to nine coyotes that have become so accustomed to people that they target human houses and pets, and also the ‘outside' or feral cats that some people feed, as an easy source of food."
Wicks said that Decatur Animal Services will continue trapping the particular coyotes that are targeting pet animals, but since the City of Decatur borders the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, residents will always have to deal with coyotes within city limits.
The following guidelines will help residents keep coyotes from individual homes and neighborhoods.
Don't leave your pet's food dish out at night, especially with food still in it.
Make sure your trash containers are closed so coyotes cannot get to garbage.
Don't leave pet cats or small dogs outside at night unless they are in a roofed kennel with an animal proof lock.
Take down your bird feeder. Birds are not the only animals that eat the contents of your feeder. Mice, chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, raccoons and other animals also feed on this type of food. These animals are a natural food source for the coyote.
Install a six foot fence, possible with roller bars at the top to prevent coyotes from jumping in.
Coyotes are night animals so it is also suggested that motion sensor lighting in the yard and on the house may discourage them.
Gardens in the yard are another banquet for wild predators such as coyotes. Be sure to keep gardens and compost piles well enclosed.
Keep bushes trimmed so there is no available place for predators to hide. Be sure the yard has no convenient den spots. This would be a cave like place that provides shelter, rather than keeping coyotes away, including culverts.
Talk to neighbors about following these same tips for keeping coyotes away from the yard. If the whole neighborhood is working to keep coyotes away, the area becomes a safer place.
July, 25.2011. Matt Ellerbeck - Snake Conservationist. Is The Only Good Snake A Dead Snake? Not At All!
Many people have a natural aversion of snakes, while many others simply hate them. However, the negative stigma that surrounds snakes is completely undeserved. Snakes are in fact extremely beneficial animals to have around.Many snake species prey heavily on insects and rodents. When snake populations decline the populations of these prey items increases, often causing serious problems to people.
Insects and other arthropods can destroy gardens or enter people’s homes where they will be undesired. When rodent populations serge they can destroy crops at an alarming rate, effecting supplies of food and industries. They can also spread many harmful diseases. It is well documented that rodents are also a common cause of house fires, started by the chewing of wires in walls and attics. Snakes do humans a tremendous service by helping to minimize all of these threats.
Snakes are extremely valuable because they are efficient at keeping the number of rodents and insects in check, without relying on damaging chemical pesticides which can degrade the environment and harm other animal species. Snakes are very effective at hunting such prey because they can crawl into small burrows and other areas that rodents use as shelters. These places are too small for other predators to get into. Snakes are also helping to save the lives of millions of people every year, as the venoms from snakes are being used to treat many serious health ailments like cancers, heart & stroke disease, Parkinsons, and many more. However, despite these benefits legions of snakes are directly killed by fearful people every year. Human fear of snakes is mainly derived from the fact that some species have the ability to inject toxic venom, or from the belief that snakes are notoriously aggressive. However, the snake’s horrible reputation is not deserved. Snakes are very shy, timid, secretive, and generally docile creatures that try to avoid conflict when ever possible.
Snakes will not make unprovoked attacks on people. When a person comes in contact with a snake, the animal’s first instinct will be to rapidly flee the area and find shelter. If the snake doesn’t do this, it may just stay perfectly still to try to blend in with the surroundings. Even if the snake is captured, it may still not resort to biting – proof of its gentle demeanor. The snake has several harmless tactics it can resort to as an alternative to biting. The snake may hiss, make mock strikes with a closed mouth, or flail around to try and escape.
The following excerpt from University of Georgia Professor Dr. Gibbons speaks for itself:
All the snake species tested have had the same initial response to human presence. If given the opportunity, they escape–down a hole, under a ledge, or in the case of cottonmouth snakes, into the water. Escape is even the standard behavior of enormous diamondback rattlesnakes, which will immediately disappear if they have enough warning before they think a person can reach them. The snakes just want us to leave them alone. Snake bites on humans usually only happen when someone is deliberately trying to provoke or harm a snake, and the animal bites purely in self defense.
According to NC State University, almost 80% of snake bites happen when someone is trying to capture or kill the snake. All these facts show that snakes are not aggressive or evil animals. If you provoke and capture a wild animal, what can you expect but to be bitten since the animal is going to try to defend itself?
The key to being safe around snakes is to simply leave them alone. Edward R. Ricciuti’s The Snake Almanac (Lyons Press 2001), states that venomous snakes do not look for people to bite and Mark O’ Shea’s Venomous Snakes of the World (Princeton University Press 2005), proclaims that people must realize that snakes are not out to bite them but prefer to be left alone.
This is why co-existing with snakes in a respectful manner is the best policy.
July 25, 2011. News Channel 36 Staff. Report: Fewer animals in Mecklenburg County being euthanized
Mecklenburg County Animal Control released numbers of the pet population in the Charlotte area and they show that fewer pets are being euthanized.Not only are numbers down from animals being euthanized, but they also show that fewer animals are being brought to shelters. These numbers are at the lowest rate they've been in the past nine years, according to the report.
"It goes back to a large part of spayed or neuter," said Melissa Knicely of CMPD Animal Care and Control. "When you have less animals coming in your euthanize rate is going to follow that trend."
July 24, 2011 Camping teens mauled by grizzly bear in Alaska
(CBS/AP) ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A grizzly that was with her cub attacked a group of seven teens participating in a survival skills course, badly injuring two in the group. reports local CBS affiliate KTVA.
The teens were towards the end of a 30-day backcountry course by the National Outdoor Leadership School when the attack occurred Saturday night about 120 miles north of Anchorage. They were rescued early Sunday. NOLS spokesman Bruce Palmer says another group of seven students and three instructors has been waiting about six miles away for a helicopter hired by the Lander, Wyo.-based organization. Palmer says 17-year-old Joshua Berg of New City, N.Y., and 17-year-old Samuel Gottsegen of Denver were the worst injured with bear bite wounds.
KTVA reports that the two are in serious condition at an Anchorage hospital. Teens told troopers that the bear was first spotted around 8:30 p.m. Saturday while crossing a river single file, KTVA reports. Those at the front of the line screamed the news of the approaching bear to those at the back. Troopers said that the two teens at the front of the line received the brunt of the bear attack. National Geographic describes grizzly bears, a subspecies of the North American brown bear, as "powerful, top-of-the-food-chain predators, yet much of their diet consists of nuts, berries, fruit, leaves, and roots. Bears also eat other animals, from rodents to moose. Despite their impressive size, grizzlies are quite fast and have been clocked at 30 miles an hour. They can be dangerous to humans, particularly if surprised or if humans come between a mother and her cubs."
July 24, 2011. CHARLOTTE, N.C. Dog placed in quarantine after biting a child
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A child bitten by a dog Sunday afternoon in north Charlotte is expected to be alright.
A witness says the child reached down toward the dog as the animal was eating a pork chop, and the dog bit the child's arm.
It happened at a transitional house on Beatties Ford Road.
We're told the dog will be placed under quarantine
July 23, 2011. WHAS11. Former highway worker, sheriff’s deputy face alleged animal cruelty charges
LOUISVILLE, Ky. A former Kentucky sheriff's deputy and a state highway worker accused of beating a dog and unknowingly burying it alive are now facing animal cruelty charges.
Former Kentucky State Highway Worker Adam Decker found a dog that had been hit by a car on Highway 69 in Ohio County in June and called for a deputy.
Former Ohio County Sheriff's Deputy Randy Taylor showed up and road workers say Taylor hit the dog on the head with a garden hoe.
The workers buried the dog, thinking it was dead, but another road worker later found the dog alive after it struggled out of the grave
July 23, 2011. Joe Rubino Enterprise Staff Writer. Coyote killed suspected of attack on Broomfield toddler .Wildlife officials say species' territorial nature ups the odds they tracked down right animal
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials on Thursday shot and killed a coyote believed to be the animal that attacked a toddler on a trail in the northern Broomfield earlier this week.Thursday's announcement ended a three-day search for an animal that on Monday evening reportedly jumped out of tall grasses on a trail in Broomfield's Anthem neighborhood, knocked down a 2-year-old boy and bit him on the lower back and buttocks. The 2-year-old, who was walking a few feet ahead of his father and 9-month-old sister when he was attacked, received a rabies vaccination and is recovering well from his minor injuries, according to his father. Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill on Friday confirmed that several department staff members located and killed a coyote early Thursday morning in roughly the same part of the Anthem neighborhood where Monday's attack occurred. Churchill said, that, while they can't be sure it was the same coyote responsible for the attack, the species' territorial nature ups the odds they tracked down the right animal.
"You know, unless we shot it on sight when the injury took place, there is no guarantee we got the right animal," she said. "We certainly hope we did. In an area where there are a lot of coyotes, we did our best."
Because of the size of the coyote population in Colorado, Churchill said Parks and Wildlife does not relocate animals after they display aggressive behaviors towards humans. The coyote shot Thursday is being tested for diseases or health abnormalities that might have led it to attack a person, she said.
Monday's bite was the first reported coyote attack on a human in Broomfield since a pair of attacks in late 2008 and early 2009. One of those attacks occurred near the intersection Lowell Boulevard and Colo.7 near Anthem. Those attacks lead to the killing of an entire pack of coyotes in Broomfield County Commons in 2009 for aggressive behavior, and also led Broomfield to adopt a wildlife coexistence policy in 2010.
Kristan Pritz, Broomfield's Open Space and Trails director, said this week's events demonstrated the value of the coexistence policy, which states explicitly that any "dangerous coyote behavior" means the offending animal will be shot on sight.
Broomfield staff will step up public education efforts in the light of the attack, Pritz said, running advertisements and an educational video on coyotes on the city's Channel 8 TV station. They city also will post additional signs warning of coyote presence around Anthem, which will include tips on how to deal with the animals, Pritz said. The city over the next few weeks also will use paintball guns to haze other coyotes in that area in an effort to make the animals more fearful of people.
"When something like this happens, we want to make sure (residents) are given the appropriate information on how to deal with these situations," Pritz said of the educational campaign. "And we sure hope this little boy is doing fine. Let's keep the good thoughts going that family's way."
July 23, 201. DEKALB COUNTY NEWS. DeKalb considers lifting pit bull ban
Animal advocates say problems begin with owners, not the breed.
G.K. Simpson’s love of animals started young, when he used to sneak sick rabbits and squirrels into his house and nurse them back to health. He loved playing with neighbors’ cats and dogs. But all he ever wanted for his own pet was a pit bull. “We’re both looked at like bad guys, but we can’t help how we look,” said Simpson, who sports tattoos and dons hip-hop-style baggy pants. “They’re sweet dogs that just look that way.” That look — the boxy head, strong jaw and muscular body — is only part of the problem. DeKalb County joined many jurisdictions nationwide to ban the dogs about a decade ago because of well-publicized attacks by pit bulls and pit-mixes.
Now DeKalb is considering lifting its ban of pit bulls as household pets as part of a larger overhaul of its animal services department. The County Commission is scheduled to vote on the issue next month.
The county shelter cannot offer the animals for adoption, driving up DeKalb’s euthanasia rate at the expense of many dogs that, if not for their suspected breed, meet temperament tests to be pets. “There are more animals that are dangerous than just pit bulls,” said DeKalb Animal Services Director Kathy Mooneyham. “We have a dangerous-animal ordinance, and we need to focus on that and educating people on being responsible pet owners.” Those who want to keep the ban wonder if the restriction doesn’t help with that focus. They worry most about public safety, the same concern cited in similar bans in Denver and Miami that go back decades.
Even the Army and Marine Corps have restricted pit bulls in base housing in recent years. No other metro county has a ban on the breed, though proposals have raged in Georgia for years. The Legislature proposed a ban of the animals statewide in 2005, but that failed. Douglasville narrowly avoided a ban last year, which was proposed after three loose pit bulls bit a woman who was out for a walk.
“My concern is not so much the breed but that this breed is most often associated with aggressive behavior,” said County Commissioner Elaine Boyer. “The issue is those breeds are sold and trained for aggressive behavior, and we need to deal with that.” Animal rights advocates, who have pushed for lifting DeKalb’s ban, argue that dog fighting and animal attacks are the result of bad owners, not any breed of dog. A March dog attack near Lithonia seems to underscore that point. Two dogs mauled an 8-year-old girl who was playing in her own yard, injuring her so badly that doctors had to amputate one arm below the elbow. One dog in the attack was a pit bull. The other was a mutt. Both were destroyed after the attack. DeKalb Solicitor-General Sherry Boston is prosecuting the owner, Twyann Artrell Vaughn, on charges of reckless conduct, failure to provide the dogs with rabies vaccines and owning vicious dogs. The case is expected to go to court in August.
“My focus is on the vicious-dog statute, and we will prosecute for any dog, regardless of breed, we can show is aggressive or trained to be aggressive,” said Boston, who did not take a stance on the proposed lifting of the ban. Mooneyham said she was unaware of anyone ever being charged with violating the pit bull ban in DeKalb, largely because “pit bull” is too vague a description. The breed actually encompasses at least three different types of terrier mixes, including the Staffordshire pit, a mix of terrier and a Georgia icon, the bulldog. Petey, the dog that trailed the Little Rascals in the 1920s and 1930s movie shorts, was reportedly a Staffordshire mix. It’s the terrier part that can make the dogs somewhat hyper and aggressive, said Byron Haygood, a dog trainer who has six dogs, four of them pit bulls. His company, B. Good Dog Behavior Modification, works with all dogs but mostly pit bulls. Haygood recently moved from central DeKalb to Smyrna, not to avoid the pit bull ban but to have a big enough yard to run and work his dogs, and he prefers to work at someone’s own home for training. That’s because all terriers, whether a pit or a Jack Russell, need to stay active to be happy household pets, he said. Getting them used to exercising in their own environment can create another Mama, Haygood’s chunky 2-year-old pit bull who will stop whatever she’s doing if she hears his 3-month-old son crying. “Mama will fuss to make sure he’s OK because she knows we claim her and she claims us,” Haygood said. “People need to learn how to treat dogs the way they do people.”
Simpson learned about pit bulls after his father presented him with his first one, Tank, when he was 14. Simpson and his father began breeding the dog, hoping someday to have their own kennel. They never fought their dogs and would refuse to sell a puppy if they knew it would be used that way. Years later, when Simpson had moved from up North to DeKalb, he realized he had been part of the problem. He saw people abandoning pit bulls because they didn’t take time to train them. Pit-mix puppies were being taken to the pound for not looking rough enough. “When I saw how many were dying, you could say I saw the light,” Simpson said. Simpson, who works at the spay-neuter clinic Lifeline, has since become an advocate that all pets be fixed. He and Haygood work with community groups in poorer neighborhoods, urging responsible pet ownership and care. He also has become a pit bull rescuer. Mercy is the bulky baby who always begs for belly rubs. Prada is the goofy puppy. And China is in love with Simpson’s 14-year-old stepdaughter, Kiki Milton, who has cerebral palsy. “She will get right up on the wheelchair and stretch out to kiss Kiki,” Simpson said. “Pit bulls love people. They love everybody,” he added. “More people need to see that side of them.”
July 22, 2011. FOX11. Rattlesnake conference in Tucson. TUCSON, Ariz. -- They rattle, they bite and can even kill you.For the next three days, experts will discuss the biology of the rattlesnake. More than 250 experts from around the world have gathered at the Marriott University Park to discuss a serpentine subject: rattlesnakes.
"Basically its a collection researchers and biologists that all study rattlesnake biology and they're here to discuss the different studies and the things they have been working on," said event organizer Bob Ashlely.
Doctor Jonathan Campbell the chair of the biology department at the University of Texas at Arlington, and his team, have made an exciting series of discoveries, a new species of rattler.
"It does sound strange perhaps, it is very exciting to still discover new species including new species of rattlesnakes in this day in age," said Dr. Campbell. The research has taken Campbell and his team to remote areas of Mexico. "This species of rattlesnakes that tend to be mountain, that is they live up in the mountains and they have very restrictive distribution. One of thing that makes them so interesting is that they are adaptive to a variety of habits," said Campbell. The thing that makes them dangerous is their bite and venom. "If the snake actually catches you with a full bite, you will experience of puncturing of the skin. The venom is actually delivered through the venom duct through the fangs and down into the tissues of the human body," said Dan Keyler. Dan Keyler from the Minneapolis Research Foundation is an expert on snake bites. He says you will feel pain from a bite in the first 30 minutes.
Antivenin is used to treat bites and scientists are looking for ways to improve it."One of the things that has happened in recent years is reactions to allergic complication with the administration of antivenin, that has been greatly approve and that used to be a major medical concern when people treated for snake bite," said Keyler.
Officials at the Arizona Poison Center say they average about 200 snakebite calls each year.
July 21, 2011. Asher Moses. Dog bites shark: Russ makes a fuss about 'amazing' video
Russell Hood-pen believes his viral video showing dogs "herding" and biting sharks is the perfect way to market Australia to the world but the boss of the Tourism and Transport forum claims it may do more harm than good.The video - "dog has a ride on a shark" - has racked up 1.5 million views in a week and Perth construction worker Hood-pen is now in high demand with media around the world.
He believes this sort of bizarre natural beauty is better marketing for Australia than "cheesy" official efforts featuring the likes of Lara Bingle, but John Lee, chief executive of the Tourism and Transport Forum, was blunt in his response.
"That certainly is an amazing piece of footage, but I don't think vision of sharks practically on the beach is the right image to entice people to Australia," said Lee.
Hood-penn, 32, and his wife, Naomi, have spent the past four months travelling around Australia with no caravan - just their "tent and swag" - allowing them to access the more remote communities.
One of their stops was One Armed Point, an indigenous community about 200km north of Broome in Western Australia. They paid their fee to visit the community and one of the locals informed them of an interesting attraction.
"The lady said if you're lucky and you go down the boat ramp at high tide you might get to see the dogs swimming with the sharks, so off we went down there and sure enough ... there were these two dogs and they were swimming with the sharks, they were swimming out maybe 50 or 60 metres and it almost looked like they were rounding the sharks up and bringing them to the shallows," Hood-penn said in a phone interview.
"We were there watching it for 20 or 30 minutes ... and right when I decided to take the video the dogs swam in and then one of the dogs just dove down and grabbed hold of the shark's tail and went for a swim in the water with him."
The sharks are believed to be lemon sharks, which have sharp teeth, grow to three metres and are common in tropical water at moderate depths. There have been just 22 reports of lemon shark attacks on humans with no deaths.
But Paul McGreevy, professor of animal behaviour and welfare at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Veterinary Science, said there was "no evidence" the sharks were tamed.
"Terriers enjoy hunting for things below the surface of the ground and they get pleasure from that, they don't need to be trained to do that. So if the dogs in question have any terrier in them they may enjoy the chase," he said.
"The sharks would've been there for their own reasons presumably something to do with foraging."
At the end of the clip a dead dugong is pictured on the beach, which could be what enticed the sharks into shallow waters.
Hood-penn published the clip on YouTube last month to show family and friends but about a week ago it began spreading virally across the internet and since then has racked up about 1.5 million views.
He is an avid fisherman who has his own fishing blog and regularly publishes videos of his exploits. But this is his first viral hit.
Hood-penn said the media interest was immense and he had received interview requests from Sweden, Brazil, Britain and all over the US. This morning he appeared on Sunrise.
"I've had people messaging me saying how could you let your dog swim with the sharks, a lot of people assumed the dogs were mine," he said.
Hood-penn said his video was better marketing for Australia and remote indigenous communities like One Armed Point than Tourism Australia's efforts.
"A lot of these communities are doing it really tough and could really use the tourism," he said.
He said the official tourism advertisements designed to sell Australia had "too much cheese". "I think they should sell it for what it is - a beautiful rugged land - why sell it with cheese when there's these amazing stories out there and these people and animals that are doing amazing things."
But the Tourism and Transport Forum's Lee said he would stick with Tourism Australia's approach for selling Australia.
He said the current campaign - There's Nothing Like Australia - promoted our unique attributes and assets and was backed by substantial research.
"While dogs swimming with sharks is unusual and interesting, it's not a marketing strategy and i'll stick with Tourism Australia's approach," said Lee.
July 22,2011. YNN Staff. Rabid animal attacks in Oneida County
ONEIDA COUNTY, N.Y. -- The Oneida County Health Department is warning about attacks by rabid animals.
A Clinton boy was recently bitten in the leg by a grey fox on the family's property and a cat in Floyd was cornered and bitten by a raccoon. The health department is reminding everyone to have their family pets vaccinated against rabies.
The next in a series of rabies clinics sponsored by the Oneida County Health Department is scheduled for Tuesday, August 2nd at the Cassville Firehouse from 5 to 7 p.m. Pets must be leashed or in a pet carrier.
A ten dollar donation per pet is requested to help defray costs. For more information on rabies treatment and prevention, or for a complete schedule of rabies clinics, call the Oneida County Health Department at (315) 798-5064 or visit their website at ocgov.net.
July 21, 2011. Martin van den Hemel - Richmond Review. Pet owners report rash of raccoon attacks on cats.
Sara Dubois still can't believe that raccoons in Richmond are attacking and eating cats."I'd literally have to see it to believe it," said the manager of wildlife services for the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. While raccoons and cats are known to fight, raccoons aren't aggressive by nature, and she's never heard of them acting in a predatory fashion like coyotes, which hunt and stalk their prey before eating it.
Nicole Thibault said her 17-year-old cat Kokanee was attacked by two raccoons early Saturday morning at the family's Springthorne Crescent home.
Nicole's mother, Wendy, heard her male Siamese cat's distinctive cries around 5:30 a.m., and walked out to the carport, where two raccoons were fighting with Kokanee. Using a garden hose to try to fend off the raccoons, they eventually scurried away, but carried the fight with Kokanee into the dark. Kokanee's body was never found.
Three days earlier on Wednesday, July 13, Nicole's friend, Tara-Lee Lovo, found the family's cat had apparently gotten into a skirmish with a raccoon, which chewed up its hind legs. The cat was brought to the vet, but later died. Letter-to-the-editor writer Bryn Nixon detailed how four raccoons were seen eating the lifeless body of their cat right before their eyes on the evening of Sunday, July 3.
Cats and raccoons can fight over food, but SPCA's Dubois said they're just as likely to sit side-by-side to share a meal. Raccoons are known as scavengers, and are erroneously blamed for killing an animal by people who see them hunched over an animal's carcass, she said.
And she questions what the eyewitnesses actually saw.
Did they see the cat being killed by the raccoon, and subsequently eaten? Or did they stumble upon the scene, where their already dead pet—which succumbed some time after an animal attack, such as by a coyote—was being scavenged for food by a raccoon?
University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Stephen Vantassel, who runs its Internet Centre for Wildlife Damage Management, said raccoons can aggressively go after live prey, and has seen the aftermath of a raccoon reaching into a metal cage and pulling out a trapped squirrel.
But most predators don't go after prey that are about the same size, as is the case between raccoons and cats, he said. University of B.C. zoology lecturer Wayne Goodey, who researches animal behaviour, agreed.
While they'd prefer better sources of protein, it's unlikely the omnivorous raccoons are turning en masse toward cats. But Goodey said the step from scavenging a dead cat's carcass to killing one for food is a small one. Dubois said the best advice is for cat owners to keep their animals inside. "I have an indoor cat for a reason," Dubois said
July 20, 2011.Illegal ivory set ablaze
July 20, 2011. AFP. Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki sets ablaze an illegal ivory stockpile at the Tsavo National Park. 335 tusks and 42,553 pieces of ivory were destroyed some of which were stockpiled in the country since being seized in Singapore nearly a decade ago. 
July 19,2011. AFP A leopard attacks a forest guard at Prakash Nagar village near Salugara on the outskirts of Siliguri. Six people were mauled by the leopard after the feline strayed into the village area before it was caught by forestry department officials. Officials made several attempts to tranquilised the leopard that was wandering through a part of the city when curious crowds startled the animal.
July 19, 2011. WTKR-TV3. 5-year-old girl attacked by shark in Ocracoke
OCRACOKE, NC— Authorities say a 5-year-old girl was attacked by a shark in Ocracoke, NC shortly after 5pm.
Hyde County EMS, Ocracoke Fire Department, and the Nation Park Service responded to a call at Ramp 72 on Ocracoke Island. Bystanders said that it appeared to be a shark attacking a child in the South Point area, according to Hyde County Emergency Services Director Brian Carter.
The young girl was transported to an area hospital via EastCare helicopter, the critical care transportation service of University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina.
There is no word on the extent of her injuries, according to Hyde County spokesperson Jamie Tunnel.
July 19, 2011. Woman, 64, attacked by captive bear in Michigan
McMILLAN TOWNSHIP, Mich.— A 64-year-old woman survived an attack Monday by a captive, nearly 400-pound black bear while feeding two of the animals on private property in Michigan's remote western Upper Peninsula, state law enforcement officials said.
Authorities said the woman from Ewen was attacked by the 19-year-old bear named Daisy while feeding the bears in a large, fenced-in area in Ontonagon County's McMillan Township. Police say the woman, who was alone and helping another woman who owned the bears, drove a short distance home and called 911.
She was taken to an Ironwood hospital and airlifted to Aspirus Wausau Hospital in Wisconsin. Police say she had back, neck and arm injuries, including bites and cuts from claws but is expected to be released Wednesday.
The bear escaped and was killed by a state trooper, authorities said. The woman's name was not released.
"It's an unfortunate accident," said Sgt. Steven Burton of the Department of Natural Resources' law enforcement division, adding the DNR-licensed facility was "very clean and well-run."
Burton said the area contains three pens, and people can lock bears out while feeding the animals. The woman didn't see Daisy and thought the pen she was entering was clear.
"That's when Daisy heard her, most likely felt threatened and attacked her," Burton said.
The bears, much larger than average wild bears in Michigan, came from a wildlife center in Colorado and lived in a fenced-in area built exclusively for them, he said. The animals were kept as pets and not on public display.
Daisy's head will be tested for rabies, but Burton said it's not suspected. The second bear, a 17-year-old 350-pounder, was not part of the attack and remains at the property.
Burton said black bears can be dangerous and aggressive but usually do not attack people. He said they are "more of a nuisance than anything.
July 18th, 2011.CNN. No Shih Tzu! Pug-nosed dogs banned on airlines.
Hong Kong– Flat-faced canines can no longer fly Cathay Pacific. And their feline friends need to make other travel plans, too. As of Monday, the airline has banned the so-called brachycephalic breeds due to concerns that certain types of short-nosed animals have an increased risk of breathing problems and overheating due to the stress of flying.
According to the airline’s travel advisory, the ban comes out of concern for the “negative health impact to the animal” caused by air transportation. Banned are popular breeds such as pugs, bulldogs, and boxers, as well Himalayan, Persian and exotic short-hair cats. Cathay Pacific is the latest airline to ban snub-nosed dogs, following similar moves by Singapore Airlines and several American carriers.
The move comes a year after the U.S. Department of Transport (DOT) released figures detailing the number of in-flight canine deaths between May 2005 and May 2010. Their results, compiled from monthly reports by U.S. airlines, showed that short-faced dog breeds such as pugs and bulldogs represented about half of in-flight dog deaths. English bulldogs accounted for 25 of the 108 deaths of known breeds far more than any other pedigree.
In a statement, the DOT advised owners of short-faced breeds to review the data before shipping them as cargo, and urged owners to consult veterinarians before flying their pets. Brachyphalic dogs are at a higher risk of death because their breathing is more restricted than that of a dog with a longer muzzle. This restricted breathing makes it harder for a short-faced dog to cool itself down by panting. American Airlines imposed a complete ban on the travel of snub-nosed cats and dogs in its cargo holds or as checked luggage, limiting their travel to in-cabin only.
The airline also established a ban on eight breeds – including boxers, pugs and Boston terriers –between the summer dates of June 30 and September 1. Delta Airlines, United Airlines and Continental Airlines offer similar temperature-contingent restrictions for the cargo and checked-baggage travel of pets. Singapore airlines has issued a complete ban on snub-nosed dogs as well as their cross breeds. Thomas Lau, Cathay Pacific’s assistant manager of public affairs, said that the move was necessary. “The ban is to bring Cathay Pacific into line with industry practice because it has been found that there is quite a bit of danger,” Lau said. Lau said that aside from media inquiries, to his knowledge Cathay Pacific has not received any passenger complaints regarding the ban so far. Whilst Cathay Pacific’s measures appear to have the animals’ best interests at heart, Hong Kong’s Society for the Protection of Animals (SPCA) believes that the ban is an over-reaction. “We understand that they must have some statistics that certain breeds of dogs are more problematic in the cargo cabin, but there are cases when air travel is unavoidable, especially when owners need to emigrate,” said Rebecca Ngan, PR and communications manager of SPCA Hong Kong. “If owners cannot send them in the cabin they may have to abandon them or put them to sleep.” As it stands, dogs already need a veterinarian-issued health certificate before they can board a flight from Hong Kong, with countries differing on travel requirements worldwide.
“A complete ban is quite difficult as it limits the routes where snub-nosed animals can travel,” said Stacy Tucker, director and owner of Ferndale Kennels & Cattery, a Hong Kong pet shipping company. Tucker echoed the SPCA’s concern that the new travel ban would increase the number of dogs being euthanized or abandoned. Dragonair and British Airways are among the airlines still allowing pets to be carried as cargo, but it seems that the days of flying pugs are over.
“A complete ban is quite difficult as it limits the routes where snub-nosed animals can travel,” said Stacy Tucker, director and owner of Ferndale Kennels & Cattery, a Hong Kong pet shipping company. Tucker echoed the SPCA’s concern that the new travel ban would increase the number of dogs being euthanized or abandoned. Dragonair and British Airways are among the airlines still allowing pets to be carried as cargo, but it seems that the days of flying pugs are over.
July 18, 2011. Associated Press. Maiden man pleads guilty to abusing dogsA Maiden man accused of abusing beagles has pleaded guilty to five counts of cruelty to animals in Catawba County
The Observer News Enterprise of Newton reports that 63-year-old Billy Hewitt pleaded guilty Friday and will pay a $100 fine and $1,000 restitution.
Hewitt pleaded guilty to charges of killing three dogs and depriving others of food.
About 20 beagles were rescued from Hewitt's property in March and taken to the Catawba County Animal Shelter.
Animal shelter Director Jay Blatche says one dog was euthanized and several others needed extensive veterinary treatment.
Hewitt says an extended illness left him unable to care for the dogs, and an assistant he hired did not do an adequate job. Hewitt says he does not plan to own dogs again.
July 17 2011, Owner of Iowa zoo attacked by tiger during feeding.
The Delaware County sheriff's office says 52-year-old Tom Sellner suffered lacerations to his head and torso in the Sunday morning attack at Cricket Hollow Zoo in Manchester Iowa City
The sheriff's office says Sellner was attacked while feeding an adult tiger. The tiger was not put down after the attack.
A message left Sunday with the zoo wasn't immediately returned.
The zoo's website says it has more than 300 birds and animals, including tigers, African lions and other exotic cats.
July 17, 2011. khou.com. Spring family fighting to keep pet pig says HOA won't budge, despite petition. HOUSTON
A Spring family fighting to keep their pet pig says their HOA isn’t budging on its decision to give the animal the boot.The Sardo family, who lives in The Thicket subdivision, started a petition to keep their 60-pound, 8-month-old pet after their HOA said he violated deed restrictions concerning livestock.
At a homeowner’s association meeting last week, Missy Sardo said she was told if she had 51 percent of the 250 homeowners in The Thicket community sign a petition agreeing to allow the pig, they could change the deed restrictions.
The Sardos went right into action, circulating a petition and starting a Facebook page for Wilbur in a bid to keep him. But now, Missy Sardo says her HOA has sent her a second letter, saying the petition won’t help, and Wilbur has to go.
July 16, 2011 CNN . Wildlife officials kill bear that bit teen
Wildlife officials in Colorado say they have killed a bear believed to have been involved in an attack on a teenage boy Friday morning. Park officials used 10 tracking dogs to hunt for the brazen black bear, which wandered into a heavily-populated campsite overnight.
They established a scent trail by late afternoon, said spokesman Randy Hampton of Colorado Parks and Wildlife. At the end of the trail, they discovered a 200-pound bear that matched the description of the one involved in the early morning attack. It was shot and killed.
Officials had said earlier they would have to kill the bear, pointing to the bold and aggressive behavior it exhibited when it wandered into the site with so many campers. The incident occurred in an encampment filled with hundreds of people participating in a bow-hunting event, Hampton said.
"We manage wild bears for a healthy and thriving population," said Dan Prenzlow, regional manager for wildlife with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "But when an individual bear enters a tent and attacks a sleeping person, we manage that animal to protect the public safety." The bear entered a tent occupied by a teenage boy and at least one other person early Friday. It bit the boy on the leg, but the teen fought it off. The bear was then chased away by the teen and other campers at the site.
Wildlife officials who responded to the scene determined that the black bear had been poking around the campsite before it attacked the teenage boy. Investigators said they found a ransacked cooler and evidence that food had been eaten before the bear entered the tent. The teenager was taken to a hospital in nearby Leadville, Colorado, Hampton said. He was treated for deep lacerations on one of his legs and released. He is expected to recover but will receive followup treatment.
Hampton estimated that there are around 12,000 black bears on Colorado's 23 million acres of public land. There are no known brown bears or grizzlies in the state. Earlier this month, a man was killed in a grizzly bear attack in Wyoming's Yellowstone Park. But park officials said the man, who was hiking with his wife, surprised the female grizzly while she was with her cubs. They determined that she was acting defensively and decided not to put the bear down.
July 16, 2011. Animal cruelty charges due for owner of Cumberland Gap horses.
CUMBERLAND GAP, Tenn. — Claiborne County sheriff's officials say they plan to file animal cruelty charges against the owner of five malnourished horses found in Cumberland Gap.The owner's name has not been released, pending the charges. The sheriff's office says it turned over the information in the case Thursday to the district attorney general's office.
The horses, which were running free in Cumberland Gap, were picked up by Horse Haven of Tennessee and taken to its facility in West Knoxville.
Two of the confiscated horses are a mare and her three-month-old colt. Horse Haven says public donations to help with the care of these horses and others are greatly appreciated. Send donations to Horse Haven of Tennessee, P.O. Box 22841, Knoxville, TN 37933
July 15, 2011. Charlotte White, H&H Are horse attacks on the increase?
Shock and anger surrounded the death of a pony drowned in a Hampshire lake as H&H went to press last Monday (11 July).
But the incident was just one of a frighteningly large number of attacks on horses this month.
Initial reports were that the pony, harnessed to a trap, was forced into Hawley Lake
A spokesman for Hampshire Police said: "Conflicting reports surrounding the exact circumstances of the incident were given to officers. This incident may have been a tragic accident, not a deliberate act." Police and welfare groups are appealing for witnesses. But there have been other, conclusively cruel attacks in the past two weeks.
On 5 July a young Shetland pony was euthanased in Gravesend , Kent
And on 2 July two ponies and a cow were shot dead as they grazed in a field near Tideswell, Derbyshire (news, 7 July). A 52-year-old man was arrested by police, who described it as a "senseless act". Other attacks this year include a mare shot with a crossbow in Surrey in April, a Shetland allegedly sexually assaulted then hacked to death in Essex and a man seen attacking a horse in a field in Liphook, Hampshire, in May.
There seems no link or reason for this spate of horse attacks but it has shocked welfare organisations. Thames Valley Police equine liaison officer Helen Evans said: "You should visit your horse at least once a day. Report any suspicious sightings to the police and make sure your neighbours are also on the look out."
Jul 14 2011. Robert Kirby. The Salt Lake Tribune
Killer’s youngest son left on an LDS mission last week. Ricky’s in Tennessee
While the missionary posed, the lions got to thinking, “Ooh, lunch.” A couple of them grabbed the missionary and gave him a serious gnaw. He survived thanks to what some see as a miracle.
I’m no expert on miracles but I have read the Bible, and it occurs to me that a bona fide miracle would have been not getting bitten at all. That’s what happened to Daniel in the Old Testament. When he was caught worshipping contrary to Persian law, King Darius had him tossed into a den of lions.
The next morning when Darius found Daniel alive, he was so moved by the mercy of Daniel’s god that he rounded up Daniel’s accusers, their wives and all their kids and fed them to the lions.
Darius then decreed that henceforth the god who had delivered Daniel from the lions would be revered by his entire kingdom. This change of heart was, of course, entirely lost on those being eaten. Spiritually diminished creatures, the lions at the Guatemalan zoo probably hadn’t read the Bible and therefore didn’t know they weren’t supposed to eat servants of the Lord. Instead, they should wait for the less worthy.
I’m not exactly sure how an animal attack (or lack thereof) gets parlayed into God’s business. All I know is that it’s never happened to me. I wasn’t chewed by lions on my mission in South America , but I was attacked by other animals. I got bitten a couple of times by dogs, knocked down by a cow, spat at by a llama and peed on by monkeys.
To the best of my knowledge, none of these events had any religious connotation outside the fact that I was a 20-year-old missionary. For example, after we knocked on a door one afternoon, a huge dog charged out. When he started growling, I yelled at him to leave. But it was his porch, and so he bit me on the thigh instead.
Maybe it’s how my mind works. I never stopped to consider that it was a miracle I hadn’t been bitten higher on my anatomy, or even the possibility that I’d been chomped as a penalty for spreading the wrong faith. Instead, I focused all my spiritual energy on wishing that I had hit the dog harder with my briefcase and that I wouldn’t get rabies. If there was a heavenly lesson to be learned from what happened with the monkeys, the only one I got was not to throw rocks at them anymore. Likewise, not to tease llamas or get too close to cows.
I suppose it’s possible that God (or the devil) shows his hand in mysterious ways through animal attacks. But if there’s a lesson to be learned or a price to be paid, I’m betting that it has more to do with acknowledging our own foolishness.
July 14th 2011. LUKAS I. ALPERT.DAILY NEWS. Killer python crushed 2-year-old girl to death in her crib and tried to swallow her whole.
A killer python crushed a 2-year-old toddler to death in her crib and tried to eat the child whole, bone-chilling testimony revealed at the trial of the girl's parents.
"There were also several clusters of puncture wounds ... that represent bites from the snake as the snake was trying to ingest her, basically," medical examiner Wendy Lavezzi testified in Sumter County court in Florida
The shocking tragedy unfolded in the Oxford, Fla., home of Jaren Hare, 21, and her boyfriend, Charles Darnell, 34, in 2009 when their pet albino Burmese python slithered into the Shanianna Hare's crib.
The couple have been charged with manslaughter and third-degree murder and face up to 35 year in prison if convicted. Snake handlers have testified that the couple failed to properly house the 8-and-a-half-foot-long snake and that the creature seemed underfed and malnourished, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The snake, named Gypsy, hadn't been fed in a month and escaped from the 200 gallon fish tank it was kept in just hours before the horrible attack. Darnell had placed it into a mesh laundry bag with a hole in it and put it back to the tank, but the snake managed to escape again.
The tank was kept just 12 feet from Shanianna's room, which did not have a door.
July 14th 2011. Caroline Connolly TV5. Animal Behavior Expert Says Pit Bulls Not the Problem.
Don Hanson, of Green Acres Kennel in Bangor
"I don't think it has as much to do with the breed as it does the individual dog, the environment in which it has been brought up in. In a perfect world, when we get a dog, we like to know what Mom and Dad are like because their temperament may be similar, but when it comes down to it I know some really wonderful, sweet pit bulls."
The CDC says that while fatal dog attacks appear to be breed specific, it's hard to determine a dog's breed with certainty. Which they say could mean other breeds may actually cause bite related deaths at a higher rate.
July 14, 2011. Tae-Yi Kim. Reuters. Dog on the menu in Korea SEOUL
Thursday was not a good day to be a dog in On "Chobok," people seeking to protect the body from overheating eat traditional healthy foods such as ginseng chicken soup, broiled eel, and "bo-shin-tang," literally "body preservation stew."
Dogs are bred to be eaten in South Korea
"The reason why I eat dog soup is because it boosts my energy, even when I'm most tired," said 56-year-old Shin Gwan-sup, sitting in a dog soup restaurant.
"Compared to other meats, it has more protein and less fat. I think it is healthy and clean, a more suitable meat for us."
The Korean practice of eating dog has drawn criticism from overseas for its cruelty, with French actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot among some of the most vocal critics.
But Korean dog meat connoisseurs remain undaunted, with long lines forming on Thursday outside dog specialty restaurants.
Beating the heat was painful for diners this year, though, with the price of the ginseng chicken soup, or sangyetang, jumping. Severe rain has also pushed up the price of vegetables used in the soups.
July 13, 2011. BBC. 'Feisty' cheetah attacks Eagle Heights
The big cat scratched and bit the two keepers when they went in to the enclosure to film it at Eagle Heights
They managed to escape after spraying one-year-old Zena in the face with a fire extinguisher.
Alan Ames, owner of Eagle Heights
The incident happened in front of visitors, including children, who were the other side of the safety barrier and enclosure and in no danger, he said.
Mr Ames said one of the workers was his son, who owns one of the cheetahs at the park having reared him from three months old.
He said in the light of the incident, procedures at the park would be re-evaluated and amended accordingly
July 13, 2011. (CNN) -- "Uno de enero, dos de febrero,
tres de marzo, cuatro de abril,
cinco de mayo, seis de junio,
siete de julio, ¡SAN FERMÍN!"
Like schoolchildren on a field trip, my friends and I excitedly sang this song on a bus from León to Pamplona in 2005. All I knew about the festival of San Fermín was that it involved people running with bulls, and that it took place every year from July 7 to July 14.
Here are some tips:
Dance, dance, dance. Pamplona turns into one big 24-hour-a-day party for the festival of San Fermín. Everyone's dressed in white clothes with red bandanas, and everyone is there to have a good time. There is live music everywhere, so it's a great opportunity to groove to the most popular Spanish hits. I remember dancing to Melendi's "Caminando por la Vida" around 3 a.m. at one of the outdoor concerts.
Don't expect to sleep (much).
If you're making last-minute plans to go to Pamplona, don't be surprised if you can't find a bed. My friends and I didn't even try. It seems like everyone sleeps outside in public places, or doesn't sleep at all. In fact, Pamplona is the only place where I've ever slept in a public park. I brought a foldable sleeping bag in my backpack -- handy, since northern Spanish nights can get cold -- but most people just lay on the grass, huddled together to stay warm. If you go this route, hang on tightly to your belongings. I used my purse as a pillow, but at least one person from my group had his backpack swiped while he was asleep.
Running is risky.
Every year, there are serious injuries or even deaths among people who try to run with the bulls. In 2010, I spoke with cancer survivor Michael Lenahan, who got gored in the leg by a bull; his brother got hurt in the left buttock. In fact, between 200 and 300 people are injured annually, according to the Council of Pamplona. Proceed with extreme caution if you are planning on getting near the toros. There are so many people trying to watch and run that you might not know a bull is near you until its horn scrapes your arm.
Check out the bullfighting ring.
There are so many people stretching their necks to see over the fences that line the streets of Pamplona -- not to mention sitting on the fences, too -- that it's actually hard to see people and bulls running. "No vamos a ver nada" (We're not going to see anything), my friend M. lamented. We decided to go instead to the Plaza de Toros. With everyone pushing and shoving each other to get tickets to this event, it seemed almost as dangerous as chasing bulls in the streets. But we finally got our passes and made our way inside the enormous arena, which is the ending point of the bull run. There, we watched hundreds of people run around the bulls, including one member of our group who emerged proudly with a large cut or two.
Don't wander off.
One of the girls in my group didn't show up at the agreed-upon time that morning. A half an hour went by, and she still hadn't shown up. We all started worrying, and had no idea how we would ever find her in a sea of thousands of people, since she didn't have a cell phone. Finally, she appeared two hours later -- she apparently made some new friends the night before and lost track of time. Don't do this to your traveling companions!
Check out San Sebastián afterward.
If you're looking for a place to chill out after a crazy night in Pamplona, head about 51 miles northwest to San Sebastián, a beautiful small city on the Bay of Biscay where you can lie on the beach, admire medieval architecture and actually sit down for a yummy Basque meal.
July 13, 2011. Emily Downing. Props & Disses. A better bear solution PROP
Hiker Bryan Matayoshi of Torrance, Calif., was killed last Wednesday by a mother grizzly bear he and his wife ran into on the park’s Wapiti Lake Trail. Instead of deciding to track and kill the bear, park officials determined the animal was acting in defense of her two young cubs and limited their response to a temporary closure of the south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
In an area like Yellowstone, where the population of grizzly bears sits around 1,000 and where the annual tourist count exceeds three million, incidents like this one should be far from surprising.
If humans want to enjoy the natural wonders of this prime bear habitat, they should expect to run into grizzlies from time to time. In reality, we have little to no control over whether or not these encounters will be fatal. When they are, taking action against the offending animal accomplishes little more than diminishing the region’s grizzly population.
Tusker dies in collar attempt
July 11, 2011. Coimbatore, (PTI): A 20-year-old elephant tumbled down a gorge and died as it tried to flee an attempt to put a radio collar by a team of World Wildlife Fund and district forest officials.
The team, in search of elephants frequently straying into human habitations, attempted to radio collar the animal late last night. But it tried to escape, slipped and fell into the gorge and died on the spot, the forest department said in a release.
The elephant was buried in after post-mortem, it added.
Radio collaring entails fixing a collar fitted with a small radio transmitter which when attached to an animal can be used to track its movements.
COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio -- The owner of a bear that fatally mauled a caretaker last year has been found dead in bed at his property in northern Ohio.
The Lorain County sheriff's office says an employee of exotic animal owner Sam Mazzola found the 49-year-old dead Sunday in Columbia Station, about 15 miles southwest of Cleveland.
A deputy coroner says there were no signs of an animal attack or other violence. An autopsy is planned for Monday. A bear owned by Mazzola killed 24-year-old Brent Kandra in August after he opened its cage for feeding at the Mazzola home, where wolves and tigers also were kept. It was ruled a workplace accident. The bear was euthanized. Animal-rights activists had wanted Mazzola charged with reckless homicide. They previously targeted him because he staged wrestling matches between bears and humans.
July 10, 2011. Patrick Oppmann, CNN. Yellowstone ranger says respect, don't fear, bears
Having spent an hour walking the trails in Yellowstone National Park, Erin Prophet suddenly heard the words that every hiker dreads.
Prophet, who lives in Boston, scanned the hill she had just begun to climb. She couldn't see anything, but then heard the thick brush in front of her begin to crackle. A bear emerged from the forest. Prophet began slowly walking backwards. "I was pretty afraid," Prophet said. "Especially after what happened a couple of days ago." "A couple of days ago" was Wednesday, when Brian Matayoshi, 57, and his wife Marylyn were hiking in a different part of the park and encountered a grizzly bear. The bear, a female with cubs, according to National Park Service rangers, charged the couple.
Brian Matayoshi was bitten and clawed by the bear repeatedly. Then the bear latched its mouth onto Marylyn Matayoshi's backpack, hoisting the woman up before throwing her onto to the ground. She lay still until the bear left. By the time help arrived, Brian Matayoshi had died of his wounds. He was the first bear fatality in the park since 1986. A ranger on the scene at the lake said he believed the bear to be a juvenile grizzly. But Ranger Kerry Gunther, who saw video footage of the bear, said he is certain it was a black bear. That species is smaller and typically less aggressive than grizzlies, but is known to occasionally attack humans.
Gunther, who has studied bears at Yellowstone for nearly 30 years, said the park usually has roughly 600 of both kinds of bears roaming its approximately 3,500 square miles. Typically, more than 3 million people will visit the park each year. Despite the ample opportunity for humans to cross paths with bears, Gunther said there is usually only one bear-related injury each year. In the park's 140-year history, he said, six people are known to have been killed in bear attacks. "Bears are really very tolerant of people," Gunther said. "I have had a few times where I was bluff charged but the bear always pulled up short. You don't really know if you are a 'runner' or a 'stander' until that happens."
Gunther said the park tries to keep visitors and bears a safe distance apart.
But more often than not it's the humans that don't follow that plan. "We can have hundreds of visitors alongside the road filming and viewing bears," he said. "When the bears want to cross the roads you'd think to a big, 200 pounds-plus bear people would show a little bit more respect (and) get back to their cars or let the bear cross the road. Sometimes people are letting the bear walk just feet from them." If a bear does show signs of aggression, Gunther said there are a series of steps people can take to survive the attack.
"That nanosecond before the bear hits you we recommend dropping to the ground and playing dead," he said. "Put your hands behind your neck so your elbows are protecting the sides of your face. Bears bite to the head and face a lot. By going passive usually they'll let you alone." Gunther differentiates between defensive and predatory attacks by bears. If a bear shows signs of hunting and eating humans, Gunther said rangers will attempt to track down and euthanize the animal. But rangers don't typically kill a bear --like the grizzly that attacked the Matayoshis for defensive behavior.
The bear appeared not to pay attention and took a quick swim around the lake before disappearing again into the woods. Shaking from the cold lake water and adrenaline, Prophet was relieved to find herself on the far shore from the bear.
"There's a lot that runs through your head," she said. "What you've seen and heard about bear attacks. But I felt as long as I was not threatening him, he would go away."
Jul 10, 2011.TNN . Jumbos kill father-son duo in Lakhimpur
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Barely 25 days ago, a woman and her eight-year-old son were killed by elephants in Sivasagar district.
Forest range officer (Dhekiajuli) P K Barma said, "Digambor Hemrong (45) and his son, Luhit, died in an elephant attack in the Pabhomari area around Sunday. Digambor's wife, Mira, was also critically injured and is being treated in Tezpur Kanaklata Civil Hospital."
He added, "A herd of jumbos comprising more than 30 elephants damaged seven houses of the area and then vanished in Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary of the district. On Saturday morning, the pachyderms came out of the sanctuary in search of food. As soon as we got the report, our staff rushed to the spot and chased them away to the forest. But they came back again later and went on the rampage."
Barma said the bodies have sent for autopsy and an immediate compensation of Rs 10,000 has been paid to the relatives of the deceased. He added that the jumbos taking shelter in the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sancturary have been bearing the brunt of food shortage for the last few years due to encroachment in the forest reserve. Earlier, two persons were killed in elephant attacks in Dibru Dorrong and Belsiri area in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
7/9/11. Goat Attacks Lead Olympic Park To Urge Against Peeing Near Trails.
PORT ANGELES, Wash. -- Olympic National Park in Washington State
The advice is part of a plan to avoid aggressive goats like the one that gored a Port Angeles , Wash.
The Peninsula Daily News reports the popular park also may close trails where goats follow people or enter camp sites.
Backcountry campers are advised to urinate 200 feet away from trails to prevent the trails from turning into "long, linear salt licks."
July 09, 2011.Three elephants electrocuted in UP's Dudhwa national park
According to the state's Chief Wildlife Conservator, B K Patnaik, "the electrocution was the result of an accident caused by a marching herd of elephants that led to toppling of an electric cable pillar, which brought the live wire down on to the path of the animals".
"While three of the herd of some 15-odd tuskers were electrocuted, the others promptly withdrew from the scene as they sensed trouble," Patnaik said.
He said the mishap occurred near Bodhiya-kalan village situated on the periphery of the core area of the wildlife sanctuary where the elephants had been spotted a couple of times over the past few days.
A team of six veterinary surgeons were arranged to carry out autopsy on the three elephants. "However, no sooner than the surgeons got down to their job, the remaining herd made an attempt to charge at them. The forest guards and other staff, however, somehow managed to thwart their attempt," said Patnaik.
Eventually, the post-mortem was completed on Saturday morning after which the animals were buried in the forest area, he added.
This was stated to be the first incident of its kind in Dudhwa national park. However, a similar tragedy was witnessed at the world famous Corbett Park where as many as 11 elephants were electrocuted in 1980, say official records.
Dudhwa National Park has been rated as the second biggest wildlife reserve after the Corbett Park in north India
July 09, 2011. Zanu thugs slaughter Lowveld elephants
The union said in a notice to members last week that the elephants had their heads hacked off and were left with their tusks intact, showing that the attackers were not professional poachers after the ivory.
“Investigations are underway into the callous slaughter of two elephants (a young bull and a lactating cow) that were left with their heads cut off in a blatant show of defiance,” the union said.
The elephants were part of a popular herd that had become a tourist attraction as it after being started with beasts orphaned in the 1982 drought and reared by hand. “It could be likened to the ‘Presidential Herd’ in Hwange. The elephants are very docile as they trust humans due to having been bottle-fed as youngsters,” the CFU added.
The union also reported a surge in new mass invasions in wildlife conservancies in the Lowveld.
“This is of great concern because many of those properties are currently entertaining clients from overseas. The current lawlessness could have a detrimental effect on their business and in particular future client’s willingness to visit these internationally popular resorts,” it said.
Top officials in President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party, the army and police have since January muscled into conservancies and ranches in the Save Valley area.
Affected safari operators have been forced to surrender between 50 and 80 percent shareholding in their properties to Zanu (PF) officials, top police and military officials, and traditional chiefs in a renewed crackdown on white-owned businesses.
The Save Valley Conservancy is the world’s biggest private game reserve.
The female grizzly bear that attacked and killed a hiker when apparently startled with two cubs will be allowed to continue roaming free in Yellowstone National Park after officials determined the animal had acted to protect its young. A probe of Wednesday's fatal bear mauling, the first in Yellowstone since 1986, suggests the mother grizzly was provoked by a perceived threat from the hiker and his wife when they encountered the animal and its cubs foraging for food.
"The bear's behavior is consistent with a bear who was in a defensive posture," Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk said during a news conference at park headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming. "We did not see anything predatory in terms of the bear's actions." The grizzly believed to have been involved in the attack is being monitored from the air by Yellowstone rangers for now to keep tabs on its movements, park officials said.
The bear has never been captured or tagged and has no record of previous aggression or interactions with humans. The decision not to capture or kill the animal was announced as additional details of the attack were made public by the National Park Service. The victim, Brian Matayoshi, 57, of Torrance, California, near Los Angeles, was hiking with his wife, Marylyn, on the Wapiti Lake Trail and happened on the family of bruins as the couple emerged from a forested area into an open meadow. The hikers first spotted a bear about 100 yards away and began walking in the other direction, but when they turned to look back they saw the female grizzly charging at them down the trail, according to an account issued by park officials.
The bear has never been captured or tagged and has no record of previous aggression or interactions with humans. The decision not to capture or kill the animal was announced as additional details of the attack were made public by the National Park Service. The victim, Brian Matayoshi, 57, of Torrance, California, near Los Angeles, was hiking with his wife, Marylyn, on the Wapiti Lake Trail and happened on the family of bruins as the couple emerged from a forested area into an open meadow. The hikers first spotted a bear about 100 yards away and began walking in the other direction, but when they turned to look back they saw the female grizzly charging at them down the trail, according to an account issued by park officials.WIFE SURVIVES BY PLAYING DEAD
The bear and her two 6-month-old cubs had been spotted in the area before the attack, and have been seen since. A warning sign had been posted at the trailhead based on known bear activity in the area, which is not uncommon. Park rangers have gathered samples of feces and hair left behind by the bear for DNA fingerprinting to check against any potential future incidents. Park officials say bears that become aggressive toward people and pose a continuing threat to human safety are captured and either removed from the park or destroyed. But the bear linked to Wednesday's incident is not believed to have had any previous contact with park visitors.
The fatal attack occurred about a mile and a half from the start of the Wapiti Lake trail as the couple hiked west back toward their parked vehicle. Trails throughout a 6,400-acre (100-square-mile) backcountry area around the site of the incident, will remain closed until rangers are confident they are safe for hikers, officials said. The closure represents a tiny fraction of Yellowstone's 2.2 million acres. The South Rim Road had been closed overnight as a precaution, but has since reopened. The road leads to Artist Point, a popular overlook offering unobstructed views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and the Lower Falls.
July 7, 2011 Lindsay Buckingham FOX8.Cleveland Police: Officer Fatally Shoots Dog After Attack
While he "understands what happened," Kaschak said he wished he had been home to tie the dogs up. Loomis says the officer who fired the fatal shots is also experiencing heartache about what transpired. "This is not something anyone takes any joy in doing." Smith agreed, saying, "I know the policeman was very remorseful and very genuinely upset." Cisco was taken from the scene in a police van. He will undergo rabies testing as standard procedure. The injured officer was taken to Metro Health Medical Center for severe bite wounds to his left calf. Another officer, who was hurt while jumping over the fence to get away from the dogs, was also treated at Metro for minor injuries. "The dog was doing his job in his yard. He was just reacting," Smith said, as she struggled not to cry. "There was a lady inside with a baby so [Cisco] was extra protective. It's just really sad." The suspect in the domestic violence call fled the scene in all of the chaos. The incident in under investigation.
July 7, 2011. David Bale, Teenager witnesses attack on family pet by another dog in Sloughbottom Park, Norwich
“My foster son, Chay witnessed it and he said that Troy was missing a huge flap of skin after the attack. There was blood all over Troy’s body and it was horrible. “It’s a bit frustrating that the police cannot do anything about it.” She said that the other dog was with its owner, who refused to come to their aid. However, two other men helped lift Troy into their car and he was immediately taken to a vet where his 20cm wounds were stitched up.
The cost of the veterinary bills to the family are currently about £400, she said, and the family has been told that Troy might not fully recover from the attack. Ms Chase, who works with children in care, said the family is considering taking civil action against the other dog owner in the courts, as police said that no criminal offence had taken place. A Norfolk Constabulary spokesman said: “We can confirm that we were alerted to an incident involving two dogs at Sloughbottom Park, on Drayton Road, Norwich on Monday, July 4 at approximately 9.55am. “Investigations have established that no criminal offences have taken place and both dog owners have been advised accordingly.”
July 07, 2011. Tuquyen Mach. Community Meets with Animal Control After Vicious Dog Attack in East Savannah.
SAVANNAH, Ga. --
The owner told police she was taking the dogs to a relative's house while the family moved, when a child who was in the car accidentally let the dogs out. "That's a catastrophe that I hope will never happen again, and I'm sure that because it has happened that those people who pass by the park or who are near the park will be more vigilant in watching and monitoring the kids that are in the park," said Ella Marie Harmon, president of the East Savannah Community Association. Metro Police Animal Control officials talked to neighbors at Thursday's East Savannah Community Association meeting. Officials said they're working with the city council to strengthen the city's ordinances about dangerous animals. Right now, animal control officers ask that neighbors notify them immediately if they believe a dog is dangerous. Also, neighbors heard a letter written by the owner of the pit bulls.
Please forgive me and my family," it concluded. One of the dogs from the attack was killed at the scene, while the second animal was euthanized.
July 5 2011. CNTV. Remarkable rescue saves antelopes from wild animals attack. The breeding season of the Tibetan antelopes are also the most dangerous time for them to fall prey to their predators. Staff at local wild life protection center are working hard to save as many antelopes as they can.
On Sunday, in a remarkable rescue, a group of new-born Tibetan antelopes have been saved by staff at a protection station in Hoh Xil, or Keke Xili in western China 's Qinghai
Our reporter Wang Guan is now in Hoh-xil.He travels to the protection place to check out how these babe antelopes are recovering.
These baby Tibetan antelopes never thought their first time to feel the warmth of their mothers was also their last. Shortly after they were born last Saturday, a herd of wild animals attacked their mothers and killed them in a split second. These infants ran as far as could until they were discovered by staff at this wild life protection center. In this protection center in Hoh-xil,
Han Zongping is the chief care-taker. She is the only female volunteer working here. Every morning, she wakes up before dawn to prepare breakfast for these animals. She and her husband lived in a comfortable townhouse in central China 's Hubei
There are dozens of volunteers working at five protection sites in Hoh-xil, China's largest nature reserve area Preserving Tibetan antelopes is one of their major tasks. The number of this species has dropped over 90 percent to just around 70 thousand. They need protection against harsh weather conditions, illegal poachers and other predators since the survival rate of these babies is only 25 percent. Locals told us the monitoring and protection network have been expanding. The government, the enterprise as well as NGOs are all playing their part.
"Local government helps set up protection sites such as this one. Most of the staff here are paid employees of the government. Secondly, enterprise such as Heng Yuanxiang, a major wool-product manufacturer, donates one million yuan a year to this protection center. Also, lots of environmentalists and volunteers call us and say they want to join us, for nothing." But professor Wang Hailin, an expert studying the preservation of Tibetan antelopes for over 20 years believes protection alone is not enough to save this endangered species. He said it's also important to treat the problem at its roots. "The main manufacturing center and consumer market of Tibetan antelope fur is China
He also said environmental degradation is another killer. Receding grassland left antelopes with little to eat while rising temperatures, a result of global warming, turned many solid earth into swamps. Therefore, protecting the animal indigenous to this land for thousands of years remains an uphill battle.
July 3rd, 2011. Elle Dickinson. Crossbow attack on hedgehogs. An assailant believed to be armed with a crossbow has killed six hedgehogs in Richard Lythgoe, RSPCA inspector, told the Cambridge News: "This is one of the most malicious incidents of animal cruelty which I have had to deal with. The bodies of six adult hedgehogs have been found lined up in a row on clear display for everyone to see."
He added that there were "hole marks on each of their bodies which could not have been caused by an animal attack. Our initial thoughts are that these hedgehogs could have been shot with a crossbow - which is clearly very worrying."
Tracy Okten, a local resident who was contacted by the finder of the hedgehogs, was "horrified" by the discovery, stating that ""They are obviously deranged psychopaths, whoever is doing it."
A police spokeswoman said: "We had a call at 7.50pm on Tuesday from a member of the public reporting six dead hedgehogs along Yarrow Road
Police are currently working with the RSPCA in gathering evidence to find the perpetrators.
July 3, 2011. HUMANITY SAVES THE AFRICAN WILDEBEEST MIGRATION WONDER OF THE WORLD OF SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
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GRATITUDE IS ALL WHAT YOU DESERVE.
Jul 2, 2011 CBC News B.C. woman's remains seemingly eaten by bear
4 bears in area killed as precaution Police in Lillooet, B.C., are investigating the suspicious death of a woman that could be linked to a black bear.
Conservation officials say it appears a black bear was involved in a Lillooet, B.C., woman's death. (Roy Musitelli/Associated Press) Acting Sgt. Cheryl Simpkin-Works with the Stl'atl'imx Tribal Service said officers found the woman's remains on a remote property on Thursday while investigating a missing person's complaint. "There was some evidence of some blood, and some articles of clothing were located on the east side of the residence down an embankment," Simpkin-Works said of their initial search.She said dogs were brought to the scene and found the body about 45 metres from the home. The body was emaciated, she said, and appeared to have been eaten by animals. "It was advised at that point that this possibly was an animal attack," Simpkin-Works said. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service "called in their specialized team, who came to the location and took over the scene at that point." Conservation officer Rod Olsen said tracks, scat and hair found near the body are believed to be that of a black bear.
"It appears there was significant feeding on the remains by wildlife, most likely a bear," he said. "All we can say is contact was made by a bear, but that's as far as we can go at this point." Cause of death not determined The woman's body has been taken to Ashcroft, B.C., where an autopsy is scheduled for Monday. "Until autopsy confirms the cause of death is not suspicious, it's still deemed a suspicious death at this point," Simpkin-Works said. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service "is doing their best to locate bears in the area, as there's been a number of complaints that they locate the suspected bear and have it destroyed for the safety of the community," she said. Simpkin-Works said police believe they know the woman's identity, but are awaiting autopsy results for confirmation.
Lillooet, B.C.
Four bears have already been caught and killed in the area. Officials are awaiting the results of necropsies to determine whether the animals were involved. Simpkin-Works said the incident has been hard on the community. "The community has banded together, and there's been some spiritual ceremonies in the area as well to try to calm everyone and bring some peace to this situation." Olsen said black bear attacks are extremely rare — since 2000, there have been two fatal incidents involving black bears in B.C. "Bear attacks are usually broken into two issues: a defensive attack of their young or their food or their territory, or it's a predatory attack. So that's what we're trying to determine,… if that's what caused this," he said.June 24, 2011. National Geographic News Christine Dell'Amore.
There's a new Cuban crisis—the island country's rare crocodile is being loved to death by its American cousin, a new study suggests.
Mating Cuban crocodiles and American crocodiles are creating hybrid offspring that threaten the survival of the Cuban species, which has dwindled to about 4,000 wild animals in two isolated Cuban swamps. The ten-foot-long (three-meter-long) reptile is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)."That means any loss of animals—be it loss in fact or loss through hybridization—is a grave concern," said John G. Robinson, executive vice president for conservation and science at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
American crocodiles, which are found throughout the Caribbean , are not considered threatened by IUCN. The animals have increasingly moved into the Cuban crocodile's remaining freshwater habitat as it becomes more brackish—or salty—due to agricultural activities, said Robinson, who was not involved in the research.
The Cuban crocodile is the most terrestrial of the crocodiles—walking instead of waddling on their bellies like other croc species, he added. "They're very cool beasts."
For the study, scientists led by Yoamel Milián-García, of the University of Havana
Surprisingly, the results showed that American crocodiles living in Cuba are more closely related to Cuban crocodiles than to other American crocodile populations in Central America .
This suggests that the American and Cuban species are mating much more than thought. When different species mate to create hybrids, genes mix, and eventually one lineage can cause the extinction of the other. The scientists haven't done behavioral studies to find out if the hybrids are stronger or more aggressive, which can sometimes happen when species interbreed.
Yet the study "will be a wake-up call" for conservationists in Cuba, who have already put a lot of effort into protecting the Zapata swamp—home to about 3,000 of the Cuban crocodiles, WCS's Robinson said.
One obvious strategy, he said, would be to restore the flow of fresh water into the swamps, which would make the habitat less palatable for the American crocodile.
June 22, 2011. WTKR-TV3CHESAPEAKE— A horse named Missy was the victim of a bear attack.
An attack left Missy with a ten inch gash on her stomach and two claw marks streaking down her hips. "They jump from the back and start biting," says owner Susan Lampert. Missy has been rapidly recovering since she was attacked Monday. She will be on medication for the next week.
"It's amazing what animals can endure," says Lampert.
The dense forest behind the farm provides ample hiding spots for the bears. They think that in this case on Monday the bear just jumped over the fence and attacked Missy. The bear attack happened mid-day while Lampert was running errands.
When she returned, she saw Missy limping near the fence with blood dripping from her side. Animal Control arrived, and judging by the scars, they are certain this is the work of a black bear. The bears are extra active this time of year as summer crops haven't fully come in - so they're constantly looking for available food. Lampert has corn on one side on her yard and it is enough to attract the bears out of the woods. Everyone at the farm is keeping an eye out and hoping this is the last time one of their horses falls victim.
Thursday, June 23, 2011. Sun Sentinel. Pit bull attacks Delray fire fighter outside apartment blaze
A Delray Beach
Smoke was billowing from the apartment windows when firefighters arrived around 2 p.m. to the 600 block of
SW Third Street , Delray Beach Fire-Rescue Lt. Curtis Jepsen said. The pit bull bit one of the fire fighters as he walked outside toward the back of the apartment to help someone get out, Jepsen said. He was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that are not life threatening.
No one was injured in the fire, and Palm Beach County Animal Control has quarantined the dog.
Jun 22, 2011.SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -Dogs attack children in park. A group of children were attacked in an East Savannah Park Treat Park
Neighbors had to beat one pitbull unconscious to get her to release a 7-year-old boy who was bitten on the face. A neighbor fired shots at the larger pitbull to get her away from the other children that she had chased to the top of a sliding board. An animal control officer was able to shoot that pitbull with a tranquilizer gun, but the dog was able to get away before officers could catch her.
The dog disappeared into a heavily wooded area. The 7-year-old was transported to Memorial University Medical Center
June 21/2011. Possible Animal Attack In
According to the game commission office in Huntingdon, a Logan Township Logan Township
June18, 201. Two Pit Bulls Maul 75-Year Old Woman
75-year old Emako Mendoza is in critical condition at Scripps Mercy. Her husband, James Mendoza, tells us the dog attack left his wife bloodied all over. The stress caused her a minor heart attack. Animal control officers now say the owner of the pit bulls may face felony charges. James Mendoza pointed to the spot in his backyard where two pit bulls attacked his 75-year old wife Emako. Mendoza
Animal control officers say at around 6:30 Saturday morning Emako went out to get the morning newspaper. Mendoza
Investigators say this is one of the worst dog maulings they've seen in a long time. Animal control euthanized the two pit bulls. Investigators are talking to the dog's owners.
Lt. Dan DeSousa with the County Animal Control, said, "We are looking at anything ranging from just a simple violation of the leash law for the dogs being on the neighbors property. Up to possible felony charges for the animals attacking and severly injuring a person."
The owner of the dogs Alba Cornelio was not home when we tried to get comment about the attack. James Mendoza says he plans on filing a lawsuit against his neighbor.
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This incident is the most recent in a series of exotic pet attacks that have occurred in the past year. Others include a fatal bear attack in Ohio , a chimpanzee assault in Connecticut and the death of a 2-year old girl in Florida
June 17, 2011. A couple in Grain Valley , Mo.
Ryan and Carrie Waldo both pleaded not guilty to the charges in Jackson County Court Wednesday.
This incident is the most recent in a series of exotic pet attacks that have occurred in the past year. Others include a fatal bear attack in Keeping exotic animals as pets is legal in nine states; 30 other states impose a few restrictions or require permits, according to The Associated Press. But some doctors believe exotic pets pose a serious threat to children in the home. A 2008 report from the American Academy
"Any wild animal not normally considered a domestic pet is a risk," said Dr. Lara Zibners, a pediatrician at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York
June 15, 2011 From David McKenzie, CNN Uneasy truce between Maasai and nature Maasailand, For tourists visiting Kenya, elephants represent the majesty of nature -- but for those living on the land the animals are often seen as pests. At the foot of Chyulu Hills in Kenya, an area famous for its wildlife and the Maasai people that call it home, getting the balance right between the two has always been a delicate task. As more people farm in the region the strain on wildlife increases. Around 80% of Africa's elephants live outside of protected parks in the wild. One conservation group has turned to local communities in an attempt to find solutions to everyday problems so man and beast can live peacefully.
"You know, that elephant that we are seeing down there now, the chances are that last night he was out raiding a field -- or if you go out and see a lion I guarantee you within the last week he has probably killed something belonging to one of the landowners here," explained Richard Bonham, conservationist and founder of the Maasailand Preservation Trust. The Maasai people are a pastoral tribe living along the border of Kenya and Tanzania. Their long-preserved culture and traditional way of life has made them one of the area's most famous tourist attractions.
But conflict between the Maasai tribe and the region's elephants is on the rise and can lead to tragedy. If this elephant problem doesn't get any better then we should just kill all the elephants.
--Reuben Silati, Maasai elder
One of the locals, Ndiari Ole Lemungur, was walking in a group near his homestead at night when he heard something moving.
"We were really scared ... at first we didn't know what was happening. But when we realized that it was an elephant two of us ran away and two stayed behind," he said.
He explained that one boy hid and narrowly escaped but another member of the tribe, Onetu, couldn't get away and was trampled to death.
"My son was young," said Onetu's father, Maasai elder Reuben Silati. "He had a long future ahead of him and I was hoping that he would take care of my homestead when I was gone. I am getting older every day and my son should have been the one to help me." Silati called the trust and rangers tracked down and killed the elephant within hours. But this was not an isolated incident. As domestic animal and human populations grow conflict between animals and humans is more likely.
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June 13, 2011 Rachel Garrett, CNN Mountain lion killed by car on Connecticut
A mountain lion was killed in a car accident in Milford , Connecticut , on Saturday and authorities say the cat may have been the same one spotted this week in nearby Greenwich
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection says it responded to a State Police call about 1 a.m. Saturday morning reporting a collision between a 2006 Hyundai Tucson SUV and a mountain lion in the area of Exit 55 of Route 15 in Milford
Connecticut DEP says it's possible and even likely that the mountain lion killed early Saturday morning is the same cat that's been roaming around Greenwich this month. The animal was last seen Sunday on the campus of a college prep school.
The 140-pound male cat is at a DEP facility where his body, along with paw prints and other specimens are being analyzed and tested to determine if it is the same cat seen in Greenwich
June 10, 2011By Julie Cannold, CNN
Possible mountain lion spotted around Greenwich, Connecticut. There is no native population of mountain lions in Connecticut. Authorities believe a large cat that has been spotted around the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, is a mountain lion that either escaped or was released from captivity.
The cat was last spotted on the campus of the Brunswick School in the King Street area of Greenwich, according to a police report filed this week. Based on photographs and paw prints left behind, authorities say, it appears the animal is a mountain lion, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. There is no native population of mountain lions in Connecticut, and the eastern mountain lion was declared extinct in March by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"Although there is no population of mountain lions in the Northeast, we believe that this animal may very likely be a mountain lion that has been held in captivity and either escaped or was released," Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner Susan Frechette said in a statement.
"We don't anticipate that this is a threat in terms of any likelihood of attack," Savageau said. "Mountain lion attacks are very rare. That said, it is a predator, so you have to be cautious. Make sure that young children and pets are always supervised outside." No sightings of the cat have been reported since the one at Brunswick School on Sunday, according to Savageau. She also noted that mountain lions have a very large range and the animal could have traveled up to 300 miles since it was last seen. No damage or injuries have been reported from the cat's presence in the town, Lt. Kraig Gray of the Greenwich Police said.
The president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States called Friday for a ban on exotic animal pets in the wake of a monkey attack in Fremont
9 June 2011. BBC. Abergavenny boy, 10, in tractor saves father from bull Tom Phillips climbed into the tractor and nudged the bull away from his father.
06.10.2011. by Michael Henrich Monkey attack prompts calls for wild animal pet ban
Wayne Pacelle said "cute and agreeable baby animals become aggressive and territorial as they mature," which is why he wants Ohio
Earlier this year, Gov. John Kasich directed the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to set up a process for public comment on the issue of wild animal pets. An Executive Order banning several kinds of wild animals expired when Gov. Kasich took office.
On Thursday, a grivet monkey took off its own leash and escaped from its owner in Fremont
The owner was cited with a minor misdemeanor for allowing an animal to run at large and faces a fine of up to $150.
9 June 2011. BBC. Abergavenny boy, 10, in tractor saves father from bull Tom Phillips climbed into the tractor and nudged the bull away from his father.
A 10-year-old boy who watched a bull attack his father may have saved his life by driving a tractor at the beast. Tom Phillips watched as the animal attacked his father Andrew at their farm in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire.
After driving off the bull, which left Andrew with 10 broken ribs and internal injuries, Tom raised the alarm. "Andrew only survived because of Tom's amazing reactions," said Tom's mother Amanda. "He's my little hero. I can't tell you how proud I am of him."
Tom was with his father in a field when they were charged by the 2,000lb (907kg) Limousin
He managed to nudge it away from his father, then believing his father might be dead, ran back to the farmhouse to alert his mother I was a bit worried about driving the tractor but I just did what I had to do” Tom Phillips A trained first-aider, Mrs Phillips, 39, dialled 999 and then ran to her stricken husband, but failed to find a pulse.
An RAF rescue helicopter flew to the field on the family's Cross Ash farm to take Mr Phillips to intensive care in hospital. After two weeks he was finally allowed home on Thursday. Mrs Phillips said it must have been horrific for Tom to see his father being attacked by the bull.
June 8th, 2011. CNN. A wild elephant trampled a man to death in Mysore , India
Four elephants bore through the city around 6 a.m., straying from the town of The elephant also attacked a cow in the market and a moving bus in the street. “The forest guards and officials from the
Two of the more destructive elephants were tranquilized, the Times reported, citing local officials. One barged into a women’s college compound and roamed the grounds while the other wreaked havoc in a residential area. As a precaution, schools and colleges were closed for the day and extra police deployed
,June 05,2011. Four injured in wild bear attack
Balasore (Orissa) India
The Stevens County Sheriff's Office is investigating multiple reports over the last several days regarding domestic animal attacks allegedly perpetrated by a pack of wild dogs.
The attacks are reportedly happening in the Bittrich Antler, Scotts Valley Road and Casberg Burroughs Road areas as well as between the 6800 and 7200 block of Hwy 291 in Southern Stevens County.
The sheriff's office has been unable to locate either the dogs or their owners. A game camera set up at one farm was able to get pictures of dogs during a previous attack, though its not believed the dogs they were able to get pictures of are the same dogs involved in the recent attacks.
Dogs that are isolated or confined for long periods of time become bored and restless. They may try to escape to find entertainment elsewhere. The escape act itself may be a form of entertainment. Many dogs escape just for the fun and challenge of it. Schedule daily exercise, play and training sessions with your dog. A good, hardy play session especially with other dogs will tire your dog and give him the exercise he needs. A happy, well-exercised dog will contentedly sleep the day away while you are not home.
Dogs that are isolated or confined for long periods of time become bored and restless. They may try to escape to find entertainment elsewhere. The escape act itself may be a form of entertainment. Many dogs escape just for the fun and challenge of it. Schedule daily exercise, play and training sessions with your dog. A good, hardy play session especially with other dogs will tire your dog and give him the exercise he needs. A happy, well-exercised dog will contentedly sleep the day away while you are not home.
3 June 2011 Adam Catherick sentenced over Wingham meerkat theft
A teenager who stole a meerkat from a Kent wildlife park to take home as a pet after watching an insurance advert has been given a suspended jail term. Adam Catherick, 19, from Sandwich, took the animal during a visit to Wingham Wildlife Park in December. The meerkat was later found dead after it was hit by a car.
Catherick told Folkestone magistrates it was a "spur of the moment decision". He was given a 60-day suspended term and told to pay £1,000 compensation. The park said the animal died because of his actions.Russian accent Tony Binskin, owner of the park near Canterbury, said: "I'm happy that he got sentenced. "I think he should have got done for cruelty to animals as well. The animal died because he stole it. If he hadn't have stolen it, it would still be alive and still be here." Catherick, of Laburnum Avenue, had admitted theft at an earlier hearing.
After the meerkat went missing, park staff feared it had been stolen because of a surge in the animals' popularity following a TV advertising campaign for the Compare the Market insurance comparison website. The campaign features an animated meerkat with a Russian accent. Body in binAfter leaving the wildlife park, Catherick took the animal home and kept it in a dog cage until it escaped and was hit by a car.
Appeals to find the missing meerkat led to the wildlife park receiving a telephone call from someone who had seen it being hit by a car in St Bart's Road, Sandwich. The body was later found in a council dog waste bin in nearby Birch Avenue. A microchip confirmed the animal, worth between £1,200 and £1,500, came from Wingham. In addition to the suspended term handed to Catherick on Thursday and the order to pay the park compensation, he was told to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
He also admitted a separate charge of cannabis possession, for which he was handed another 60-day suspended sentence, to run concurrently with the first. The park said meerkats were among its most popular attractions. It said it would be installing CCTV as an extra security measure to protect the animals.
June 3, 2011. PHNOM PENH : A gang of big, "sharp-toothed" monkeys have been caught at a Phnom Penh temple as part of a crackdown on the unruly animals after a spate of attacks on visiting tourists, a zoo official said on Friday.
"Phnom Penh authorities asked us to remove the violent monkeys from the temple... The guards there said many visitors had been bitten by big monkeys," Nhek Rattanak Pich, director of Phnom Tamao Zoo and rescue centre, told AFP.
Veterinarians from the zoo tranquilised 13 macaques at the Wat Phnom pagoda on Tuesday and Friday and the operation is set to continue.
The temple is crowded with some 200 semi-tame macaques who occasionally cause havoc when they stray towards nearby homes and hotels, tearing tiles off roofs, destroying laundry and making off with items left lying around.
Cambodian police have described the macaques as "gangster" monkeys in the past after a failed attempt to trap them with eggs laced with sleeping pills. Authorities even put a US$250 bounty on several of the animals' heads.
A violent 20kg monkey was shot dead in 2008 at the temple after it attacked visitors.
Pich said blood samples from the monkeys would be tested to check for diseases before the animals are sent either to the zoo or freed in remote forests near Tonle Sap lake, far away from the capital
KARNAL: With a panther finally landing in the trap laid by the district wildlife department, residents of villages around Kunjpura finally heaved a sigh of relief on Wednesday. With this, a month long panther scare, which had enveloped dozen odd villages near the forest reserves of the district, finally came to an end.
District wildlife inspector has shifted the captured panther to Yamunangar where he would be released in the forest reserves of Kaleshar. Enquiries revealed that the panther was first spotted on April 28. Since then, police officials as well wildlife department had placed four cages with prey at different locations in the area. "The preys (goats) were given fodder in the cages.
This morning, the panther might have been attracted to prey and got caught in the trap," said DWI Karnal Azad Singh. "The panther is a young male and got injured in an effort to free itself from the cage. We would be sending him for medical treatment before releasing in the forest reserves," he added.
BABY TIGERS MAKE PUBLIC DEBUT
girl has been bitten on the face by a dog in
Standing more than three feet tall and weighing nearly 260 pounds, the calf was born to 9-year-old first-time mother Temi on May 6
Tanzania Kenya Dar es Salaam
Veterinarians from the zoo tranquilised 13 macaques at the Wat Phnom pagoda on Tuesday and Friday and the operation is set to continue.
The temple is crowded with some 200 semi-tame macaques who occasionally cause havoc when they stray towards nearby homes and hotels, tearing tiles off roofs, destroying laundry and making off with items left lying around.
Cambodian police have described the macaques as "gangster" monkeys in the past after a failed attempt to trap them with eggs laced with sleeping pills. Authorities even put a US$250 bounty on several of the animals' heads.
A violent 20kg monkey was shot dead in 2008 at the temple after it attacked visitors.
Pich said blood samples from the monkeys would be tested to check for diseases before the animals are sent either to the zoo or freed in remote forests near Tonle Sap lake, far away from the capital
Jun 2, 2011. The Times of India. Panther captured in Kunjpura.
KARNAL: With a panther finally landing in the trap laid by the district wildlife department, residents of villages around Kunjpura finally heaved a sigh of relief on Wednesday. With this, a month long panther scare, which had enveloped dozen odd villages near the forest reserves of the district, finally came to an end. District wildlife inspector has shifted the captured panther to Yamunangar where he would be released in the forest reserves of Kaleshar. Enquiries revealed that the panther was first spotted on April 28. Since then, police officials as well wildlife department had placed four cages with prey at different locations in the area. "The preys (goats) were given fodder in the cages.
This morning, the panther might have been attracted to prey and got caught in the trap," said DWI Karnal Azad Singh. "The panther is a young male and got injured in an effort to free itself from the cage. We would be sending him for medical treatment before releasing in the forest reserves," he added.
June 01, 2011 These sleepy Sumatran tiger cubs made their public debut in Frankfurt,
 |
| Sleepy Sumatran Baby Tigers |
Sumatran tigers are a critically endangered species, with only about 400 remaining in the wild, according to the Sumatran Tiger Trust. About 350 live in captivity. The tiger is named for its home, the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The other two Indonesian tiger sub-species, the Javan and Bali tigers, are both extinct.
These sleepy Sumatran tiger cubs made their public debut in Frankfurt, Germany on May 25, 2011.
Human impact and deforestation are the main reason for the decline of the Sumatran tiger population, and all tiger populations as a whole.
Their mother is the Frankfurt Zoo's Sumatran tiger, Malea, who can be see in the photo giving one of the cubs a bath. Tiger cubs often stay with their mothers for about a year and a half, before going venturing off on their own.
Tigers occupy 97 percent of their remaining potential habitat, or about 55,141 square miles, according to the researcher's map. Tigers ranged from the coast to the highland forests 10,500 feet above sea level.
But only 29 percent of tiger habitat on Sumatra is protected, which makes developing conservation strategies important. Since 1998, human pressures, such as hunting for sport and use in traditional medicines in Asia, have led to a 50 percent drop in world tiger populations. They have also lost tremendous amounts of habitat to human agricultural and urban development.
Tiger populations now stand at an estimated 3,200-3,600 individuals in the wild. In effort to double tiger populations by 2022, 13 countries agreed to improve conservation measures at a November meeting of theInternational Tiger Conservation Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
May 31, 2011, The Hartford Courant. Trap Set For Pig-Killing Bear In Winchester
Dawn and Ted Iffland knew something was wrong when their neighbor contacted them Monday night to say she'd seen one their pigs running loose. The Ifflands went to check the pig pen a short distance from their Newfield Road home and found one live pig and a dead one. Then they noticed a bear a short distance away, eating a third pig.
Dawn Iffland said the bear appears to have clawed the pigs, then lifted them over a fence around the pen. One of the pigs, the one the neighbor spotted, got away from the bear and ran free until Ted Iffland caught him later Monday night.
"The one that survived, he was probably too fat for [the bear] to get," Dawn Iffland said Tuesday. "The one he was eating was probably 20 pounds. The Ifflands called Winsted police. State Department of Environmental Protection officials were notified and responded, too . Discovery News ..,
"The one that survived, he was probably too fat for [the bear] to get," Dawn Iffland said Tuesday. "The one he was eating was probably 20 pounds. The Ifflands called Winsted police. State Department of Environmental Protection officials were notified and responded, too . Discovery News ..,
May 31 2011. Dramatic decline in Mara’s wild animals
 |
| Implala decline in the Mara Park |
Scientists have sounded the alarm over
declining wildlife numbers in Kenya’s
Maasai Mara. Impala, warthog, giraffe,
topi and kongoni have declined by
more than 70 per cent. Even fewer
survive beyond the reserve, where
buffalo and wild dogs have all but disappeared, says Dr Joseph Ogutu, a senior statistician in the Bioinformatics unit of the University of Hohenheim,Germany. But illegal cattle grazers in the reserve have increased by more than 1,100 per cent. This explosion in the number of livestock grazing in the Mara region, including within the Maasai Mara reserve, is one of the reasons wildlife has disappeared, say the scientists.
Dr Ogutu conducted the study with colleagues there and at Nairobi’s International Livestock Research Institute. Of the 13 large species, only ostriches and elephants had not fared badly outside of the reserve, while inside only eland, Grant’s gazelle and ostrich showed any signs of population recovery. The declines are particularly surprising, the scientists say, as they expected animal populations to have recovered since 2000-2001 when major conservation efforts began.
“The great wildebeeste migration now involves 64 per cent fewer animals than in the early 1980s,” he says.
There appear to be three main causes of the dramatic declines — poaching, changing land use patterns in ranches within the Mara and an increase in the number and range of livestock on these ranches.
Wounded Tiger in a cage
May 30 2011. Adam Schreck. Injured cheetah found in Abu Dhabi. Dubai - An injured cheetah was captured on Sunday while prowling among residential villas in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, according to an animal activist. Raghad Auttabashi of the Al Rahma Animal Welfare and Rescue Society said
the big cat appeared to be seven or eight months old and had an injured
front left paw. It also had a broken metal chain around its neck, suggesting it was being kept as a pet. It's not clear how the cheetah got free in Abu Dhabi's Karama district, a short drive from the gleaming skyscrapers that line the capital's waterfront. Auttabashi said some residents keep pets - occasionally including exotic animals - on the roofs of their villas. She speculated it might have broken free and hurt its paw by leaping from its owner's home.
Animal control authorities rounded up the cheetah, which was later handed over to a wildlife conservation centre, Auttabashi said. Photographs she took at the scene showed the spotted animal being held in a cage in the back of a van with its injured paw held off the ground. Cheetahs are the fastest land animals and once lived across wide areas of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. But they are no longer believed to have any native habitats on the Arabian Peninsula.They are listed as a vulnerable species, meaning they are at risk of
becoming endangered. International trade in the animals is restricted, though
some limited export is allowed from certain African countries. It's not the first
time an
exotic animal has been found roaming streets in the Emirates. In December,
a cheetah was captured near a mosque in Sharjah, the emirate just north of
Dubai. Witnesses saw that cat swimming off a port and then prowling past a
hotel and offices.
Endangered skinned Pangolin
May 29 2011. Something scaly about
fishy shipment. Jakarta - Tons of
dead pangolins, an endangered
scaly animal, were seized by Indonesia
n customs on Thursday, foiling an effort
by smugglers to ship the meat to
Vietnam, officials said on Thursday.
Indonesia's customs office found 309
crates each containing between six
to 10 adult and baby pangolins, weighing a total of 7.5 tons, at the country's
biggest port in Jakarta, said a customs official. It also found 65 kilograms of
pangolin scales. “The most outrageous thing here is they even
exterminate the young pangolins, the ones that when curled up are about
20 centimetres long,” Rahmat Subagio, the head of the port's customs and
excise office, told Reuters. Pangolins, or scaly anteaters, are meant to be a
protected species in Indonesia. The endemic wildlife of the sprawling
archipelago of tropical forests, from orangutans to Javan rhinos, is
under threat from widespread logging and poaching.
Endangered Mother Pangolin with pup
The exporting company had covered
up the illegal shipment with frozen
smelly fish, but customs received a
tip-off and X-rayed the container to
discover pangolin shapes. Local media
reported earlier this month that a
customs office in northern Sumatra
island had also foiled an attempt to
illegally smuggle about 1,700
pangolins to Vietnam, where eating
the creature is believed to improve health. A 2010 report by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network, and
conservation group the WWF, said trade in pangolins is well established in
Southeast Asia and seized specimens were just a fraction of the actual
wildlife trade. - Reuters
May 28, 2011. Family dog kills Brooklyn child, police say .
New York (CNN) -- A 4-year-old boy was killed after being mauled by his family's dog inside their Brooklyn, New York, apartment, according to police spokesman Joseph Gallagher.Jayelin Graham was bitten multiple times in the head, neck and torso by his family's Cane Corso Mastiff, a large muscular breed of canine commonly used as a guard dog or hunting companion.They were used as fighting dogs for sports like bear-fighting. The dogs were put in a pit with bears and allowed to fight to the death. Other times lions were used for dog-fighting sport. The sheer size of the dog makes him a good deterrent to burglars. Big strong dogs like English mastiffs need consistent training from puppyhood,or they will overpower their master. Height: males 76 cms or more at the shoulders, females 70 cms. Weight: The English mastiff is the heaviest of the mastiffs, and is the heaviest known breed. An English mastiff weighing 286 lbs got into the Guiness Book of Records. The head is large, wrinkled, with black muzzle, ears and nose. The rest of the body can be brindle or light brown, with short hair.
The deadly attack Friday night sent the boy to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival, according to Brookdale Hospital spokesman Andrew Rubin.Two other small children, a 2- and 5-year-old boy, were in the home at the time but were unharmed.Police say they are continuing to investigate the incident and that New York's Animal Care and Control have removed the dog as well as another dog -- a German shepherd -- from inside the apartment
24 May 2011. Girl bitten on face in Bracknell
May 30 2011. Adam Schreck. Injured
cheetah found in Abu Dhabi.
Dubai - An injured cheetah was
captured on Sunday while prowling
among residential villas in the
Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, according
to an animal activist. Raghad
Auttabashi of the Al Rahma Animal
Welfare and Rescue Society said
the big cat appeared to be seven or eight months old and had an injured
front left paw.
the big cat appeared to be seven or eight months old and had an injured
front left paw.
It also had a broken metal chain around its neck, suggesting it was
being kept as a pet. It's not clear how the cheetah got free in Abu Dhabi's
Karama district, a short drive from the gleaming skyscrapers that line the
capital's waterfront. Auttabashi said some residents keep pets -
occasionally including exotic animals - on the roofs of their villas. She
speculated it might have broken free and hurt its paw by leaping from its
owner's home.
Animal control authorities rounded up the cheetah, which was later handed over
to a wildlife conservation centre, Auttabashi said. Photographs she took at the
scene showed the spotted animal being held in a cage in the back of a van with
its injured paw held off the ground. Cheetahs are the fastest land animals and
once lived across wide areas of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. But they are
no longer believed to have any native habitats on the Arabian Peninsula.
becoming endangered. International trade in the animals is restricted, though
some limited export is allowed from certain African countries. It's not the first
time an
exotic animal has been found roaming streets in the Emirates. In December,
a cheetah was captured near a mosque in Sharjah, the emirate just north of
Dubai. Witnesses saw that cat swimming off a port and then prowling past a
hotel and offices.
|
| Endangered skinned Pangolin |
May 29 2011. Something scaly about
fishy shipment. Jakarta - Tons of
dead pangolins, an endangered
scaly animal, were seized by Indonesia
n customs on Thursday, foiling an effort
by smugglers to ship the meat to
Vietnam, officials said on Thursday.
Indonesia's customs office found 309
crates each containing between six
to 10 adult and baby pangolins, weighing a total of 7.5 tons, at the country's
biggest port in Jakarta, said a customs official. It also found 65 kilograms of
pangolin scales. “The most outrageous thing here is they even
exterminate the young pangolins, the ones that when curled up are about
20 centimetres long,” Rahmat Subagio, the head of the port's customs and
excise office, told Reuters. Pangolins, or scaly anteaters, are meant to be a
protected species in Indonesia. The endemic wildlife of the sprawling
archipelago of tropical forests, from orangutans to Javan rhinos, is
under threat from widespread logging and poaching.
fishy shipment. Jakarta - Tons of
dead pangolins, an endangered
scaly animal, were seized by Indonesia
n customs on Thursday, foiling an effort
by smugglers to ship the meat to
Vietnam, officials said on Thursday.
Indonesia's customs office found 309
crates each containing between six
to 10 adult and baby pangolins, weighing a total of 7.5 tons, at the country's
biggest port in Jakarta, said a customs official. It also found 65 kilograms of
pangolin scales. “The most outrageous thing here is they even
exterminate the young pangolins, the ones that when curled up are about
20 centimetres long,” Rahmat Subagio, the head of the port's customs and
excise office, told Reuters. Pangolins, or scaly anteaters, are meant to be a
protected species in Indonesia. The endemic wildlife of the sprawling
archipelago of tropical forests, from orangutans to Javan rhinos, is
under threat from widespread logging and poaching.
|
| Endangered Mother Pangolin with pup |
The exporting company had covered
up the illegal shipment with frozen
smelly fish, but customs received a
tip-off and X-rayed the container to
discover pangolin shapes. Local media
reported earlier this month that a
customs office in northern Sumatra
island had also foiled an attempt to
illegally smuggle about 1,700
pangolins to Vietnam, where eating
the creature is believed to improve health.
up the illegal shipment with frozen
smelly fish, but customs received a
tip-off and X-rayed the container to
discover pangolin shapes. Local media
reported earlier this month that a
customs office in northern Sumatra
island had also foiled an attempt to
illegally smuggle about 1,700
pangolins to Vietnam, where eating
the creature is believed to improve health.
A 2010 report by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network, and
conservation group the WWF, said trade in pangolins is well established in
Southeast Asia and seized specimens were just a fraction of the actual
wildlife trade. - Reuters
May 28, 2011. Family dog kills Brooklyn child, police say .
conservation group the WWF, said trade in pangolins is well established in
Southeast Asia and seized specimens were just a fraction of the actual
wildlife trade. - Reuters
May 28, 2011. Family dog kills Brooklyn child, police say .
New York (CNN) -- A 4-year
-old boy was killed after being mauled
by his family's dog inside their Brooklyn,
New York, apartment, according to
police spokesman Joseph Gallagher.
Jayelin Graham was bitten multiple
times in the head, neck and torso by
his family's Cane Corso Mastiff, a
large muscular breed of canine
commonly used as a guard dog or
hunting companion.
They were used as fighting dogs for sports like bear-fighting. The dogs were
put in a pit with bears and allowed to fight to the death. Other times lions were used
for dog-fighting sport. The sheer size of the dog makes him a good deterrent to
burglars. Big strong dogs like English mastiffs need consistent training from puppyhood,
or they will overpower their master. Height: males 76 cms or more at the shoulders,
females 70 cms. Weight: The English mastiff is the heaviest of the mastiffs, and is the heaviest known breed. An English mastiff weighing 286 lbs got into the Guiness Book of Records. The head is large, wrinkled, with black muzzle, ears and nose. The rest of the body can be brindle or light brown, with short hair.
The deadly attack Friday night sent the boy to a nearby hospital where he was
pronounced dead upon arrival, according to Brookdale Hospital spokesman Andrew Rubin.
Two other small children, a 2- and 5-year-old boy, were in the home at the time
but were unharmed.
Police say they are continuing to investigate the incident and that New York's Animal
Care and Control have removed the dog as well as another dog -- a German shepherd
-- from inside the apartment
girl has been bitten on the face by a dog in Berkshire . The girl was
walking past the Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog, which was tied up outside
Londis in Great Hollands Square, Bracknell. The animal attacked the child,
who was treated for bites to her face at a nearby doctor's surgery on Thursday
afternoon.
Sunday, May 22, 2011. Police in Thailand have arrested a man suspected of being a key
 |
| Bengal Tiger bred in captivity |
player in one of the country’s largest tiger
trafficking rings, police and a wildlife
conservation group. The man is suspected
of being a key player in one of Thailand’s
largest tiger trafficking rings, police and a
wildlife conservation group said Sunday
Wildlife experts say the number of tigers
in Asia has plummeted over the years due
mainly to habitat loss and poachers who sell
their skins and body parts to booming medicinal and souvenir markets, mostly in China.
Conservationists say the government needs to do more to eliminate trafficking networks.
5/19/2011 7. WEEK-TV. By Nick Perreault . East Peoria Serious About Animal Attacks. Terry and Kay Teegarden of East Peoria were watching their son's dog Monday evening when the animal jumped their fence, knocked down their neighbor's seven year old daughter and scratched and bit the girl's shoulder. Police responded to the report of a dog attack at the home on Campus Street.. .
The Teegarden's say the animal is not dangerous and must have gotten spooked. But, East Peoria has a zero tolerance policy for animal violence. Officers called animal control and had the dog taken away.
"Now the owner of the dog has the right and has been notified to request a hearing with the city and the purpose of that hearing is to determine if the officer's decision was right or overturning the officers decision," said East Peoria Police Deputy Chief Chris Hutt. The Teegardens want a hearing with the city. Until then the dog is being held at a Tazewell County Animal Shelter.
May 18, 2011 -- An elephant calf made his public debut at Zoo Hellabrunn in Munich,
Standing more than three feet tall and weighing nearly 260 pounds, the calf was born to 9-year-old first-time mother Temi on May 6 Temi’s pregnancy lasted 670 days, the usual 22-month gestation period for the species. The actual birth took about 20 minutes, according to the zoo.
Elephants in the wild are often assisted during the birthing process by other females of their species and have been known to harm their calves in the frenzy of giving birth. After zookeepers recognized Temi was in labor, they kept close watch on her to ensure her safety and that of the calf.
There were no complications and the baby took his first steps within four minutes.
Mother and baby will be allowed to make short trips outside, weather permitting, to help the zoo’s newest resident adjust to the elephant enclosure
Wednesday, May 18 2011. NATION. Cattle and wildlife clash over tourism. The allure of huge incomes from tourism has created panic among livestock farmers and traders in Taita Taveta County Mauritius
One trader and a director of Global Livestock Traders, Taita Taveta and parts of Kinango has been the lifeline of the business because even during the dry spell these areas have been providing the relief. More land need to be set aside for the livestock sector where the disease free zones will be consolidated so that no animals can come from another area that is not protected from diseases
The ban was lifted about four years ago, leading to the licensing of companies such as Global Livestock Traders to start exporting live animals, with Mauritius
The official said turning the ranches into conservancies would deal a big blow to the Government’s plans but if that is what the owners wanted there was very little that could be done.
European investors with interests in tourism industry were believed to want to turn the entire area into conservancies, like in Laikipia
May 16, 2011. Local Puppy Survives Coyote Attack. Helen Woodward Animal Center Says 'Rocky' Was Snatched Away By Coyote. A local puppy that survived a coyote attack is now up for adoption. Helen Woodward Animal Center spokesman John Van Zante said a coyote snatched the puppy, named "Rocky," from his litter and ran away with him in its mouth. Somehow, Rocky managed to escape, but not without receiving a gaping wound down the length of his left side. Van Zante said that Rocky's wound has been stitched up and that he doesn't seem to be showing any long-term negative effects. "Our staff veterinarian, Dr. Heather Carter, says that Rocky will have some scar tissue from such a large wound. The skin on his left side might be a bit tight as he matures, but we're confident that he'll grow up to be a happy, healthy, 40-pound family dog," he said.
May 16, 2011. Flooding -Animals. Please don't feed the animals. Or touch them. Or do anything to keep them from crossing levees to escape rising floodwaters. At a time they already under stress, Louisiana wildlife officials say, deer, bear, turkeys and other animals don't need further interference from humans. Wildlife rehabilitators are being called in to care for injured and orphaned animals, but the state said the slow rise of water, as opposed to 1973, will give wildlife a chance to cope on their own. Still, humans can provide the largest risk as they move to higher ground. In Natchez, Mississippi, the Humane Society of the United States is assisting critters of the domestic kind, as residents prepare to evacuate. The residents are dropping off pets at a temporary shelter until the crisis passes. CNN Wire Afternoon Outlook By the CNN Wire Staff. 12,May.2011 sumatran tigers on brink of extinction. Bengukulu (ANTARA News)The Sumantran Tiger (Panthera Tigris Sumatrae) in Bengkulu province is on the brink of extinction due to human activities harming their natural habitat. There are about 50 tigers leftin the area covering six districts where massive logging activities harmed their habitats.The tiger are found in Seluma, Kaur, Central Bengkulu, North Bengkulu, Muko-muko and Lebong districts. The tigers often appeared in residential areas in the rain forest border often killed livestock thus threatening and attacks people working in their farms. these wild animals are also often trapped and hunted in Bengkulu by the local residents for their skin and body parts. Hunting the endangered species in Bengkulu province is the lack of forestry manpower and resources. In early March 2011 the Bengkulu conservation authority caught a female Sumatran tiger that roamed the Talang Baris Village, Seluma district, Bengkulu Province. The tiger killed 22 goats and also attacked the farmers on February 22, 2011. The captured two meters long and 79 centimeters high tigers were treated by the conservation`s medical personnel and sent to the Rescue Center run by the Lampung Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation (TWNC) in South Bukit Barisan National Park.
Friday, May 13 2011 Elephant ivory to go to Flames in Kenya. Africa to torch seized ivory in show of disgust at the killing of elephants. The burn, what conservationists describe as a “leap of faith in the conservation of the elephant”, will cap a series of activities to include a meeting of ministers from countries teeming with wildlife, that include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Dr Congo, Zambia and Lesotho. The ministers will then launch the first African Elephant Law Enforcement Day as well as the African Wildlife Enforcement Monitoring System in Nairobi Singapore in June 2002 and later traced to Zambia Kenya Kenya
That the country is sternly opposed to resumption of trade in ivory, some or most of this pile will be destructed to send a message to the world that any dealings in elephant tusks would be detrimental to Africa ’s wildlife. Exactly 22 years separate the planned event in Tsavo and the historical torching by President Moi. Yet those in the conservation circles predict another round of controversy drawing the pro-elephant lobby against an emerging voice by a host of African countries, Tanzania
Wednesday 12 May 2011. Sumatran Tiger on brink of extinction. Bengkulu (ANTARA News) The Sematran Tiger (Panthera Tigris Sumatrae ) inBengukulu province is on the brink of extintion due to human activities harming their habitat according to one official. There are only 50 tigers left in the area covering 6 districts where massive logging activities harmed their habitats. The tigers are always found in Seluma, Kaur, Central Bengkulu, North Bengkulu, Muko-muko and Lebong district. The tigers often appeared in residential areas in the rainforest border often kill livestock thus threatening and attaking people working in their farms. These wild animals are often trapped by porchers in their natural habitat and hunted and in other places these animals have almost become extinct. The local residents hunt these wild animals for their skin and body parts which fetch a very good price at the back market. Hunting the endangered species in Bengkulu province is due to lackof manpower and availability of resources to moniter and control the natural habitat with all its flora and fauna. In early March 2011, the Bengkulu conservation authority caught a female Sumatran tiger that roamed the Talang Baris Village, Selumadistrict and the Bengkulu Province. The dangerous tigers killed 22 goats and also attacked the farmers on February 22,2011. The captured two meters long 79 centimeters high tigers were treated by the animal conservation's medical personnel and sent to the Rescue Center run by the Lampung Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation (TWNC) in South Bukit Barisan National Park.
May 11, 2011. What Dog Bite attorneys have say about Dog Bites and Animal Bites.
Thu May 19, 2011. ABC News Woman hurt in bull attack. Police say it is not yet clear how a woman in her 60s came to be injured by a bull in a remote fishing spot in the central Kimberley Royal Perth Hospital
Most leopards avoid people, but humans may occasionally be targeted as prey. Most healthy leopards prefer wild prey to humans, but injured, sickly, or struggling cats with a shortage of regular prey may resort to hunting humans and become habituated to it. In areas with high tiger populations, such as in the central parts of India’s Kanha National Park, panthers are not permanent residents, but transients. They were common near villages at the periphery of the park and outside the park.
Making dangerous dog owners carry a minimum of $250,000 in liability insurance addresses a compensation problem that many An Oakland County personal injury lawyer who represents Michigan
Under Ordinance No. 561, which took effect April 1, a person deemed to be the owner of a “dangerous dog” must register the animal. One of the requirements to obtain a registration certificate is proof the owner has at least $250,000 in liability insurance coverage that covers animal bites.
“Even when a dog owner’s liability is established, it may be difficult securing compensation when the owner lacks adequate liability insurance or has no insurance at all,” said Thomas L. Stroble, an experiencedOakland County dog bite attorney and founder of the Bloomfield Hills personal injury law firm, The Stroble Law Firm, P.C.
“That’s a serious problem when a dog bite victim needs that compensation to pay for medical bills and other expenses, including disfigurement and disability,” Stroble said.
“That’s why I applaud the City of Rochester Hills for passing this ordinance. It doesn’t ban dangerous dogs or single out specific breeds, but it does force dangerous dog owners to take responsibility for owning a dangerous animal.”
Dog bites and animal attacks have become a serious problem in Michigan U.S.
In response to this problem, some cities and counties have passed ordinances that ban certain breeds of dogs, such as pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, presa canarios, Alaskan malamutes and Doberman pinschers.
However, the Rochester Hills ordinance doesn’t prohibit the ownership of a particular breed of dog or deem a dog to be “dangerous” based solely on its breed.
Instead, the ordinance defines a “dangerous dog” as one that has bitten, attacked or inflicted injury on a person or caused serious physical injury to a person’s dog, cat or livestock. The dog is not deemed dangerous if the attack occurred while the victim was committing a crime, trespassing on the dog owner’s property or provoked the attack.
Stroble pointed out that the Rochester Hills ordinance, as well as other local laws, may be used to establish a dog owner’s liability in a personal injury lawsuit.
The attorney also said that dog bite victims may pursue relief through Michigan
Because establishing liability and securing compensation can be complicated issues, Stroble said it’s important to consult with an experienced Michigan
“Being attacked by a dog can be a traumatic and painful experience,” Stroble said. “At The Stroble Law Firm, P.C., we thoroughly review each dog attack case and review all legal options that are available to obtain funds that victims need to recover and move on.
May 13th, 2011. Leopards, panthers, bear, other animals saved from luggage at Thai airport. Endangered animal species on the extinct. Thai police confiscated two leopards, two panthers, an Asiatic black bear, one macaque monkey and one marmoset from the luggage of a man as he tried to board a flight from Bangkok to Dubai on Friday, Thai authorities and an anti-trafficking group reported. The animals were alive and received immediate veterinary care, according to the group, the FREELAND Foundation, which monitored the arrest. The suspect, Noor Mahmoodr, a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, was charged with possessing endangered wildlife and smuggling endangered wildlife
May 8, 2011. Talk about a big fish—an expedition crew has hauled up—and released—what the team says is the biggest great white shark yet caught. The 17.9-foot-long (5.5-meter-long) male behemoth was found off Mexico 's Guadalupe Island
The animal breaks the team's previous record of 16.8 feet (5.1 meters), set when they caught a female great white named Kimel. (Both records are unofficial and not maintained by a formal organization.)
The new titleholder was named Apache after the dog of Brett McBride, boat captain on the National Geographic Channel show Shark Men. (The National Geographic Channel is part-owned by the National Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News.)
Shark Men chronicles the work of scientists and fishers who catch and release great whites in an effort to figure out where the mysterious giants breed and give birth. The scientific team is led by Michael Domeier, president and executive director of the Marine Conservation Science Institute.
The two-ton Apache put up a fight—at one point breaking free from his barbless hook, said expedition leader Chris Fischer
May 6,2011 .It turns out a lot of big whales have a taste for the Big Apple area, including the 100-foot (30-meter) blue whale, the largest animal on Earth, scientists say.A network of ten underwater sound recorders in place off the length of the south coast of Long Island and throughout New York Harbor
These "open mikes" picked up the ballads of the fin whale, blue whale ,humpback whale, minke whale, sei whale, and the rare North Atlantic right whale, said Christopher Clark, Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York.
The fin, humpback, right, and sei whales are on the U.S.
May 6, 2011. An Amazon stingray known as the tiger ray has finally earned its scientific stripes: It's been officially recognized as a new species. For more than a decade, aquarium traders in the upper Amazon River Basin of Peru have caught the freshwater fish, whose name—Potamotrygon tigrina—is inspired by its orange-black coloration and banded tail.
Up to 31 inches (80 centimeters) wide, the species is distinct from other stingrays based on, among other features, its conspicuous colors and its tail spines, which are lower and not as closely grouped as those of its relatives.
May 6,2011. A Child Attacked By Leopard At Kansas Zoo. 7-Y ear-Old On School Visit To Sedgwick County Zoo. A chiild on a school outing was attacked by a leopard at a Wichita, Kansas, zoo, authorities said Friday. The boy, a student from Linwood Elementary, was with classmates on a field trip at the Sedgwick County Zoo when, around 1:15 p.m., witnesses said, he went over a railing" and approached the Amur leopard .The exhibit, said Lt. Jay McLaurian of the county sheriff's department. e leopard was able to reach into the mesh covering of its enclosure and grab the boy by his head, McLaurian said. The child was rescued by bystanders who rushed in and "beat the animal" away from the boy, officials said. According to McLaurian, the boy received injuries to his face and neck and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
BY Antoinette Campbell CNN
May 3,2011. When giant squid were found dead off Spain about a decade ago, scientists suspected that powerful sound pulses from ships had harmed the animals. Now the evidence may be in.
May 6,2011. A Child Attacked By Leopard At Kansas Zoo. 7-Y ear-Old On School Visit To Sedgwick County Zoo. A chiild on a school outing was attacked by a leopard at a Wichita, Kansas, zoo, authorities said Friday. The boy, a student from Linwood Elementary, was with classmates on a field trip at the Sedgwick County Zoo when, around 1:15 p.m., witnesses said, he went over a railing" and approached the Amur leopard .The exhibit, said Lt. Jay McLaurian of the county sheriff's department. e leopard was able to reach into the mesh covering of its enclosure and grab the boy by his head, McLaurian said. The child was rescued by bystanders who rushed in and "beat the animal" away from the boy, officials said. According to McLaurian, the boy received injuries to his face and neck and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
BY Antoinette Campbell CNN
May 3,2011. When giant squid were found dead off Spain about a decade ago, scientists suspected that powerful sound pulses from ships had harmed the animals. Now the evidence may be in.
A new study says low-frequency sounds from human activities can affect squid and other cephalopods, not just whales and other marine mammals, which have long been thought to be vulnerable to such pulses. (See "U.S. Navy Sonar May Harm Killer Whales, Expert Says.")The finding suggests noise pollution in the ocean is having a much broader effect on marine life than previously thought, said study leader Michel André, a marine bioacoustician at Barcelona's Technical University of Catalonia.
"We know that noise pollution in the oceans has a significant impact on dolphins and whales [which use natural sonar to navigate and hunt]. ... but this is the first study indicating a severe impact on invertebrates, an extended group of marine species that are not known to rely on sound for living," André said in a statement
Thursday 5th May 2011. Girl, two, undergoes surgery after a Staffordshire bull terrier dog mauling A TWO-year-old girl had to have facial surgery after being mauled by a dog. Natasha Marriett was visiting a relative's home with her mother when she was savaged by a Staffordshire bull terrier. The little girl was nearly blinded after the animal sank it's teeth into her face, just centimetres from her right eye.
Natasha required three hours of surgery after she was left with a broken nose and had two teeth removed so surgeons could stitch wounds inside her mouth
05 May 2011. Putting Dog Owners on a Leash After a Brutal Attack.
With a series of dog attacks making the headlines in recent months, the State Duma approved a bill in a first reading in March that would require dogs of "potentially dangerous " breeds to be walked with a leash and muzzle and their owners to pass a class on keeping the dogs.
The attack on Monday afternoon lasted for just a few seconds.
But when it was over, 12-year-old Nastya Sakharova lay crumpled on the ground with serious injuries to her face, arm and hip.
Her small Yorkshire terrier, which she was walking outside her apartment building in southwest Moscow, was dead.
The attacker, a massive bullmastiff, only halted its frenzied assault when frantic passers-by managed to pry it off the girl.
The dog had no leash or muzzle, and its 57-year-old owner, who stood by watching, was drunk, the girl's mother said.
With a series of dog attacks making the headlines in recent months, the State Duma approved a bill in a first reading in March that would require dogs of "potentially dangerous " breeds to be walked with a leash and muzzle and their owners to pass a class on keeping the dogs.
The attack on Monday afternoon lasted for just a few seconds.
But when it was over, 12-year-old Nastya Sakharova lay crumpled on the ground with serious injuries to her face, arm and hip.
Her small Yorkshire terrier, which she was walking outside her apartment building in southwest Moscow, was dead.
The attacker, a massive bullmastiff, only halted its frenzied assault when frantic passers-by managed to pry it off the girl.
The dog had no leash or muzzle, and its 57-year-old owner, who stood by watching, was drunk, the girl's mother said.
May 4, 2011. Australian fisherman taken by crocodile . A FUNERAL was being planned on Wednesday for an Australian fisherman believed to have been taken by a large crocodile while standing in chest-deep water. The 54-year-old's belongings, including his wallet and fishing rod, were found on Elcho Island, some 515km east of Darwin on Sunday, the Northern Territory News said.
At least three large saltwater crocodiles had been seen in the area. One was shot during a search and cut open, but no human remains were found inside.
At least three large saltwater crocodiles had been seen in the area. One was shot during a search and cut open, but no human remains were found inside.
May 2, 2011. Boars Invade Berlin
City hires a hunter to try to control population
Wild boars are increasingly intruding into Berlin, rummaging through garbage bins and destroying lawns and property, reports the BBC. Shooting boars is dangerous in cities, and the smart animals quickly learn to avoid traps. But now Berlin has hired a wild boar hunter to try to control the pests. "They go through gardens and parks, and sometimes they bite people," said the hunter. Despite the trouble they cause, however, some Berliners enjoy the boars and feed them. "I'm very fond of them," said one woman, "They're my friends."
April 1, 2011 .Missing cobra found alive in New York's Bronx Zoo. Egyptian cobras grow as big as 8 feet long, though a more normal range is 5 to 6 feet long. The Egyptian cobra is a type of Naja species, specifically Naja haje, found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the largest Naja species. The reptile house at the Bronx Zoo was opened after it remained closed while the search went on for during its escape. Staff noticed the 20-inch Egyptian cobra was missing Friday afternoon, March 25, 2011, and immediately sealed the Reptile House. Officials say the Egyptian cobra is known to be uncomfortable in open areas. There’s no word if the snake poses a danger, though venom from Egyptian cobras can sometimes be dangerous. Officials say the snake is likely somewhere in a non-public area within the Reptile House. Zoo officials conducted around-the-clock searches for the 3-ounce, 20-inch long reptile, he said. Breheny said the cobra had sought a secure hiding spot within the holding areas of the zoo's reptile house -- a complex environment with pumps, motors and other mechanical systems.
But it was lured out after zoo officials sprinkled wood shavings from exhibit beds across areas where they guessed the cobra was hiding
But it was lured out after zoo officials sprinkled wood shavings from exhibit beds across areas where they guessed the cobra was hiding
April 30,2011 . Wild animal attacks, injures woman in Kashmir Srinagar,: A woman was injured critically when a wild bear attacked her in north Kashmir district of Baramulla, official sources said here todayThey said a woman Shareefa Begum was working near her house at Khoimoah when a wild bear suddenly appeared from nearby forest and attacked her. However, other villagers rescued her and shifted her to hospital in a critical condition.The bear later escaped back into forest.
On April 28, a five-year-old girl was killed by a wild animal in south Kashmir district of Anantnag. The man-animal conflict has claimed more than 90 lives in the Jammu and Kashmir during the past three years.
More than 15 wild animals were also killed by agitated people in retaliation during the period
On April 28, a five-year-old girl was killed by a wild animal in south Kashmir district of Anantnag. The man-animal conflict has claimed more than 90 lives in the Jammu and Kashmir during the past three years.
More than 15 wild animals were also killed by agitated people in retaliation during the period
Thursday, April 28, 2011. The Hindu Times. Wild elephants trample woman to death . THEVARAM (THENI): A herd of five wild elephants trampled sixty-year-old woman to death in a farm near Pirambuvetti Odai area near Thevaram Reserve Forests on Western Ghats here on Wednesday. According to Forest Department officials, the victim, P. Karuppayee Ammal of Thevaram, was sleeping in a thatched shed in a farm to safeguard four bags of groundnut seeds meant for sowing. She had plans to sow the seeds tomorrow. Having sniffed the food available inside the hut, the elephants destroyed the hut to grab the food in the early hours of Wednesday. The wild animals attacked Karuppayee and trampled her to death.
23 Apr 2011. Pig attacks boy, 
13, at Cofton Holiday Park in Devon. Cofton Holiday Park's owner has called for his local council to tackle the pig problem . A 13-year-old boy was attacked by a pig at a holiday park in Devon, suffering a bite on his arm. Jordan Stock, from Pontypridd, south Wales, suffered the injury at Cofton Holiday Park at Teignbridge. Park owner Chris Jefferey said it was the latest in a series of attacks on people by pigs roaming in the area
April 25, 2011. Shark bite: The first of the year for New Smyrna Beach. A 49-year-old man was coming back to shore at mid-afternoon Friday was bitten while standing in three to four feet of water. The man suffered only minor puncture wounds, and officers said he declined to be hospitalized. Though the man didn't see the shark, officials said it was a small one — probably only one or two feet long, based on the wounds
13, at Cofton Holiday Park in Devon. Cofton Holiday Park's owner has called for his local council to tackle the pig problem . A 13-year-old boy was attacked by a pig at a holiday park in Devon, suffering a bite on his arm. Jordan Stock, from Pontypridd, south Wales, suffered the injury at Cofton Holiday Park at Teignbridge. Park owner Chris Jefferey said it was the latest in a series of attacks on people by pigs roaming in the area 
April 25, 2011. Shark bite: The first of the year for New Smyrna Beach. A 49-year-old man was coming back to shore at mid-afternoon Friday was bitten while standing in three to four feet of water. The man suffered only minor puncture wounds, and officers said he declined to be hospitalized. Though the man didn't see the shark, officials said it was a small one — probably only one or two feet long, based on the wounds 
April 20, 2011, Coyote bites 2-year-old at Phoenix city park .PHOENIX – A 2-year-old girl has to undergo rabies treatment after a coyote bit her while she was sitting with a group of children in the playground area of a Phoenix park.It happened Friday evening at Cave Creek Park, which is near 23rd Avenue and Thunderbird Road
12th April 2011. Kangaroo castrated in sick attack. A KANGAROO has had to be put down after being hit by a car and then castrated while it was still alive. Police believe the marsupial was initially injured by a vehicle at Yarrambat, north of Melbourne between last Saturday night and Sunday morning. "Whilst laying on the ground injured it is then believed an unknown person or persons has attacked the animal, castrating it and removing the area below the tail called the mound," police said. They say the missing body parts may have been souvenired by the mutilators. The kangaroo was found at around 4pm (AEST) on Sunday and was put down by a wildlife officer. It is the second case of extreme animal cruelty to be investigated by Victorian police within a week, following the stoning death of a nesting female black swan at Queens Park, Moonee Ponds
9th April 2011. Andrew Korne. Chooks killed in savage dog attack. NORTH Booval retiree John Raatz’s awful run of luck since the floods has continued, with 10 of his chickens, roosters and fowls torn apart by roaming dogs this week. The retired police officer, who hasn’t been able to live in his house since January, has nonetheless maintained the small adjoining farm which he uses to grow fruit and vegetables, keep various birds and breed tasty red and blue claw crayfish. Up to a month ago he used to have sheep too, but five out of the six he had on the property were killed by what he suspects were the same dogs. The six laying hens, two bantams, the purebred Belgian Bantam rooster and the Guinea Fowl that fell victim to the dogs late on Tuesday night each had their heads torn off after the killers ripped a hole in the chicken wire fence and jumped through. “I think I know whose dogs they are but I’ve got no proof,” the 64-year-old said. “I’ve had this little farm for 31 years and I’ve become sort of self-sufficient. It’s a great spot here but when things like this happen all the time it’s a bit upsetting.” Having lost most of his chickens in the January flood, the animals killed this week had been donated to Mr Raatz by a sympathetic friend. None of the birds was eaten in the attack, which points more to domestic rather than wild dogs as the culprits. Mr Raatz said he just wanted members of the public to be aware of what was happening in the area.
19 Apr 2011.A WILD otter attacked a farmer in a rampage across a village yesterday. The furry beast pounced on farmer Joe Burke and bit his hand before he managed to trap him in a canvas sack.But the creature then chewed through the bag and started munching on Joe's VAN.Joe,52, had to run full PELT to escape the furious otter when it turned on him as he tried to shepherd it back to water
April 18,2011. New Delhi, : Leopards suspected to be deliberately attacking humans will be killed and their trans-location will be discouraged under India’s first guidelines to manage a vexing human-wild cat conflict.The guidelines released today by the Union environment and forests ministry are intended to ensure that man-eating leopards are never released into the wild and reduce the risk of crowds killing every leopard trapped after being caught in a human environment.
28th March 2011. Steve Schmadeke. Man cries fowl over rooster attack. A MAN who alleges he was attacked by a rooster at a US suburban animal center has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $US50,000 for injuries he says were caused when the territorial chicken repeatedly pecked his right leg. Mark Lovett says he was putting up a fence at the Big Run Wolf Ranch in Lockport Illinois two years ago when the fearless fowl struck, causing him "great pain and anguish, both in mind and body," according to the lawsuit filed in Will County circuit court this week. The lawsuit did not detail what injuries allegedly were caused by the bird, which Lovett says was "not provoked" before plunging its curved beak into his leg. Calls to Lovett's lawyer and the ranch were not returned. Personal-injury lawsuits involving angry birds are unusual but not unheard of. A woman filed a similar lawsuit in Massachusetts in 2007 alleging a rooster had attacked her when she tried to buy some eggs from a roadside stand.
Mar 20, 2011. Tiger Kills Man In Naggbhid Tehsil, India.
CHANDRAPUR: A tiger killed a person and partially ate his body in the fields near Menha Kirmiti village in Nagbhid tehsil during midnight hours of Friday. Body of Shriram Atram (55) was recovered later in the same night by the villagers, but the reason of his visit to the remote area away from the village could not be ascertained. Sources in forest department informed that Atram left his house at around 11pm and went into the fields around a kilometre away from the village. As he reached the nullah near the farm, a tiger lurking there pounced on him. The beast later dragged the body to some distance and devoured it before going back into the jungle
March 15, 2011 .Animal Keeper Recovering From Panda Attack. San Diego Zoo Animal Keeper Attacked, Bitten By Panda SAN DIEGO .An animal keeper at the San Diego Zoo was injured after she was bitten by a panda on Sunday, zoo officials said on Monday. A zoo spokeswoman told 10News the incident happened around 7 a.m. Sunday when a group of panda keepers working at the exhibit before the park opened had an unexpected visitor.
Mar 10, 2011. Lion Attack on the rise in India .GANDHINAGAR: A total of 162 attacks on humans and 6,237 attacks on cattle have been reported from in and around the Gir sanctuary since the past three years. The government has paid Rs 50 lakhs per year as compensation for the attacks.
These attacks were mainly in the Gir sanctuary, Veraval, Sutrapada and other costal areas. The attacks on the humans were on the rise, while those on the cattle were declining.
A senior officer who refused to be quoted said that the decline in the attack on the cattle was because of chital, sambhar and neelgai leaving the sanctuary and being spotted moving in the outskirts of villages. The official also attributed this to the increase in population of these animals.
03 March 2011. Namibia: Leopard Attacks First Two Cheetahs Released at Okonjima TWO cheetahs that were released on the Okonjima Private Nature Reserve in June 2010 were attacked by leopards early in February. Trish was killed while Charlie, the stronger of the two, survived with injuries. A mortality signal was picked up by one of the Okonjima guides while out tracking and upon further investigation Trish was found dead. She had deep wounds all over her body, indicating that a leopard had attacked and killed her.
03 March 2011. Namibia: Leopard Attacks First Two Cheetahs Released at Okonjima TWO cheetahs that were released on the Okonjima Private Nature Reserve in June 2010 were attacked by leopards early in February. Trish was killed while Charlie, the stronger of the two, survived with injuries. A mortality signal was picked up by one of the Okonjima guides while out tracking and upon further investigation Trish was found dead. She had deep wounds all over her body, indicating that a leopard had attacked and killed her.
28 Feb 1128 Feb 11; Tigers on East Coast of Malaysia on the rampage. From wild macaques living in suburban areas to tigers in the east coast, more and more animals are turning on humans. TAMBUN Gediu was hunting for squirrels in the fringes of Belum Forest last week when a tiger pounced on him. The hunter had become the hunted.
The Orang Asli escaped the tiger’s deadly jaw-grip after his wife hit the big cat repeatedly on its head with a big ladle. Tambun is a lucky man. Not so for first-time parents V. Nehru and V. Revathy of Seremban, whose 4-day-old daughter died after being bitten by a long-tailed macaque last year.In the last three years alone, the Wildlife and National Parks Department recorded close to 35,000 cases of wildlife attacks. The human casualties did not reflect the shocking number of cases as only five deaths were recorded between 2008 and last year, and 28 were injured.
Most cases involved monkeys (long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques) and snakes (cobras and pythons). Attacks by bigger and rarer species such as elephants, tigers and civet cats occurred mostly in rural areas, especially villages or plantations
The Orang Asli escaped the tiger’s deadly jaw-grip after his wife hit the big cat repeatedly on its head with a big ladle. Tambun is a lucky man. Not so for first-time parents V. Nehru and V. Revathy of Seremban, whose 4-day-old daughter died after being bitten by a long-tailed macaque last year.In the last three years alone, the Wildlife and National Parks Department recorded close to 35,000 cases of wildlife attacks. The human casualties did not reflect the shocking number of cases as only five deaths were recorded between 2008 and last year, and 28 were injured.
Most cases involved monkeys (long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques) and snakes (cobras and pythons). Attacks by bigger and rarer species such as elephants, tigers and civet cats occurred mostly in rural areas, especially villages or plantations
15th February 2011 Woman saves husband from tiger attack by beating it with a wooden ladle in Malaysian jungle. A woman used a wooden soup ladle to save her husband from attack by a tiger in a Malaysian jungle. Han Besau charged towards the animal screaming as she brandished the 'weapon' while it clawed at 60-year-old Tambun Gediu. The 55-year-old woman used the spoon to beat the animal on the head - and remarkably it ran away.
14 February 2011.Rare black rhino born at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
A black rhino calf has been born at a Kent wildlife park and is preparing to face the outdoors.The three-week-old calf, who is still unnamed at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, near Hythe, is likely to be moved to an outside enclosure next week.
Keepers said the birth brought the number of critically-endangered black rhinos housed by The Aspinall Foundation to 19.
The foundation also runs Howletts Wild Animal Park, near Canterbury.
February 4, 2010. Sharks kill man at Florida beach. Sharks attacked and killed a 38-year-old man near Stuart Beach in southern Florida on Wednesday. The man was kite-surfing before the attack, said Capt. Mike McKinley, a spokesman for Martin County Sheriff's Department.
A lifeguard spotted him struggling in the water and large number of sharks in the area, a rescue official said. The man had been bitten several times and was bleeding profusely
Jan. 19, 2011 -- Taj, a 71-year old elephant and 33-year resident of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif. died yesterday, the park announced.
Jan. 19, 2011 -- Taj, a 71-year old elephant and 33-year resident of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif. died yesterday, the park announced.
Taj was thought to be the oldest living elephant in North America
Born in 1940, Taj, who was previously known as "Trixie" and also as "Tadji," was a circus elephant before coming to Six Flag's Discovery Kingdom in 1978.
According to park reports, Taj enjoyed painting and was a trainer favorite.
Taj, an Asian elephant, weighed more than 9,000 pounds. Asian elephants are an endangered species and can live up to 60 years in the wild, according to the National Zoo.
January 10,2011. India, Man injured in monkey attack in Shimla: A man was seriously injured Monday in a brutal attack by a monkey on the premises of the historical Hanuman Temple on the picturesque Jakhu hills of Shimla
5 December 2010.Shark attack kills German tourist at resort in Egypt.A German woman has been killed in a shark attack while snorkelling off the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, officials say. The death comes after four people were injured in similar attacks at the resort earlier in the week. The authorities had reopened the waters after saying they had captured the sharks involved in the earlier attacks.
27 October 2010, Man found with facial injuries in Musselburgh cemetery. Man was found unconscious in a cemetery with hand and facial injuries which could have been caused by an animal such as a fox, police have said. The 37-year-old was discovered by police at St Michael's Parish Church Cemetery in Inveresk, near Musselburgh, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Oct 25 2011.Mumbai's top snake-man falls to cobra attack
Mumbai, : Mumbai's well-known snake-catcher and conservationist Sunil S. Ranade, credited with rescuing over 15,000 snakes in the past 15 years, died after he Ranade, 37, was rescuing snakes, reptiles and other wild creatures since over two decades. He was working as animal inspector with the 136-year old Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in its Parel hospital was bitten by a cobra Sunday.
15 October 2010
7 October 2010. A Malaysian baby girl has died after being snatched by a monkey which bit her then dropped her from a roof. The four-day-old was sleeping in the living room of her home in the central Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan when a macaque monkey entered. The baby had been briefly left alone. Wildlife officials said the monkey had probably been searching for food. The officials said it was the first case of an attack by wild monkeys on a human in the state. The child's mother, 26-year-old V Revathy, said she had left her baby to go to the bathroom and the baby's grandfather had gone to get a glass of water.
July 29, 2010. Bear attacks leave one dead, two injured at Montana campgrounds Bear attacks on separate campsites in Montana left one person dead and two others injured Wednesday, according to wildlife officials. Ron Aasheim, a spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, told CNN that authorities are still trying to determine what type of bear attacked the campers at the remote Soda Butte campgrounds outside Yellowstone National Park, and whether multiple bears were involved
June 22, 2010. Alligator attacks man diving at Florida amusement park. A 55-year-old researcher was attacked by an alligator Tuesday while diving on his job at Silver Springs Amusement Park in Ocala, Florida, authorities said.The victim, identified as Peter Butt with the St John's Water Management District, was bitten around the head and neck, and may have suffered a broken jaw, said Miranda Iglesias, a spokeswoman for Marion County Fire Rescue.
Emergency personnel were able to keep him alert and he was transported to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. His condition was not immediately known
Monday, 7 June 2010 .Mother's 'nightmare' after baby twins 'mauled' by fox The twins' mother Pauline Koupparis told the BBC that the fox would not leave the room. The mother of nine-month-old twin girls has described her "living nightmare" after her daughters were apparently mauled by a fox as they slept in their cots in east London. Lola and Isabella Koupparis were attacked at about 2200 BST on Saturday. A police source said the fox apparently entered the house through an open ground-floor door before attacking the twins in an upstairs room. Both girls suffered arm injuries and one is thought to have facial injuries. How common are fox attacks on humans. The University of Bristol's Mammal Research Unit estimates there are 225,000 adult rural foxes and 33,000 urban foxes across Britain. the overall number of urban foxes in Britain is probably much the same as a decade ago. Red foxes, or vulpes vulpes, first colonised British cities in the 1930s and the highest fox densities are found in cities. Foxes belong to the dog family, will eat anything and can live up to 15 years in captivity. But wild foxes live very short lives, on average about two years. foxes kill very few pets and rifle through very few dustbins, and it seems the majority of people like them. In a poll of nearly 4,000 households, 65.7% liked urban foxes, 25.8% had no strong views and only 8.5% disliked the creatures.
Monday, 21 June 2010 Child aged three bitten by fox at playgroup in Brighton . A three-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being bitten on the arm by a fox at a playgroup in Brighton. Jake Jermy was attacked while attending a party on Saturday at the Dorothy Stringer playgroup, next door to Dorothy Stringer High School. It is believed the fox turned on the boy when he saw the animal's tail sticking out from under a building and tried to stroke it. His parents described him as a "brave little boy" who was recovering well
January 07, 2010 . Mother And Daughter Killed By Elephant. An American tourist and her one-year-old daughter have been trampled to death by an elephant at a game reserve in Kenya.
The incident occured on Monday near the Castle Lodge in Mount Kenya National Park, where the family had been staying.
Godfrey Wakaba, a senior warden at the park said the victims' bodies had been flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The national park with its world heritage status mountains and population of elusive forest elephants have made it a popular trekking and safari destination for tourists.
January 6th 2011 . Siberian tiger attacks and kills bus driver in China as tourists watch in horror. A file photo of a Siberian tiger crouching on top of a tourist bus at a branch of Harbin Siberian Tigers Breeding Center in Shenyang in northeast China’s Liaoning province. A Siberian tiger mauled and killed a tour bus driver in China as his passengers watched helplessly in horror.The vicious animal attacked driver Jin Shijun after he got out of his vehicle to check on the bus, which got stuck in the snow at a tiger breeding base in the northern province of Heilongjiang, Chinese media reported Thursday.
The animal then dragged Shijun into the woods. Park employees tried to distract the tiger with firecrackers and tranquilizer darts, but by the time they got to the driver, he was dead
Tuesday, 8 September 2009 ,Indian villagers flee elephants Hundreds of villagers have been forced to take shelter in camps in the Indian state of Orissa after repeated attacks by a herd of elephants. Seven people have been killed and several others injured in attacks by a herd of 12-13 elephants over the past few weeks in Kandhamal district. Over 2,500 people living in 45 villages have been affected by the attacks, district chief Krishen Kumar said.
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