Health officials investigate a chicken farm in Sekikawa village, northern Japan, after a highly contagious avi... Read More
30 Nov 2016
Highly-contagious bird flu found in Japan, culling start
Health officials investigate a chicken farm in Sekikawa village, northern Japan, after a highly contagious avi... Read More
On World Animal Day, a sad news: Royal Bengal tiger Palash dies
13-year-old Palash died at 3.15am today. (TOI photo) NEW DELHI: Royal Bengal tiger Palash, who had been diagnosed with kidney failure, died in Mumbai's Sanjay Gandhi National Park early on Tuesday. The tiger succumbed to his condition today, which also happens to be the World Animal Day.
"Tiger Palash passed away this morning at 3.15 am. The Royal Bengal Tiger was 13 years old and had renal issues. It had stopped eating since last Wednesday," said Dr Shailesh Pethe, veterinarian at Sanjay Gandhi national park.
Palash's death comes shortly after Ranthambore's legendary tigress 'Machhli' died in August, aged 19.
"Palash had been in a critical condition for a while after he had a fit and the doctors found that his kidneys had stopped working. A blood test was conducted on Wednesday, which revealed that his serum creatinine value shot up to 31 mg, indicating acute renal failure," said Dr Pethe.
His condition deteriorated rapidly over last weekend and he had stopped eating since the past couple of days. He had been drinking only water and passing a lot of urine.
The big cat was brought to the national park from Madhya Pradesh a decade ago when he was about three years old. The average life expectancy of a tiger is about 15 years.
Palash had fathered four tigers - Yash, Anand, Laxmi and Puja.
"Tiger Palash passed away this morning at 3.15 am. The Royal Bengal Tiger was 13 years old and had renal issues. It had stopped eating since last Wednesday," said Dr Shailesh Pethe, veterinarian at Sanjay Gandhi national park.
Palash's death comes shortly after Ranthambore's legendary tigress 'Machhli' died in August, aged 19.
"Palash had been in a critical condition for a while after he had a fit and the doctors found that his kidneys had stopped working. A blood test was conducted on Wednesday, which revealed that his serum creatinine value shot up to 31 mg, indicating acute renal failure," said Dr Pethe.
His condition deteriorated rapidly over last weekend and he had stopped eating since the past couple of days. He had been drinking only water and passing a lot of urine.
The big cat was brought to the national park from Madhya Pradesh a decade ago when he was about three years old. The average life expectancy of a tiger is about 15 years.
Palash had fathered four tigers - Yash, Anand, Laxmi and Puja.
Sharks: Feared predator in need of protection
As top predators in the oceans, sharks play a crucial role in the food chain. JOHANNESBURG: Sharks may elicit less sympathy than elephants or rhinos, but experts say the feared predators are under increasing pressure from unmanaged commercial fishing and desperately in need of further protection.
Unregulated fishing and international trade in shark products for human consumption have led to a precipitous drop in numbers.
An estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year, according to an authoritative 2013 study, an amount that conservationists say threatens the survival of many shark species.
Sharks are slow-growing and slow to reproduce, and the market for their body parts -- especially fins and gill plates -- are driving overfishing.
Shark are also hunted for their meat, skin, liver oil and cartilage, as well as being accidentally caught by industrial "longline" fishing.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference, which is under way in Johannesburg, is to vote on whether to increase protection for the silky shark and three species of thresher sharks.
The decision would put them into the CITES "appendix II", which bans all trade in parts, unless under stringent conditions.
"The demand particularly for fins, for meat and gill plates is higher than ever," warned Andy Cornish, an expert on sharks at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
"Many countries have no management whatsoever for sharks -- anybody can take whatever they want.
"Even in some countries that have regulations, they are not well enforced, and as a result, 25 percent of sharks and rays and their relatives are threatened with extinction."
Fiji, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, which rely on marine life for tourism, are leading proposals to have 13 threatened species of shark and rays given stronger CITES protection.
"Sharks are a vital ecological part of the ocean fabric and rays are keystone species, so we need to protect them," Dan Ashe, director of the US Fish and Wildlife Services, told AFP.
"Silky sharks, thresher sharks and the devil rays are being unsustainably harvested."
Fins are the most valuable part of sharks, with shark fin soup often consumed at prestigious banquets in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
"Finning" -- slicing off shark fins while they are alive and tossing them back into the water to die -- has been banned by many regional fishing bodies, but still occurs in parts of south-east Asia.
In a high-profile attempt to curb consumption, China recently outlawed fin soup at state functions.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), sales of shark and ray meat rose 40 percent in the decade to 2011.
"The global trade in shark and ray parts and products is nearing $1 billion in annual value," said Amie Brautigan, WCS's sharks and rays expert.
In 2003, basking sharks and whale sharks were the first sharks put onto appendix II, and following the last CITES meeting in 2013, a total of eight species of sharks and all manta rays were included.
Rallying behind the need for more protection is South African shark attack survivor Achmat Hassiem.
Ten years ago, Hassiem, a lifeguard, lost half his leg when a great white shark attacked him in the sea off Cape Town.
He has since become a Paralympian swimmer -- and an advocate for conservation.
"I think movies that portray sharks as man-eating monsters do a huge disservice to sharks," the 34-year-old told AFP.
"As top predators in the oceans, they play a crucial role in the food chain. Without them, there is an imbalance that funnels right down to the coral."
If the CITES shark proposals are adopted, shark catching countries will be required to regulate fishing and issue export permits to ensure sustainability in the wild.
The conference in Johannesburg, which ends on Wednesday, is sifting through 62 proposals to tighten or loosen trade restrictions on around 500 species.
Unregulated fishing and international trade in shark products for human consumption have led to a precipitous drop in numbers.
An estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year, according to an authoritative 2013 study, an amount that conservationists say threatens the survival of many shark species.
Sharks are slow-growing and slow to reproduce, and the market for their body parts -- especially fins and gill plates -- are driving overfishing.
Shark are also hunted for their meat, skin, liver oil and cartilage, as well as being accidentally caught by industrial "longline" fishing.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference, which is under way in Johannesburg, is to vote on whether to increase protection for the silky shark and three species of thresher sharks.
The decision would put them into the CITES "appendix II", which bans all trade in parts, unless under stringent conditions.
"The demand particularly for fins, for meat and gill plates is higher than ever," warned Andy Cornish, an expert on sharks at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
"Many countries have no management whatsoever for sharks -- anybody can take whatever they want.
"Even in some countries that have regulations, they are not well enforced, and as a result, 25 percent of sharks and rays and their relatives are threatened with extinction."
Fiji, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, which rely on marine life for tourism, are leading proposals to have 13 threatened species of shark and rays given stronger CITES protection.
"Sharks are a vital ecological part of the ocean fabric and rays are keystone species, so we need to protect them," Dan Ashe, director of the US Fish and Wildlife Services, told AFP.
"Silky sharks, thresher sharks and the devil rays are being unsustainably harvested."
Fins are the most valuable part of sharks, with shark fin soup often consumed at prestigious banquets in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
"Finning" -- slicing off shark fins while they are alive and tossing them back into the water to die -- has been banned by many regional fishing bodies, but still occurs in parts of south-east Asia.
In a high-profile attempt to curb consumption, China recently outlawed fin soup at state functions.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), sales of shark and ray meat rose 40 percent in the decade to 2011.
"The global trade in shark and ray parts and products is nearing $1 billion in annual value," said Amie Brautigan, WCS's sharks and rays expert.
In 2003, basking sharks and whale sharks were the first sharks put onto appendix II, and following the last CITES meeting in 2013, a total of eight species of sharks and all manta rays were included.
Rallying behind the need for more protection is South African shark attack survivor Achmat Hassiem.
Ten years ago, Hassiem, a lifeguard, lost half his leg when a great white shark attacked him in the sea off Cape Town.
He has since become a Paralympian swimmer -- and an advocate for conservation.
"I think movies that portray sharks as man-eating monsters do a huge disservice to sharks," the 34-year-old told AFP.
"As top predators in the oceans, they play a crucial role in the food chain. Without them, there is an imbalance that funnels right down to the coral."
If the CITES shark proposals are adopted, shark catching countries will be required to regulate fishing and issue export permits to ensure sustainability in the wild.
The conference in Johannesburg, which ends on Wednesday, is sifting through 62 proposals to tighten or loosen trade restrictions on around 500 species.
Hyderabad pup wins PETA's 'Cutest Indian Dog Alive' contest
Voters helped Rosco win PETA’s 2016 Cutest Indian Dog Alive contest. (Image courtesy: PETA) HYDERABAD: After hundreds of votes and careful deliberation by judges from the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, Rosco, whose guardian is Spandana Raj, beat out nine other finalists to win PETA's 5th annual 'Cutest Indian Dog Alive' contest.
The contest was created to show that the kindest thing a prospective guardian can do is to adopt an Indian dog from the streets or an animal shelter, PETA said in a statement.
The second-place winner of the contest is Nekti, whose guardian is Ananya Karmakar of Kolkata, while Petu, whose guardian is Minima Peres from Goa secured the third place.
"Rosco proves that adopting a dog from the streets or an animal shelter can fill your life with a joy and love that words can't express", says PETA CEO Poorva Joshipura.
"I found Rosco tied to a tea stall. [He] came home and has been with us for two years now. Rosco is a happy and loving dog," Spandana said.
PETA urged prospective guardians to adopt an Indian community dog from the streets or an animal shelter, rather than buying puppies from pet shops.
Breeders and pet shops often keep animals in dismal conditions, and because pedigree dogs are bred for certain exaggerated physical traits, such as long ears and drooping backs, many of them suffer from health ailments, including breathing problems, cancer, heart disease, bleeding disorders, skeletal malformations, and eye problems, the statement said.
The contest was created to show that the kindest thing a prospective guardian can do is to adopt an Indian dog from the streets or an animal shelter, PETA said in a statement.
The second-place winner of the contest is Nekti, whose guardian is Ananya Karmakar of Kolkata, while Petu, whose guardian is Minima Peres from Goa secured the third place.
"Rosco proves that adopting a dog from the streets or an animal shelter can fill your life with a joy and love that words can't express", says PETA CEO Poorva Joshipura.
"I found Rosco tied to a tea stall. [He] came home and has been with us for two years now. Rosco is a happy and loving dog," Spandana said.
PETA urged prospective guardians to adopt an Indian community dog from the streets or an animal shelter, rather than buying puppies from pet shops.
Breeders and pet shops often keep animals in dismal conditions, and because pedigree dogs are bred for certain exaggerated physical traits, such as long ears and drooping backs, many of them suffer from health ailments, including breathing problems, cancer, heart disease, bleeding disorders, skeletal malformations, and eye problems, the statement said.
Giant dinosaur footprint discovered in Mongolia desert
Representative image TOKYO: One of the biggest dinosaur footprints ever recorded has been unearthed in the Gobi Desert, researchers said on Friday, offering a fresh clue about the giant creatures that roamed the earth millions of years ago.
A joint Mongolian-Japanese expedition found the giant print, which measures 106 centimetres (42 inches) long and 77 centimetres wide.
One of several footprints discovered in the vast Mongolian desert, the huge fossil was discovered last month in a geologic layer formed between 70 million and 90 million years ago, researchers said.
It was naturally cast, as sand flowed into dents that had been left by the creature stomping on the once muddy ground.
The footprint is believed to have belonged to Titanosaur, a long-necked dinosaur, and could have been more than 30 metres long and 20 metres tall, according researchers.
"This is a very rare discovery as it's a well-preserved fossil footprint that is more than a metre long with imprints of its claws," said a statement issued by Okayama University of Science.
The Japanese university has been involved in the study with the Mongolian Academy of Science.
A joint Mongolian-Japanese expedition found the giant print, which measures 106 centimetres (42 inches) long and 77 centimetres wide.
One of several footprints discovered in the vast Mongolian desert, the huge fossil was discovered last month in a geologic layer formed between 70 million and 90 million years ago, researchers said.
It was naturally cast, as sand flowed into dents that had been left by the creature stomping on the once muddy ground.
The footprint is believed to have belonged to Titanosaur, a long-necked dinosaur, and could have been more than 30 metres long and 20 metres tall, according researchers.
"This is a very rare discovery as it's a well-preserved fossil footprint that is more than a metre long with imprints of its claws," said a statement issued by Okayama University of Science.
The Japanese university has been involved in the study with the Mongolian Academy of Science.
Ant species ready to take over world, suggests new study
Lepisiota dispatching Pheidole ant. (Pic courtesy: D Magdalena Sorger)
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