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Day Of The Animals: Tales Of Man Vs Beast (And Man Suffers)

I got the impression she wasn't the type of owner to ever check under the hood on her own initiative.
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"Ah! But I did!" :sneaky2:
 
A Santa Cruz surfer came off his surfboard, which was immediately commandeered by an otter. The otter aggressively resisted the surfer's (and a friend's) attempts to retake the board.
'Like a scary movie': Sea otter takes surfer's board in Santa Cruz

A surfer off the coats of Santa Cruz was confronted by an otter while he was out catching some waves.

Nick Ericksen is usually the one riding his surfboard, but when he left it empty for a moment after catching a wave off Santa Cruz, a sea otter figured it ought to be the one riding it. ...

“It climbed on and made itself at home,” said Ericksen.

Ericksen’s tactics ranged from the puny, trying to splash the sea otter, to the brave, attempting to tow it towards shore. But every time he touched the board, the sea otter, possibly a pregnant sea otter, would lunge at him. ...

Finally, another surfer came to the rescue, managing to shove the board away from the otter. ...

The otter then chased the rescuer. Then changed its mind and started chasing Nick. ...
FULL STORY (With Video): https://www.ksbw.com/article/santa-cruz-sea-otter-takes-surfers-board/41300201
 
A protected red squirrel has kept a Scottish bakery closed for two days while humans try to make the intruder leave.
Red squirrel shuts down Scottish bakery for two days

... The Greggs bakery in Pitlochry was closed Sunday after a red squirrel was found living in the roof the previous day, and the squirrel was photographed through a window wandering around the closed business.

The bakery remained closed Monday after initial attempts to safely extract the squirrel were unsuccessful.

The Scottish SPCA confirmed it was contacted ...

"As the squirrel was very high up in the rafters, we advised the member of the public to leave an exit for the squirrel in the hope the animal would come down of their own accord," a representative told the BBC.

"Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case ..."

Specialists are working to safely extract the squirrel, which is a protected species in Scotland. Greggs officials said the store will be thoroughly cleaned before reopening once the animal is safely outside.
FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/0...ery-closed-due-to-red-squirrel/7471664226915/
 
A protected red squirrel has kept a Scottish bakery closed for two days while humans try to make the intruder leave. ...

Update ... The squirrel was finally captured (and released into the wild) after keeping the bakery closed for 3 days. The bakery remains closed for cleaning until later this week.
Red squirrel captured after shutting down Scottish bakery for days

A protected red squirrel that shut down a Scottish bakery for three days was finally captured safely and relocated to a natural habitat.

The Greggs bakery in Pitlochry was closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday after a red squirrel was found to have taken up residence inside the building. ...

Initial attempts to safely capture the red squirrel, which is a protected species in Scotland, were unsuccessful, but the bakery chain confirmed on Twitter Wednesday that the animal had been ensnared in a humane trap. ...

"The Pitlochry shop is now closed for a deep clean and will reopen later this week, squirrel free," Greggs tweeted. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/09/28/scotland-Greggs-squirrel-captured-Pitlochry/3111664390174/
 
A California high school had to postpone their homecoming dance because of bats in the belfry gymnasium.
California school dance postponed due to bats in gym

A California high school announced its homecoming dance will be rescheduled after bats were found living in the gymnasium.

The Davis Joint Unified School District said the dance at Davis Senior High School had been scheduled for Saturday, but will be instead be held at an undetermined date in the future due to the presence of bats in the gym. ...

After immediate consultation with Yolo County Animal Control and professionals who specialize in bat abatement, we learned we could not remove the bats from the gym in time for the dance," the district said in a Facebook post.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to identify another option that maintains the safety of our students and staff. We will reschedule the dance as soon as possible."

Corky Quirk, a researcher and educator with rescue group Northern California Bats, said the school's unwanted residents are likely Mexican free-tailed bats. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/09/28/school-dance-postponed-bats-gym/9801664376390/
 
A wild turkey crashed through a window into an Ohio home. When a police officer finally captured the turkey in a net the bird managed to escape and get away through the same window it had used to enter.
Turkey crashes through window into Ohio home

Police in Ohio responded to a resident's home where a wild turkey broke in through a large window -- and ended up breaking back out.

The Miami Township Police Department said officers responded to the home of a resident who called 911 to report a large turkey had crashed through a window into her daughter's playroom. ...

The department posted body camera footage to Facebook showing an officer with a net chasing the turkey around the trashed room.

The officer is eventually able to capture the turkey in the net and starts to carry it outside, but the bird escapes from the officer and crashes back out through the same window it used to enter the house. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/1...hes-window-Miami-Township-Ohio/4601664980836/

VIDEO (@ Facebook):
 
A not so amusing story. I wonder how many 'death by giraffe' cases there are each year?

Baby girl killed and her mum fighting for life after raging giraffe tramples them in South Africa​

A baby girl was killed and her mother is now fighting for life after a raging giraffe trampled them in South Africa.
The one-year-old was visiting the Kuleni Game Park near the port city of Durban on Wednesday afternoon when the horror unfolded.

The infant, along with her 25-year-old mother and family, were left with catastrophic injuries when the giraffe suddenly attacked without warning.

The pair were reportedly crushed by the towering creature before being rushed to a nearby hospital.
https://www.news.com.au/travel/trav...a/news-story/2ba820c29bc5a7a09f7474ffec8d3aff
 
Why do I get the feeling that plovers and giraffes need some of their habitat restored? :(
 
Some North Carolina homeowners are mad because their neighborhood has become overrun with ducks.
'They poop everywhere': Ducks take over North Carolina neighborhood

A neighborhood in North Carolina has become overrun by ducks. ...

Homeowner Skip Canady said he's lived in Surrey Downs for 8 years. He said he and others have had it with the ducks that are destroying their property.

The waterfowl are overpopulating, creating a messy situation. ...

Canady said they have two retention ponds in Surrey Downs. He said the Muscovy Ducks were dropped off by a previous neighbor. Some people said they don’t mind the ducks and see them as pets–Canady disagrees. ...

"We can't sit at our pond anymore, because they ate all of the grass," he said. "It smells, it stinks on hot days when you walk. It's not a good thing."

WCTI reached out to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to see if there’s any solution. According to state biologists, there’s little they can do. ...
FULL STORY: https://local21news.com/news/offbea...lina-wildlife-resources-commission-biologists
 
Woman eaten by 22-foot python

In Indonesia.
Jahrah, 54, was collecting rubber in the Jambi province on Friday when she disappeared.

Her worried family raised the alarm and started searching the woodland when they came across the massive reptile stretched out in a clearing two days after

Horrified locals noticed a large bulge in it and their worst fears were confirmed when they cut it open and found Jahrah in the stomach.
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Hmm. The above story/picture link was from a death in 2018 but the story is dated July 2022. But the text is taken from the article below. The one below is this past week. Credit Edinburgh Fortean Society on Twitter.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63396954
A woman in Indonesia's Jambi province was killed and swallowed whole by a python, according to local reports.

Jahrah, a rubber-tapper reportedly in her 50s, had made her way to work at a rubber plantation on Sunday morning.

She was reported missing after failing to return that night, and search parties sent out to find her. A day later villagers found a python with what appeared to be a large stomach.

Locals later killed the snake and found her body inside.
 
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/25/business/amazon-driver-dog-attack-death/index.html

Amazon driver found dead near truck after possible dog attack​



Authorities in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, have launched an investigation into the death of an Amazon delivery driver after he was found dead with possible dog bite injuries.

Officers were called to the scene at around 7 p.m. Monday after they were told an Amazon delivery truck had been parked in front of a residential house for several hours.

Authorities discovered the driver’s remains, a German shepherd and a mastiff behind the gate of a fence located near the delivery truck. The owners of the home were not present at the time, according to Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers. The county is located about 30 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri. One of the deputies shot and injured one of the dogs. The two dogs ran into the home, according to the sheriff. Once Childers arrived on the scene, he walked into the house and the dogs remained aggressive toward him.

“They continued to be aggressive, and I had to kill them,” said Childers. All evidence on the scene was collected, including the driver’s remains and the two deceased dogs. An autopsy and necropsy will be performed on the driver and the dogs within the next coming days, according to Childers.

It’s not clear if the dogs caused the death of the unnamed driver, but Childers noted the driver’s remains had extensive injuries. “We do not know the cause of death yet, but the Amazon driver did have a substantial amount of damage to his body very similar to that of canine bites.”
 
Hmm. The above story/picture link was from a death in 2018 but the story is dated July 2022. But the text is taken from the article below. The one below is this past week. Credit Edinburgh Fortean Society on Twitter.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63396954
A woman in Indonesia's Jambi province was killed and swallowed whole by a python, according to local reports.

Jahrah, a rubber-tapper reportedly in her 50s, had made her way to work at a rubber plantation on Sunday morning.

She was reported missing after failing to return that night, and search parties sent out to find her. A day later villagers found a python with what appeared to be a large stomach.

Locals later killed the snake and found her body inside.
Newspapers, and online reporting seem to be doing this quite a lot nowadays. As if there's not enough tragic stuff to focus their attention on already!
 

'Pure evil' black bird named Derek terrorising Yorkshire village and attacking children​

Some love the cult hero in Rossington, near Doncaster, but there is a darker side to Derek's antics
  • BY MAYNARD MANYOWA
  • 05:00, 31 OCT 2022UPDATED06:29, 31 OCT 2022
A cheeky black bird that loves food is terrorising a South Yorkshire community.

The young jackdaw, which has even achieved fame and cult hero status, has been locally named Derek, and is instantly recognisable within the Rossington community, near Doncaster. Derek is such a celebrity that a local Facebook group has been inundated with posts about him that go as far back as 2019.

But then, there is the other side of Derek that has popped up recently. One that is laden with stories of Derek being a nuisance and utter menace.

One of those stories was told by a local mum, who said Derek had attacked her children and left her entire family petrified. She said: "It comes to something when kids can’t even go into their own garden without being petrified because of that bloody bird Derek dive bombing them and trying to attack them, so to whoever owns the horrible thing…


CONTINUED:
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/pure-evil-black-bird-named-25388201
 

'Pure evil' black bird named Derek terrorising Yorkshire village and attacking children​

Some love the cult hero in Rossington, near Doncaster, but there is a darker side to Derek's antics
  • BY MAYNARD MANYOWA
  • 05:00, 31 OCT 2022UPDATED06:29, 31 OCT 2022
A cheeky black bird that loves food is terrorising a South Yorkshire community.

The young jackdaw, which has even achieved fame and cult hero status, has been locally named Derek, and is instantly recognisable within the Rossington community, near Doncaster. Derek is such a celebrity that a local Facebook group has been inundated with posts about him that go as far back as 2019.

But then, there is the other side of Derek that has popped up recently. One that is laden with stories of Derek being a nuisance and utter menace.

One of those stories was told by a local mum, who said Derek had attacked her children and left her entire family petrified. She said: "It comes to something when kids can’t even go into their own garden without being petrified because of that bloody bird Derek dive bombing them and trying to attack them, so to whoever owns the horrible thing…


CONTINUED:
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/pure-evil-black-bird-named-25388201

Jackdaws can be shot under general licence GL42.

I thought Yorkshire people were supposed to be tough, resolute and decisive? :rolleyes:

maximus otter
 

'Pure evil' black bird named Derek terrorising Yorkshire village and attacking children​

Some love the cult hero in Rossington, near Doncaster, but there is a darker side to Derek's antics
  • BY MAYNARD MANYOWA
  • 05:00, 31 OCT 2022UPDATED06:29, 31 OCT 2022
A cheeky black bird that loves food is terrorising a South Yorkshire community.

The young jackdaw, which has even achieved fame and cult hero status, has been locally named Derek, and is instantly recognisable within the Rossington community, near Doncaster. Derek is such a celebrity that a local Facebook group has been inundated with posts about him that go as far back as 2019.

But then, there is the other side of Derek that has popped up recently. One that is laden with stories of Derek being a nuisance and utter menace.

One of those stories was told by a local mum, who said Derek had attacked her children and left her entire family petrified. She said: "It comes to something when kids can’t even go into their own garden without being petrified because of that bloody bird Derek dive bombing them and trying to attack them, so to whoever owns the horrible thing…


CONTINUED:
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/pure-evil-black-bird-named-25388201
First thing I noticed is that 'Derek' is a Jackdaw not as is in the heading a 'Pure evil Black Bird.'
It seems obvious that the Mum doesn't realise that Jackdaw's are well known for their unusual behaviour, and she also doesn't realise that the jackdaw is a natural wild bird in Uk as she states "
dive bombing them and trying to attack them, so to whoever owns the horrible thing"…. It is naturally a gregarious bird and is normally and actively a territorial bird which is probably why it is 'attacking' anything/one that comes within "it's" territory.
Maybe the Lady should have a read this old poem before she cursed the jackdaw. . .
https://allpoetry.com/The-Jackdaw-Of-Rheims
 
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I suspect that Bird Flu will take its toll on many of our species - even the pesky ones. One day, even the Jackdaw might have a higher status to crow about!
As I mentioned in another thread a couple of weeks ago, bird flu has wiped out the population of our shoot.
Raptors, Corvids, song birds and game birds are either gone or seriously reduced in numbers, and I’m estimating over 90% reduction. Still pigeons about and I’ve seen a couple of very impressive covey of partridges. The two meets we have had this year have returned 28 pheasants for the table. The usual number for the first two would usually be closer to 300.
In Essex it is Avian Armageddon.
 
Woman survives bear attack by playing dead

Renee Levow was attacked by an angry bear & was forced to play dead after having her jaw cracked.

She was out with the dogs in Frederick County, Maryland, US, when she encountered the 'angry’ juvenile black bear.

As it chased and swatted at one of her pets, she tried to employ the widespread advice she had heard to "make yourself big and be loud" but the bear instead turned its attention on her.

"He stood in front of me after he charged the hill and I could see literally every detail - his face, his teeth, his claws - everything.

"After a few seconds he swatted me down and then bit my left leg twice just above my knee and then he tossed me to the side and continued to bite me.
The 55-year-old heard something crunch as the bear bit down on her skull and decided the only way to survive was to play dead, which finally caused the bear to let go.

"He sniffed my ear and grumbled and then I didn't hear anything else. I didn't hear my dogs or the bear - no noise whatsoever.

"I didn't move. I layed there for ten minutes because I was petrified. It was really scary.

"Eventually when I got enough nerve I moved my hand down my body to get my phone and I called 911.

"The blood from my head was just pouring down my face, I was in a puddle of my own blood.

She was airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore where she underwent a gruelling four hour operation to deep tissue wounds.

Doctors discovered she had suffered an orbital fracture and severed nerves above her right eye and open wounds on her scalp, face, chest and left leg.
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Still pigeons about and I’ve seen a couple of very impressive covey of partridges.
In Essex it is Avian Armageddon.
As you make mention that Pigeons & Partridges are still about, I wonder if they might have a natural resistance to bird flu?
 
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