Tag: animal

Whale that won Canadian hearts believed to be dead

SOREL, Canada (AFP) — A young humpback whale that swam up one of Canada’s major rivers, delighting Montrealers who packed the shores for a glimpse of the first of the species in local waters, is believed to have died, wildlife officials said Tuesday. The pilot of a passing commercial ship early in the morning spotted a “whale carcass” near Varennes in the Monteregie region of the Canadian province, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of […]

India arrests man over shocking death of elephant

by Jalees ANDRABI Agence France-Presse NEW DEHLI, India (AFP) — Indian police have arrested a plantation worker and are hunting two others after a pregnant elephant died after eating fruit laced with explosives, officials said Saturday, in a case that shocked the country. The elephant died in agony last week in the southern state of Kerala, the latest casualty of a growing conflict in South Asia between nature and humans as ever more forest is […]

India vows probe after elephant killed with explosives

NEW DEHLI, India (AFP) — India pledged to investigate Thursday the death of a pregnant elephant that ate explosives-filled fruit, as cricket and Bollywood stars joined a chorus of outrage over the incident. The elephant died in agony last week in the southern state of Kerala, the latest casualty in a growing conflict in South Asia between large animals and humans as ever more forest is lost to urban expansion. Footage of the animal standing […]

Pregnant elephant dies in India after eating explosive fruit trap

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — A pregnant elephant was killed in India after eating fruit stuffed with explosives, officials said Wednesday, sparking outrage over the use of such traps to protect crops and homes. The wild elephant strayed into a village near Silent Valley National Park in south Kerala state last Wednesday when it ate the rigged fruit — believed to be a pineapple — which exploded and severely injured its mouth, officials said. “We […]

Wayward whale takes city break in Montreal

MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — A young humpback whale that swam up one of Canada’s major rivers and has been exploring the waters off Montreal for a few days was likely led astray while on a hunting trip, authorities have said. Since Saturday, the giant creature has been swimming in the St Lawrence river against the backdrop of the Montreal skyline — hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the waters it usually calls home. The humpback is […]

South Sudan: an unexplored Eden of biodiversity

by Nick Perry PICTURES BY TONY KARUMBA Agence France-Presse BOMA, South Sudan (AFP) — The light plane banked sharply to circle back over the plains. The pilot had spotted something below: antelope, first one, then many, the stragglers of a million-strong migration across this vast wilderness. But there are other wonders out here on the savanna. A trio of extremely rare Nubian giraffe lumber by, the seldom-seen, majestic giants casting long shadows over the grasslands. “There’s […]

Hong Kong seizes fins from 38,500 endangered sharks

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong has seized 26 tonnes of smuggled shark fins, sliced from some 38,500 endangered animals, in the largest bust of its kind in the southern Chinese city. The record haul was discovered in two containers from Ecuador, and highlights the continued demand for shark fin, which is served at wedding banquets in many Chinese communities. The city’s customs department unveiled the haul on Wednesday and said it smashed previous […]

First giant panda born in Netherlands

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Wu Wen, a giant panda loaned to a Dutch zoo by China, has given birth in a first for the Netherlands, Ouwehands animal park announced Saturday. Mating took place in January and the cub, which belongs to Beijing just like the mother and father Xing Ya, was born on May 1. “The mother and her cub are staying in the maternity den and are doing well,” the zoo in the […]

Virus pushes Indonesia zoo animals to brink of starvation

BANDUNG, Indonesia  (AFP) — Thousands of animals, including endangered Sumatran tigers and Bornean orangutans, are facing starvation at Indonesia’s zoos as the global pandemic pushes shuttered facilities toward collapse, officials say. Some 60 cash-strapped animal parks — home to roughly 70,000 creatures — across the Southeast Asian archipelago have been closed since mid-March and most say they have only enough food until the middle of May. “Most zoos relied on ticket sales so when they […]

Birds in paradise: Albania’s flamingos flourish in virus lockdown

by Briseida MEMA Agence France Presse NARTE, Albania (AFP) — With tourists home, boats docked and factories silenced under a coronavirus lockdown, Albania’s pink flamingos and curly pelicans are flourishing in the newfound tranquility of lagoons dotting the country’s western coastline. Beating their pink and black-lined wings, a growing flock of thousands of flamingos have recently been soaring over and splashing in the glistening waters of Narta Lagoon, an important site for migratory birds on […]

Peru saves bats blamed for coronavirus

LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Authorities called Wednesday for worried Peruvians to stop killing bats after rescuing 200 that was going to be burnt by peasants believing them to be spreading the coronavirus. “We must not distort the situation due to the pandemic. Bats are not our enemies,” the National Service of Wild Forests and Fauna (SERFOR) said in a statement on Wednesday. SERFOR called for calm after peasants in Culden, in the northern Cajamarca region, […]

Rare white giraffes killed by poachers in Kenya: conservationists

NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Kenya’s only female white giraffe and her calf have been killed by poachers, conservationists said Tuesday, in a major blow for the rare animals found nowhere else in the world. The bodies of the two giraffes were found “in a skeletal state after being killed by armed poachers” in Garissa in eastern Kenya, the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy said in a statement. Their deaths leave just one remaining white giraffe alive […]