Wild Animal News

When most of us think of sharks we imagine something from Jaws or perhaps Claws.

But the reality is only about a dozen of the nearly 400 species of sharks are at all interested in dining on humans. Of these, Great whites, bull sharks, tiger sharks , mako sharks, and oceanic white tips are the most dangerous. Shark attacks are rare but get the headlines. All of the 300 other shark species mind their own business. Some of them are very remarkable indeed.

The Greenland Shark, recently found way out of its normal habitat, is a case in point. Research suggests that females don’t reach sexual maturity until 150 and they may live to be 500 or more years old. Even more unusual is the fact that females carry the eggs of their young in their bodies until the eggs hatch. Ovoviviporus is the term,

Great White sharks, sea horses and rattlesnakes are also ovoviviparous.

Greenland Sharks live near Greenland and they can be found across the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans from the surface down to about 7,000 feet. They are big but slow moving and normally non-threatening. One might have attacked a human in 1859, so be careful as it may still be out there. They are carnivorous and subsist on fish and sometimes animals such as horses that drown and sink.

The fact that they seem to prefer cold water makes it surprising that one was recently spotted off the coast of Belize. Belize is in the Gulf of Mexico and borders Guatemala and Mexico. The shark was reeled in when it rose to some bait while researchers were investigating Tiger shark behavior.

According to Forbes Magazine:” Greenland sharks remain somewhat of an enigma to science. What is known about them is they tend to prefer the frigid waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans, but they could be trolling the depths of the ocean all across the world. There is just so much scientists don’t know about them yet. ”

There remains some question about what kind of shark rose to the bait. The betting is on a Greenland shark. The most that is certain is that it is in the same family as the Greenland and it was big it probably is a Greenland. But it is possible it is a hybrid with a Pacific sleeper shark. Research findings were published in the journal Marine Biology.

Scientists might have made another surprising discovery. Yesterday we noted that modern research suggests plesiosaurs lived in fresh water. That was not believed previously. It may have implications regarding the Loch Ness Monster. Which has moved up the scale of plausibility.

Feral hogs are one animal not in short supply. They are a problem across much of the Southern United States and they are a big problem in Italy.

The exact number of hogs in Italy is unknown, but one estimate suggests a staggering 23,000 may be infesting the streets of Rome alone.

The hogs root for trash and leftover food and seem to find enough. Pigs are prolific breeders. Domestic sows can deliver two litters year of 10 or more piglets. Their wild sisters also deliver two litters annually, each with up to six youngsters. There is a great amount of variation in litter size.. however. Feral females can deliver up to 14 piglets and they can breed as early as 4 months of age, although most females start breeding some months later. They also may breed more than twice.

If the sight of pigs rooting on their streets doesn’t disturb Romans there have been some attacks on humans. Now veterinarians have found at least three hog carcasses with African Swine Fever (ASF). ASF cannot be transmitted to humans and is not a food safety issue, It is a highly contagious virus that impacts pigs and other livestock. It has been found in much of the world. Since there is no treatment or cure the only solution known is to kill impacted populations. The disease has not been found in the United States.

Italians are taking the basic measures by controlling trash and otherwise discouraging the pigs from foraging. But they are considering two other more drastic measures.

The first, as mentioned, is to kill the pigs en masse until they are reduced to tolerable numbers.

The second is to call out the wolves. In the United States the list of predators that eat feral hogs is longer than might be expected. But most of the predators only eat hogs occasionally and mostly they contribute to the 30 percent mortality rate among piglets.

Wolves in Europe may be a different matter. Italian wolves were, like those in the United States, nearly annihilated. They are, however, making a comeback and 2,000 are thought to live in the country today. Pig remains are turning up in wolf droppings near Rome. There is some evidence wolves in Italy prefer feral pigs over other prey.

Calling out the wolves may not prove popular if Italians, who until recently slaughtered wolves, continue to fear them. They are opportunists and will not eat pigs on command. In the United States the slow reintroduction of wolves has met with opposition and it is hard to think Italy will be different.

Although much of America’s wildlife is under threat, some notable exceptions exist, and one of these is the black bear population of Massachusetts.

Estimated at around 100 in the 1970’s, the population today is probably closer to 5,000 according to biologists quoted in the Boston Herald Those wildlife officials said bears are even being spotted in Concord, just under 20 miles from Boston.

Residents in densely populated suburbs are now reacting to the same antics residents of Southern California mountain areas face. Bears in backyards, wandering around neighborhoods and generally acting like they own the place.

The wildlife officials suggest that residents accept the fact that they do have ownership rights. We have to change our habits because they won’t change theirs. Changes in habits will include securing garbage and not leaving pet food outside to make your backyard less attractive.

According to the National Park Service (NPS) there are important things to do if you run into a bear. The most important include. talking to show you are human and not prey,. Standing your ground and slowly waving your arms and staying calm are also important. Do not run but leave the area, moving sideways if possible. You are less likely to trip and can watch the bear. The NPS says black bears can reach about 500 pounds. They eat almost anything and can run, swim and climb trees.

American black bears are one of eight types of bears. They are found in North America and range from Alaska and Canada into Mexico. An estimated 800,000 are believed to roam this range. They are luckier than some of their cousins, such as Sun Bears, which have frequently wound up in the bear bile trade,

It started as a study of the diet of red foxes living in Scottish pine forests, but researchers discovered something unexpected that may have an impact on many forms of wildlife.

According to the BBC, the research discovered that dog poop was as much as the number two source of nutrients in these animals diet. A whopping 40% of the content of the fox poop was from dog poop.

What to make of it?

Researchers at first thought that it was an error because dog poop and fox poop can be pretty similar. But they ruled that out. It may be that the foxes are using poop as a go to when food is scarce as it is nutritious and it is easier to eat than a prey animal.

The study now raises other questions that investigators will start to answer. First, it has been known for a while that many animals eat their own poop. Rabbits are well known for this. They eat huge volumes of low-nutrient food and often consume their waste to redigest it.

This is the first time, however, when wild animals have been observed eating the droppings of another animal. It raises questions about how common the practice is. Previously nutrition studies lacked sufficient capability to test fecal DNA. The ability to test decal DNA may lead to surprises if it is found this practice is more common in the wild than realized.

The researchers are worried that dependence on eating feces may have a negative impact on foxes in the long run. It may increase human-fox interactions as they move closer to populated areas in search of easy food. Dog feces are also potentially harmful and may lead to the transmission of bacteria and disease to and from foxes and dogs and their owners. Although dog poop is compostable it is not safe for use on food crops. Although it is rich in nitrogen, a prime ingredient in protein, it also can contain long-lasting worms and other parasites. Dog poop has to be subjected to high heat over a long time to render it neutral. That said, it can be composted for garden use on ornamental plants.

The researchers asked dog owners to be certain they pick up the dog feces. Even if it is “good” for some animals the smell, risk of disease transmission and other negatives mean responsible owners need to collect the waste and dispose of it.

The good news about red foxes is that they are for the most part rather abundant, Red foxes inhabit most of the northern hemisphere. They weigh in at up to 24 pounds. Their diet is similar to a coyote but they tend to prey on smaller animals such as mice and rats. They also eat insects, fruit, birds and anything they can consume out of bodies of water. Internationally there are 23 varieties of fox, some of them quite rare.

The study was a collaboration between scientists at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen, the University of Grenoble Alps in France, Forestry and Land Scotland and Cairngorms Connect and has been published in the Ecology and Evolution journal. Cairngorms Connect is a project of Scottish landowners to preserve and protect the Scottish environment.

This blog has been reporting frequently on the problems faced by cougars in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

In those areas the big cats face problems with human contact and inbreeding. Both counties have cougar populations but the areas are fragmented and that is leading to inbreeding and traffic collisions.

Statewide most of the resident cougars, estimated to be as many as 6,000, are under the purview of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Others, specifically those in the Santa Monica Mountains, are part of a 20-year-old study by the National Park Service.. (NPS).

NPS has overseen many of the best-known cougars, including P-22. He is the famous Griffith Park cougar. He was 11 years-old last year and still healthy but he is in the upper age bracket for cougars. More than 100 cougars have been studied in the project, but quite a number have died over the years in car accidents or from conflict caused by overcrowding.

In California, the CDFW ensures that viable cougar populations survive anywhere in the state where suitable conditions exist. Most of the state can support cougars, and maintaining populations is a complex conservation challenge. Since 2014 a conservation program has been in effect. It coordinates scientific research and population monitoring. It recognizes that big game management, species management plans and habitat conservation and protection efforts need to be coordinated. The goals are reducing inbreeding, regulating human-cougar interactions and better understanding cougar relations with prey animals.

According to the CDFW website “The Department is pursuing many actions toward managing mountain lions, including coordination with federal, state, and non- governmental organization partners on projects to improve habitat connectivity, and to increase public outreach and education.”