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Animal News (Except Bigcats)
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Algae blooms turn the waters off Ras Al Khaimah (the northernmost Emirate within the UAE which occupies the southeastern part of the Musandam Peninsula, which is just south of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz) red, but no negative impact on marine life is feared: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/govern...uaes-coast-
Map of Ras Al Khaimah (abbreviated as 'RAK'): http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/world/AS_UARK.html  *This image is copyright of its original author
6 elephants die at a waterfall in Thailand's Khao Yai National Park: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49944885
Credit: Thailand DNP  *This image is copyright of its original author "Six elephants have fallen to their deaths in Thailand while trying to save each other from a notorious waterfall. Officials said the incident occurred after a baby elephant slipped over the waterfall in central Thailand's Khao Yai National Park. Two other elephants were also found struggling on a cliff edge nearby, and have been moved by Thai authorities. The waterfall, known as Haew Narok (Hell's Fall), has a history of similar incidents. A herd of eight elephants died after falling in 1992, in a case that brought national attention." 
Vipers are the deadliest snakes in the UAE, and a number of them have been spotted living in residential areas, particularly in Dubai, where they can feed on rodents, with others dwelling in the Hajar Mountains to the east of Dubai City: https://gulfnews.com/uae/residents-spot-...0611956945, https://gulfnews.com/uae/new-viper-sight...0683954926
Supplied picture of a saw-scaled viper in Hattan Community, Emirates Living, New Dubai:  *This image is copyright of its original author
In the Philippine province of Palawan, a huge saltwater croc bit a hole in a small boat, and then dragged a 20-year-old fisherman through it and killed him, before being killed by others while retrieving the corpse of the man: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news...t-20543411
Credit: ViralPress  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
That a megacity with one of the world's highest populations of humans, like India's financial capital Mumbai, should have a forest within might sound strange, but the greenery is so important that a proposal to cut through it to make way for a metro has caused controversy: https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/f...71291.html
"Aarey forest" in Mumbai; credit: Rajesh Sanap  *This image is copyright of its original author
As if in a scene straight out of a horror movie, a live rat was spotted moving inside a decomposing body at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office in February this year, and then it got killed since it had apparently developed a taste for human flesh and organs, and efforts to get it out of the body had failed: https://www.phillyvoice.com/witness-we-f...rs-office/
Credit: Facebook for Phillyvoice  *This image is copyright of its original author
African swine fever has become a grave issue in East Asia, particularly North Korea, which is heavily dependent on pig meat: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...-the-world
An aerial photo shows workers wearing protective suits and driving pigs to kill at a farm where pigs were confirmed to have been infected with African swine fever in Paju, a city near the inter-Korean border, on September 17, 2019. - South Korea on September 17 reported its first cases of African swine fever, becoming the latest country hit by the disease that has killed pigs from China to North Korea, pushing up pork prices worldwide. Photo by Yelim Lee / AFP / Getty Images:  *This image is copyright of its original author
A picture of a shocked marmot and Tibetan fox in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau by Yongqing Bao has won the "Wildlife of the Year Award": https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/art...62221.html
 *This image is copyright of its original author
(10-15-2019, 11:01 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: African swine fever has become a grave issue in East Asia, particularly North Korea, which is heavily dependent on pig meat: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...-the-world I'm no fan of Kim Jong-Un, but as his country apparently struggles with a grave disease that threatens its important food animal, the pig, he rode a horse up the sacred Mountain of Paektu (also known as 'Baekdu', and in China as 'Changbai') on the border with China, to deliver a speech on resisting American sanctions, and that he made the "most powerful country with faith and will as firm as Mount Paektu": https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50064893, https://www.apnews.com/09015e8b298b4b86ba6dd5409eb78f6a Credit: Reuters  *This image is copyright of its original author Credit: AFP  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Malaysian attempt at Sumatran rhino IVF fails on low quality of sperm
Basten Gokkon 1 week ago JAKARTA — A recent effort by scientists to produce a Sumatran rhino embryo using egg and sperm samples taken from the last of the species in Malaysia has failed, according to officials. Those involved in the attempt had previously cautioned that there was a low chance of success, given the poor quality of the genetic samples they had to work with. The egg cell was extracted on Sept. 30 from Iman, the last known Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) in Malaysia. The scientists then injected the egg with sperm from Malaysia’s last male rhino, Tam, who died this past May. His semen had been collected in 2015 and 2016 and preserved in liquid nitrogen. But the in vitro fertilization attempt on Oct. 1 failed to produce an embryo after 72 hours of incubation, Augustine Tuuga, the director of the Sabah state wildlife department, said as reported by the New Straits Time. “What we have gathered from the experts is that possibly Tam’s sperm was not of good quality,” Tuuga said. Tam’s age would have been around 60 years in human terms when his sperm was harvested. Given these circumstances, the rhino experts were not hopeful about the results. “Given that IVF in Sumatran rhino has been tried only about 6 times, we expect a high failure rate,” John Payne, the head of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), which was involved in the effort, told Mongabay in an email. “Iman’s egg cells are fine,” Payne said. “Tam’s sperm quality is likely to be the main problem. Imagine taking sperm from a 70 year old man with kidney disease — what do you expect? That is Tam.”  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Iman, the last female Sumatran rhino in Malaysia. Image courtesy of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA).The fact that the team had to rely on “poor quality” sperm from a single aged rhino has highlighted the lack of progress on an agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia that would have allowed Iman’s eggs to be fertilized with healthy sperm from one of Indonesia’s rhinos. At the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia hosts three young males, including one who has already successfully fathered two calves. However, Indonesia insists that to send sperm samples from its rhinos in Way Kambas to Malaysia, both countries would need to sign a memorandum of understanding for an exchange of specimens of protected species, the transfer of which is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Tuuga said the IVF efforts would continue and be improved, while also urging Indonesia’s help in providing sperm from the Way Kambas rhinos. Christina Liew, the Sabah state minister of tourism, culture and environment, saidrepresentatives of both countries have had regular meetings, most recently in August, to discuss the possibility of obtaining sperm from the rhinos in Way Kambas. No more than 80 Sumatran rhinos, a critically endangered species, are believed to survive in the wild, often living in small populations too small and isolated to be reproductively viable. Seven rhinos are held at Way Kambas, one in a sanctuary in Indonesian Borneo, and one in Malaysia. Two calves were born at Way Kambas after being conceived naturally, while previous IVF attempts in Malaysia were unsuccessful. Indonesia’s environment ministry said in August that the two countries had earlier this year agreed on a new partnership that would see eggs shipped from Malaysia for IVF attempts in Indonesia. To date, however, the paperwork to finalize the deal has still not been completed. *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Iman, the last female Sumatran rhino in Malaysia. Image courtesy of the Borneo Rhino Alliance https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/sumatran-rhino-ivf-malaysia-indonesia-fertilization/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
Pobitora wildlife sanctuary in Assam is called “mini Kaziranga” because of the high population of one horned rhinos (100+) in just 40 sq.km. 2 Asiatic Wild Water Buffaloes were infected with Anthrax and this has caused panic amongst the officials. They decided to bury the animals 9 feet deep and erect solar fence around the burial site to make sure no other animal could come in contact. (Why not just burn them instead?) Anyway, this has pushed the opening of the park a few weeks.
https://theshillongtimes.com/2019/10/23/anthrax-scare-puts-off-opening-of-pobitora-rhino-habitat/
- Spain's capital city, Madrid, was flooded by a huge flock of sheep migrating to southern pastures: https://www.dw.com/en/madrid-deluged-by-...g-50908265
 *This image is copyright of its original author - Say hello to Mr London Meow, the therapy cat that visits hospitals: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-l...-hospitals - One of the world's longest seahorses, measuring about 35 cm (13.78 in), was found off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the eastern part of the UAE, in the Gulf of Oman within the Arabian Sea: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/abu-dha...und-in-uae-
See my new thread about camels and camelids (including alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos and llamas): https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-camels-...and-llamas
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