Michael Alford, 59, of Harlan county was moving a bag of potting soil when bees attacked him from inside the package
A Kentucky man has died after a swarm of bees attacked him on his porch.
On Monday, the 59-year-old man whom local reports identified as Michael Alford was moving a bag of potting soil in Harlan county when he was stung by a swarm of bees from inside the package, authorities said in a statement.
Continue reading...Tally rises to 27,000 but is still a far cry from former half a million, and Javan and Sumatran rhino remain critically endangered
Global rhinoceros numbers have increased to 27,000 despite populations being ravaged by poaching and habitat loss, new figures show, with some species rebounding for the first time in a decade.
Rhinos numbered about 500,000 across Africa and Asia in the 20th century but their populations have been devastated. Last year, they began showing signs of recovery in some areas, although two species – the Javan and Sumatran – remain close to disappearing.
Continue reading...Driver was delivering package to Palm City home when she was bitten by an eastern diamondback rattlesnake near the front door
A Florida Amazon delivery driver is in serious condition after being bitten by an eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
The driver was delivering a package to a home in Palm City on Monday when she was bitten by the snake which was coiled up near the front door of the delivery location, according to the Martin county sheriff’s office (MCSO) in south-eastern Florida.
Continue reading...Scientists confirm three birds have died from virus as park authorities redouble efforts to protect islands’ endemic birds
National park authorities on the Galápagos Islands have heightened biosecurity measures to protect the archipelago’s unique fauna from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza after scientists confirmed that three birds had died from the virus.
“From preliminary tests of the five specimens, three of them have tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza,” Danny Rueda, director of the Galápagos national park told the Guardian. Two frigate birds and one red-footed booby were confirmed to have died from the virus on Tuesday, after samples were sent to Guayaquil on the Ecuadorian mainland for examination.
Continue reading...Mortality rate grows as animals roam long distances and clash with local people in desperate search for water
The climate crisis is pushing elephants on a forced migration across borders in southern Africa in search of water, creating problems for national parks and conservation efforts.
In recent weeks, Zimbabwe’s elephants have been crossing the country’s borders into Botswana, officials said on Tuesday. Exactly how many elephants are affected is not yet known. The development comes as a survey this month revealed that elephants are dying of heat stress.
Continue reading...Hundreds of mussel farm sites in Gulf of Thailand affected by regular blooms that scientists believe are exacerbated by climate crisis
An unusually dense plankton bloom off the eastern coast of Thailand is creating an aquatic “dead zone”, threatening the livelihood of local fishers who farm mussels in the waters.
Marine scientists say some areas in the Gulf of Thailand have more than 10 times the normal amount of plankton, turning the water a bright green and killing off marine life.
Continue reading...An unattended pastry truck was irresistible to a bear mom and her cub, who gorged on doughnuts before being chased away
Two bears on an Alaska military base raided a Krispy Kreme doughnut van that was stopped outside a convenience store during its delivery route.
The driver usually left his doors open when he stopped at the store but this time a sow and one of her cubs that loitered nearby sauntered inside, where they stayed for probably 20 minutes on Tuesday morning, said Shelly Deano, the store manager for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson JMM Express. The bears chomped on doughnut holes and other pastries, ignoring the banging on the side of the van that was intended to shoo them away, Deano said.
Continue reading...Declaration signed by more than 20 Indigenous groups says dingoes are a ‘cultural icon’ and killing them is ‘killing family’
First Nations people around the country have called for the immediate end of lethal dingo control, following an inaugural national dingo forum held in Cairns on Friday and Saturday.
A national dingo declaration signed by representatives from more than 20 First Nations groups says “lethal control should never be an option”.
Continue reading...After giving two officers in Springfield, Missouri, a good run, the escaped pet was caught by the long arms of the law
US law enforcement is familiar with pursuing much more dangerous escapees but there was one guy in stripes this week who gave officers the run-around, then ultimately came quietly.
“We see the tail,” a cop called as he gave chase through the darkness of a public park equipped only with a large towel.
Continue reading...Family of Donald Morrison now believe he died of an underlying medical condition ‘he was unaware of’
A Queensland man who was thought to have died from a snake bite on the weekend when helping a friend did not have any venom in his body, a toxicology report has found.
Donald Morrison, who was in his 60s, was attending a reunion at Koumala state school in Queensland on Saturday when he was reportedly bitten on the arm and chest while removing the reptile that had coiled around his friend’s leg.
Continue reading...Visitors to Gower urged to maintain distance after spate of incidents, including newborn foal falling off cliff
Visitors to a Welsh beauty spot have been warned not to go close to ponies to take selfies after a newborn foal fell to its death from a cliff.
In another incident a woman was injured when she was kicked by a gypsy cob pony on the Gower peninsula in south-west Wales, while ponies have also been injured or killed by cars and disturbed by drones.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Minns government forced to release photos as it pushes ahead with the same shark meshing program for coming season
Images of sea creatures including bleeding dolphins and drowned seals that died in shark nets along the New South Wales coastline last summer have been released by the state government as it pushes ahead with the same meshing program for the coming season.
The graphic Department of Primary Industries photos, obtained by a conservationist under information access laws, show animals that died after being caught in the nets at 10 different beaches between September 2022 and April this year.
Continue reading...Researchers identify 88 nests of destructive invasive non-native species near Syracuse in Sicily
An invasive non-native ant species has become established in Italy and could rapidly spread through Europe to the UK with global heating, a study warns.
The red fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, has a powerful sting, damages crops and can infest electrical equipment including cars and computers.
Continue reading...Ambulance service uncertain of the species that bit the man but says symptoms point to a brown snake
A man in his 60s has died from a snake bite in central Queensland, after helping to remove a snake which had coiled around his friend’s leg.
Two men were treated by the Queensland Ambulance Service in Koumala, a town 60km south of Mackay, shortly after 6.30pm on Saturday evening.
Continue reading...Conservation groups say plan contains no meaningful action to address bird’s key threat of native forest logging
The swift parrot recovery plan announced by the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to mark threatened species day was not actually finalised and had not been shared with the experts who helped to develop it.
Once they had seen it, conservation groups and scientists said the recovery plan released on Thursday contained no meaningful action to address the key threat to the survival of the species: the logging of native forests.
Continue reading...Wildlife enthusiasts watching live feed from remote national park spot hiker in distress and alert authorities to rescue him
They logged on hoping to see brown bears gorging on salmon, fattening themselves up for their winter hibernation. Instead, what the wildlife enthusiasts viewing one of Alaska’s most remote national park webcams saw was a disheveled and weather-beaten hiker shuffling into view, mouthing the words “help me” into the lens.
The episode captured by a camera at the Katmai national park sparked a chain of events that ended with the safe recovery of the unknown hiker by search and rescue teams, according to rangers.
Continue reading...London Wildlife Trust asks volunteers to seek out endangered beetles’ strongholds
They were celebrated as “ye country comets” by the poet Andrew Marvell but glowworms are defying light pollution to still shine their lights in the city of London.
Now volunteers and enthusiasts are being sought to count and save the much-celebrated but declining beetles, whose females emit a remarkable bright green bioluminescent beam to attract males.
Continue reading...Sightings of birds, which appear to have come from Yucatán in Mexico, reported in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and the Carolinas
Flamingos have been spotted as far north in the US as Ohio and Pennsylvania in recent days, after they were blown off course by the powerful Hurricane Idalia that hit Florida late last month, experts say.
The distinctive birds have been reported in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, also in Texas and further north from their typical habitats, in Kentucky and even Ohio, Jerry Lorenz, the state director of Audubon Florida, told CNN. They were also seen in Franklin county in southern Pennsylvania on Thursday, NPR reported.
Continue reading...Tanya Plibersek announces crayfish, frogs, insects and plants among wildlife now under threat amid renewed calls for reform
More than 40 plants and animals have been added to Australia’s list of threatened wildlife, including crayfish, frogs, insects and several plants, in what environment groups say is another reminder of the urgent need for reform.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced the bulloak jewel butterfly, Kate’s leaf-tail gecko, and 16 types of native spiny crayfish were among 48 species that had “been given greater protection under Australia’s national environmental law” by joining the threatened list.
Continue reading...Hollow bricks are ‘easy win’ to help several endangered species, say experts and Zac Goldsmith who is tabling amendment
An amendment to make swift bricks mandatory in new housing will be debated in the House of Lords this week in what campaigners call a “golden opportunity” for the government to halt wildlife decline.
The change to the controversial levelling up bill is being tabled by the Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith, who resigned from government over Rishi Sunak’s “apathy” towards environmental issues.
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