CRITTERS
01/31/12
FLORIDA
Pythons pose rising threat in Everglades
3 researchers from the University of Florida hold a 15-foot Burmese python they captured in the
Florida Everglades National Park. It had just swallowed whole, a 6-foot American alligator.
Officials say the non-native constrictor snakes, released into the wild by pet owners when the
reptiles got too big, are a threat to the natural habitat and that native species like bobcats,
racoons, opossums, and other mammals are being wiped out in some places by the pythons.
(Photo courtesy AP)
INDONESIA
01/20/12
Rare monkey, thought to be extinct, rediscovered in dense Borneo jungle
CAPE COD:
01/16/12
40 dolphins die, 19 survive in beach strandings
2 of the Dolphins who survived a beach stranding on Cape Cod with a little help
from human assistance. The number of strandings is far above normal for this
time of the year, according to marine biologists.
(Photo courtesy International Fund for Animal Welfare via Reuters)
ANTARCTICA:
01/15/12
Rare white penguin spotted in Aitcho Islands
This photo of an extremely rare white Chinstrap Penguin was snapped by a
naturalist while cruising on board Linblad Expeditions National Geographic
Explorer ship on Monday, 01/09/12.
(Photo courtesy Linblad Expeditions)
CURRENT BIOLOGY MAGAZINE:
Dogs really DO know what you're thinking
Chimpanzee from 1930s Tarzan movies dies at 80
Psychedelic gecko among more than 200 new species discovered in Southeast Asia
Dubbed by discovering scientists the "psychedelic" gecko, this is one of 208 previously
unknown species identified and named in the last year, found mostly in Southeast Asian
countries. The gecko is formally known as Cnemaspis psychedelica.
(Photo courtesy the World Wildlife Fund)
Black rhino officially declared extinct in West Africa in annual Red List of Threatened Species
Bear attacks bow hunter near Yellowstone park
Biologists celebrate ferret comeback
REPORT: Bigger jellyfish infesting the oceans worldwide
A study conducted by Oviedo University in Spain, and published in the most recent
edition of the journal, Science found that jellyfish are getting larger and more abundant
in all of the world's oceans. The causes include over-fishing and habitat destruction.
Earlier studies found that warming ocean waters will also cause an increase in
jellyfish population rates.
(File photo)
Dolphins 'talk' like humans do, scientists say
Giant 1-ton, 21-foot-long crocodile captured in Philippines
Penguin "Happy Feet", wandered 1,800 miles to New Zealand, released back in Antarctic
INDONESIA: Newly discovered warrior wasp has giant jaws
This new species of wasp has giant jaws and is the largest known of its kind, a whopping 2.5 inches long.
Scientists who discovered it are calling the shiny black monster the "Komodo dragon" of the wasp family.
(Photo courtesy Bohart Museum of Entomology)
NEW YORK: Turtles on runway delay flights at JFK
Some 150 diamondback turtles crossing a runway at JFK Airport in New York completely
stopped air traffic operations for up to 30 minutes Wednesday morning, 06/29/11. Airport
maintenance men were dispatched to pick up the turtles and take them to where they were
headed, which was a nearby sandbar for their annual egg-laying.
(Photo courtesy Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)
FLORIDA: Fishermen haul in a giant squid
A couple of fishermen hauled in a giant squid they found floating 12 miles off Port Salerno
on 06/26/11. It measured 23 feet long, including a body of 11 feet. The rest was tentacles.
Elusive creatures, believed to live in deep water, they are known to get up to twice as big.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission took the squid to a St. Petersburg research lab.
(Photo courtesy Scripps Media)
SWEDEN: Moose on loose barges into Swedish retirement home
Making it's way to freedom past a Swedish police car, the full-grown female moose ends its
visit to a retirement home in Goteborg. It jumped through a plate glass dining room window
and caused damage to furniture inside the home before being lured into a small room.
Authorities were able to coax it outside again, where it scampered off into nearby woods
from whence it came, injured only slightly.
(Photo courtesy SCANPIX)
Armadillos being blamed for spread of leprosy in southern US
Armadillos are indigenous to the Southwest United States, particularly Texas.
Scientists have discovered that handling or eating them, as some people do,
exposes a threat of contracting leprosy.
(File photo)
FLORIDA: Alligator finds its way into woman's bathroom
Imagine the surprise when a woman in Palmetto, Florida returned home to find this
6 foot alligator in her bathroom. It got into the house through a pet flap on a kitchen
door for the owner's cats. The gator may have followed one of the cats into the
house, looking to make of it a snack.
(Photo courtesy Jimmy Pollcack via mailonline)
NEW YORK: Bronx Zoo cobra found not far from where it escaped
An Egyptian cobra, similar to the one pictured here, went missing from its cage in the
Bronx Zoo. It was found 03/31/11 close to where it got away in the reptile house.
The species belongs to the hooded cobra family and is believed to be descended
from the "asp" variety of Egyptian antiquity. One bite from the species can kill
a human being in about 15 minutes and an elephant in about 3 hours.
(File photo)
Whale that killed trainer at SeaWorld to perform again
Kelly Flaherty Clark, right, director of animal training at SeaWorld Orlando,
works with killer whale Tilikum during a training session at the theme park's
Shamu Stadium in Orlando. Last year, Tilikum drowned a trainer, 40-year-old
Dawn Brancheau and has not performed since. SeaWorld claims it has
spent millions of dollars on safety upgrades since the incident.
(Photo courtesy SeaWorld)
Gulf sea turtle deaths up, joining dolphin trend
(Video report courtesy Reuters)
SOUTH ATLANTIC: Oil spill threatens endangered penguins
Half of the world's endangered Rockhopper Penguins live on one island in the South
Atlantic Ocean, Nightingale Island. A 1,500-ton cargo ship, the MS Olivia, ran aground
and a resulting oil slick has completely surrounded the island, extending some 8-miles
off-shore. Conservationists have declared an environmental emergency and crews are
trying to clean the birds as they come ashore. The Rockhopper is the species
featured in the movie, "Happy Feet."
(File photo)
Tortoise sets off fast-moving blaze in NYC apartment
A pet African spurred tortoise, like this one, set off a fire in a Brooklyn
apartment building 03/20/11. In trying to escape from his cage, "Giovani"
knocked over a heat lamp which landed in some art supplies on the floor,
including paint thinner, sparking the blaze. Giovani survived, found by
firefighters hiding in the kitchen. The apartment sustained heavy damage.
(FIle photo)
REPORT: New stingray species found in Amazon; like 'pancakes with noses'
The new species of stingray found in the Amazon are so different that scientists
said they constitute a whole new genus, which is the next level above species
in categorizing animals. Small, they grow to about 18 inches in length. The
findings have been published in the Feb. 2011 issue of the journal, Zootaxa.
(Photo courtesy Zootaxa)
U.N. REPORT: Bee deaths may signal threat to world's supply of food
A honey bee hard at work collecting pollen from a sunflower. A UN report has raised
an alarm about collapsing bee colonies all over the world. The insect is a vital link in
the production of plant food and animals that feed off plants. The die-off is traced to
many sources, including man-made pollution and non-discriminating pesticides and
disease of unknown origins. The UN says the collapse of bee colonies is particularly
acute in North America and Europe, with reports of similar bee coloney collapses in
Egypt, China and parts of Latin America.
(File photo)
REPORT: Are great white sharks swimming to extinction?
NEW STUDY: Humans are world's smelliest animal
QUAKE PRECURSOR?: 107 pilot whales stranded on Steward Island beach have died
Up and down the beach on Stewart Island, New Zealand, stranded
pilot whales died one-by-one after being discovered in the remote
area on Saturday, 02/19/11, three days before a devasting earthquake.
(Photo courtesy The Southland Times)
HIGHEST CANINE AWARD: Surprise win at Westminster
In the winner's circle at the Westminster Dog Show Tuesday night was
Hickory, a Scottish deerhound, seen with his handler, Angela Lloyd.
(Photo courtesy Getty Images)
Shark attacks rose 25 percent globally last year
Although shark attacks rose 25% around the world in 2010, the number
of attacks decreased in Florida waters.
(File photo of Great White Shark)
CALIFORNIA: 'Godzilla-like creature' nabbed in Riverside
The creature, which was found wandering around a condo complex in
Riverside, California is believed to be a Monitor Lizard. Police said
it is about 5-feet in length and was probably someone's pet that got
loose. There are several species of monitor lizards, the largest of
which is the Komodo Dragon, big, powerful and carnivorous.
(File photo)
Hawk invades Library of Congress
What's believed to be a Cooper's Hawk has taken up residence in
the main reading room of the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington.
Experts are not sure how it got into the building and they have no idea
on how to get the raptor to leave. It's wingspan can get over three feet.
(Photo courtesy The Washington Post)
KIEV: Phone keeps ringing in crocodile's tummy
In the story "Peter Pan," a crocodile swallows a clock and alerts other characters
with a tick-tock sound. Gena is a 14-year-old crocodile in a Ukranian aquarium,
and she rings because she swallowed a cell phone. A woman trying to take a
picture of Gena with her phone accidentally dropped it in the water, and Gena
ate it. She's been refusing food ever since.
(Photo courtesy APTV)
STUDY: Dogs were man's best friend 9,400 years ago
ANOTHER MASS BIRD DIE-OFF EXPLAINED: Feds poisoned them
Some 200 starlings like this one fell from the sky over Yankton, South Dakota.
It appeared to be another in a chain of mysterious die-offs of birds and sea life
recently, but the USDA said it ordered the poisoning of the birds because
they had become a nuisance to a local farmer near Yankton.
(Photo grab from KTIV video)
Although the mass die-offs of the starlings in Yankton has been explained, there is still no
explanation for mass die-offs of other wildlife around the globe, that appears to be spreading.
(Graphic courtesy mailonline.co.uk)
Experts say mass bird deaths are not apocalyptic
Several Hundred dead birds found in Kentucky
Some 100 dead birds found in central Sweden
More birds fall from sky...this time in Louisiana.
Hundreds if not thousands of dead red-wing blackbirds and some starlings
fell on the Morganza Highway in Pointe Coupee Parish in Louisiana Monday,
three days after the mass die-off in Arkansas of the same species. Tests on
the birds in Arkansas found no poisons responsible.
(Photo courtesy The Advocate)
Why did some 3,000 dead birds fall from Arkansas sky?
One of nearly 3,000 red-wing blackbirds that fell dead from the sky on
New Year's Eve night over the Arkansas town of Beebe. All of the birds
fell along a path about one and a half miles long. The birds have
been collected and are being examined at government labs to
try and determine the cause of the mass deaths.
(Photo courtesy Arkansas Times)
HUGE FISH DIE-OFF: Some 1-million fish wash up on Chesapeake Bay shores
More than 100,000 dead fish wash up on shores of Arkansas River
REPORT: 4 bumblebee species declining in North America
TOKYO: $526 per pound! Massive tuna sells for record $396,000
The giant bluefin tuna that set an auction record in Japan Wednesday.
Weighing in at 754 pounds, the big fish was caught off the northern
coast of Japan. It was bought by two upscale Sushi restaurant owners.
(Photo courtesy Zuma Press)
More Sierra Nevada red foxes, feared extinct, seen
The Sierra Red fox may be coming back from extinction.
(File photo)
U.S. wants to lift protections for grizzly, wolf
Study says pollution makes birds gay
Wild tigers could be extinct in 12 years
1,000 tigers killed in decade; extinction near
ATLANTA ZOO: Giant panda gives birth to third cub
Boa constrictor mom gives 'virgin birth'
Grizzly bear numbers hit new high in Yellowstone region
"FLUFFY" IS GONE: Longest snake living in captivity dies
This is "Fluffy", stretched out before staff members of the Columbus, Ohio zoo,
where the reticulated python was kept. "Fluffy" was 24 feet long, weighed 300
pounds and was 18 years old. According to the Guiness Book of World Records,
it was the longest snake in captivity. Python's can grow much longer in the wild,
over 30 feet long, and anacondas, another large snake, can get over 40 feet.
(Photo courtesy the Columbus Zoo)
World Cup soccer's psychic octopus dies in Germany
New Amazon species found every 3 days
A new species of tree frog recently discovered in the Amazon
basin. It's scientific name is Ranitomaya Benedicta.
(Photo courtesy the World Wildlife Fund.)
BIZZARE: Crocodile blamed for Congo air crash
The sole survivor of a plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August has finally
been able to tell authorities what may have caused the accident. He says someone
concealed a crocodile in a carry-on and it got loose while the small commuter plane
was on a domestic flight. 21 people were on the flight at the time, 20 were killed. The
survivor said the passengers panicked when the croc got loose. The combined weight
of the passengers, moving quickly to get out of the way, may have caused the
plane to destabilize and crash.
(File photo)
Scientists celebrate the discovery of over 200 new species in New Guinea
One of the many new species identified in New Guinea,
a pink-eyed katydid. Other new species included mice,
frogs and flowers.
(Photo courtesy Conservation International)
5,000 mink escape from northwest Irish farm
A European mink. Some 5,000 escaped from a mink farm in northwestern
Ireland where hundreds of cages were cut and opened, presumably by
animal rights activists. Another 28,000 of the animals decided to stay put,
even though their cages were also opened. Searchers said "hundreds" have
been run down on local roads, several hundred re-captured, and that the
rest present a serious environmental threat to local fish and wildlife.
(File photo)
MASS STRANDING: 56 of over 80 whales die on New Zealand beach
Of some 80 pilot whales that became stranded on a northern New Zealand beach,
56 have died. On 09/22/10, officials called in heavy equipment to remove the dead
animals while conservationists try to help those whales still alive. One official
said it looked like more were coming in toward the same beach.
(Photo courtesy the New Zealand Department of Conservation)
171 animals seized from Arizona family's home
(09/13/10)
152 cats and 19 dogs were seized by Arizona animal control authorities.
Four adults were living with the animals in fetid conditions...in a trailer home.
(Video report courtesy abc15.com)
ANOTHER GLOBAL WARMING SIGN: Thousands of walruses flee melting sea ice
Tens of thousands of walruses have come ashore on coastal
northwestern Alaska because the ice floes they normally
inhabit have disappeared. A biologist for the Geological
Survey says the animals are "packed shoulder-to-shoulder."
(Photo courtesy AP)
Earth's penguins are skating on thin ice
Puppy-tossing Bosnian girl tracked down by cops
Web video: Young woman throws puppies in river to drown
This is a still image from a web video showing a smiling young woman in the act of
throwing six puppies into a river to drown. With the help of animal rights groups,
the teenage girl was tracked down by Bosnian police in the town of Bugojno.
Wydeworld.com refuses to offer the video due to the cruel and sick
nature of the act. It comes days after a surveillance video caught an
English woman in Coventry disposing a cat in a garbage bin.
(Photo grab from video)
Woman dumps cat in garbage, is now Internet villain
Report: Earth's animals face grim future
Real tiger cub found in luggage with stuffed toys
This little guy is not a toy, but he looked like one. The 2-month old
tiger cub had been sedated by a woman trying to sneak it into
Thailand at Bangkok Airport. She tried to smuggle it into the
country in a batch of tiger cub toys. A sharp-eyed baggage
handler noticed the difference.
(Photo courtesy Traffic, a non-profit conservation group)
Pea-sized frog rates among world’s tiniest
A specimen of perhaps the world's smallest frog sits on the end of a pencil to
demonstrate just how small it is. The species was found on the island of Borneo.
It's been named Mycrohyla Nepenthicola after the plant on which it lives.
(Photo courtesy Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation)
Doggie lifeguards? Canines saving swimmers in Italy
Bull leaps into bullring stands in Spain, 40 hurt
The incident occured in a town in northern Spain.
(Video courtesy ABC)
Sponges identified as Earth’s oldest animal life
Rabid bats attack over 500 in Peru jungle
Over 500 indigenous people were attacked by a swarm of rabid
bats in the Peruvian jungle. At least four children died.
(File photo)
Mysterious disease imperils millions of bats in U.S., Canada
Thousands of Dead Fish Line Jersey Shore
Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dead fish, as far as the eye can see, washed up on this beach along the Delaware Bay in Middle
Township, New Jersey overnight Tuesday 08/10/10. The N.J. State
Department of Environmental Protection has launched an investigation.
(Photo courtesy NBC-Philadelphia)
Cat-size monkey species discovered in the Amazon
Gorilla goes ape over Nintendo DS
The gorilla played with the game after a boy accidentally dropped it
into the ape's cage at the San Francisco zoo.
(Photo courtesy msnbc.com)
Great white sightings close 5 miles of Cape Cod beach
A Great White Shark. Beach patrol spotters said one was seen only
100 yards from shore Friday. More sharks have been seen closer
into northeast U.S. shores this year than in recent memory.
(File photo)
Shark swims ashore in N.J.
Cruise ship strikes and kills whale in Alaska
The whale can be seen in the lower right of the above photo, pinned to the bow
of the cruise ship, The Saphirre Princess as it approached Juneau, Alaska.
(Photo courtesy NOAA)
Yellow lobster pulled from RI's Narragansett Bay
Lobsterman Denny Ingram with the extremely rare yellow lobster he caught.
Experts say there is only about a one in 30-million chance of such an occurence.
(Photo courtesy AP)
As if to say "stop the global warming, you're ruining my habitat," this polar bear
leans against the bow of a ship, almost as if he's trying to stop the boat. The
incident occured in Arctic Norway.
(Photo courtesy Lindblad Expeditions)
WWF: 10-feet-long catfish threatened by dams
Giant catfish, like this one caught on the Mekong River in Thailand, can reach up
to 10 feet in length and weigh up to 650 pounds. Their habitat is being threatened
by upriver dam projects. It is the world's largest fresh-water fish.
(File photo)
40-ton whale crushes yacht
A Southern Right Whale leapt out of the water and onto this private yacht in waters
off Cape Town, South Africa, demasting and severely damaging the vessel.
The couple on board was able to limp back to shore on the 33-foot craft.
(Photos courtesy capetownsailing.co.za)
Hundreds of dead penguins dot Brazil's beaches
Oil spill could spell doom for bluefin tuna
Scientists believe the blue fin tuna spawn in the Gulf of
Mexico, now largley contaminated with BP oil.
(File photo courtesy Getty Images)
Mysterious Black Jellyfish Invade California Coast
5 Great Lakes states sue feds over infestation of Asian carp
Shark sightings up along Northeast
'Human fish' salamander breaks lifespan record
Tigers Facing Global Extinction
Amazon river dolphins being slaughtered for bait
Rare white elephant caught in Myanmar
Discoveries of rare white elephants in Burma are considered to be harbingers
of political change in the country.
(Photo courtesy myanmar.gov)
Red Panda Cub Born at the National Zoo
Red Panda mother, 'Shama' holds her newborn cub delicately in her mouth
Thursday 06/24/10, one day after the cub was born. A spokesperson for the
Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park says the Panda exhibit area will stay
closed to the public for now in order to give mom and cub some privacy.
(Photo courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
Group seeks endangered listing for bumblebee
Asian carp found near Great Lakes
Snake Populations Mysteriously Plummet
Biologists check whether Gulf oil slick killed 265 turtles
Pelicans, Back from Brink of Extinction, Face Threat From Oil Spill
An oil-covered brown pelican being treated at a make-shift bird
rehabilitation center set up in Fort Jackson, Louisiana.
(Photo courtesy AFP/Getty Images)
One Gecko turns out to be 4 different species
Using DNA testing, biologists have determined that the common
West African Forest Gecko is not of one species, but four.
(Photo courtesy Discovery News)
Three new dog breeds recognized by AKC
Caves closed in 17 states in hope of helping bats
Cousins of this common vampire bat have been dying by the hundreds
of thousands in the United States, due to a fungus known as 'white
nose syndrome.' It's believed the disease is being spread by
humans entering the bat's natural habitat, mostly caves.
(Photo courtesy National Geographic)
Polar Bears Face "Tipping Point"
UN Report: Oceans' Fish Could Disappear by 2050
The UN Environment Program's green economy initiative contends that unless
there is "fundamental restructuring of the fishing industry worldwide,"
the world's fish stocks could well disappear. The report said it's known
that fully 30% of current fish stocks have already collapsed.
(Photo courtesy iStockphoto)
Flood of frogs shuts down major Greek highway
As seen from a space satellite, the monster dam built by several generations of beavers
stretches over half a mile long, 2,790 feet, twice the size of the Hoover Dam. The beaver's
huge dam was constructed in wetlands of Wood Buffalo National Park in Northern Alberta,
in central Canada. The water flow is from the bottom of the image upward.
(Photo courtesy Google Maps)
Six-legged calf dubbed 'Mr. Miracle'
6-pound horse may set smallest world record
Meet Darius, the world’s largest rabbit
Darius is owned by Annette Edwards of Worcester, England.
He weighs in at 50 pounds and is four feet three inches long.
Ms. Edwards says he's not fat, just humongous...and still
growing. Oh, and he's insured...for $1.6-million.
(Photo courtesy The Today Show)
Fabled 'Giant' Palouse Earthworm Found
Dog stayed by deceased owner’s side for 7 days
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Search Ends
Wild Ferrets Are Spreading On A Canary Island
Dragon-sized lizard eluded science, until now
The first photo of the newly discovered lizard living in the jungle trees
of the Philippine Island of Luzon. Confirmed as an entirely new
species, the monitor lizard eats fruit and grows to roughly six feet
in length, putting it in the same league as the Komodo Dragons,
the world's largest known lizards that are found in Indonesia and
can get to 10 feet in length.
(Photo courtesy Reuters)
World's Rarest Animals Identified
Bees are busier than ever as disease besieges colonies
Rattlesnake rodeos pressured to change
Environmentalists have come to the defense of the Diamondback Rattlesnake
a favorite at so-called 'Rattlesnake Rodeos.'
(Photo courstesy AP)
Shark Attacks, Resulting Human Deaths on the Rise
Octopus Steals Video Camera and Swims Off with It
Fewer Than 50 Wild Tigers Left in China
Study Finds Origin of Tasmanian Devil Cancer
Over 17,000 Animals Near Extinction
Leech With Enormous Teeth Discovered
A close-up of the mouth of the newly discovered leech, named Tyrannobdella rex,
which means "tyrant leech king," It was discovered in the Upper Amazon in Peru,
affixed to the nose of a local girl, who was bathing in the river.
(Photo courtesy of the journal PLoS ONE.
Owner gets cat back after pet makes 1,300-mile journey
Meet the world's Strongest Insect and possibly the strongest creature
Two male horned dung beetles during a wrestling match. Scientists
say the species can pull 1,141 times its own weight. A human
would have to lift 180,000 pounds to match that kind of strength.
(Photo courtesy Alex Wild via Discovery News)
Tarantula shoots sharp hairs into owner’s eye
A Chilean Rose Tarantula. Doctors are now warning owners of
such pets to wear eye protection when handling the creatures.
(Photo courtesy LiveScience.com)
This page was last modified on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 09:35:43 AM