Tons of dead fish wash up in Rio de Janeiro lagoon

December 21, 2018

Dead fish float in the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Dec. 21, 2018. About 21 tons of fish died in the Rio de Janeiro lagoon, while city authorities and biologists argue about the cause of the die-off. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents of a high-end neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro woke up to the unpleasant smell of 13 tons of rotting dead fish floating in the city's Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon.

Biologists believe that the extreme heat caused by El Nino killed the fish overnight and caused them to wash ashore Friday.

The lagoon played host to several events during the 2016 Olympic games and is a tourist attraction.

Rio's environment ministry released a statement saying that it has been on alert since Thursday morning when oxygen levels in the body of water began to fall sharply.

Biologist and ecosystem specialist Mario Moscatelli says that he inspects the lagoon every year and is convinced that climate change is causing temperature increases.

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Black mouse-eared bat goes green: First case of a fruit-eating bat in the largest genus

Date: November 10, 2015

Source: Pensoft Publishers

Out of more than 110 allegedly well-studied mouse-eared bat species, there turns out to be one that has been keeping its diet a mystery. Belonging to the largest group of bats, known to be feeding on insects exclusively, the widely common Black mouse-eared bat (Myotis nigricans) is found to also seek fruits. The Brazilian team of researchers, led by biologist Roberto Leonan Morim Novaes, Fiocruz, conducted their work in the Rio de Janeiro's reserve Reserva Ecologica de Guapiacu (REGUA), a 5,500 ha remnant of Atlantic Forest, and have their findings and discussion published in the open-access Biodiversity Data Journal.

The unexpected first documentation of fruit consumption in this group of bats happened when the researchers captured a number of bats with mist-nets and kept them alone in cotton bags for about thirty minutes before handling for identification and biometry. Thus, they managed to retrieve feces of the specimens, which showed to contain small seeds. Later, in an experiment, part of the seeds even grew into seedlings. As a result, the scientists report the first fruit consumption within the mouse-eared bat genus, called Myotis, as well as the whole subfamily Myotinae. Their finding might also mean that the examined species plays the ecological role of a seed disperser.

Although the finding is based on a single specimen of Black mouse-eared bat, the researchers reject the possibility of the cotton bags having been previously contaminated with feces of other animals. Dismissed is also the chance of the seeds having been consumed on accident while predation, since the Black mouse-eared bat hunts insects during flight.

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Howler monkeys back in Rio's Tijuca park after 100 years

By Paula Adamo IdoetaBBC Brasil

26 September 2015 

Just after their cage is opened, four hesitant howler monkeys take their first steps inside Tijuca National Park, in the heart of Rio de Janeiro.

Soon they are feeling confident enough to climb trees and eat fruit.

This species had been absent from Tijuca National Park for about 100 years, according to estimates from researchers.

This forest is famous for being the home of Rio's famous Christ the Redeemer statue and also as one of the world's largest urban forests.

However, due to poaching and deforestation, many of the animals from the park have disappeared, making it an "empty forest".

Now scientists want to change that.

"Tijuca is a starting point for techniques in reintroducing fauna to forests," says Fernando Fernandez, a researcher from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), which runs the project with funding from the private foundation Grupo Boticario.

Some of these animals are important for spreading seeds, helping big trees reproduce.

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Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever

24 September 2014 Last updated at 22:38

Brazilian researchers in Rio de Janeiro have released thousands of mosquitoes infected with bacteria that suppress dengue fever.

The hope is they will multiply, breed and become the majority of mosquitoes, thus reducing cases of the disease.

The initiative is part of a programme also taking place in Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The intracellular bacteria, Wolbachia, being introduced cannot be transmitted to humans.

The programme started in 2012 says Luciano Moreira of the Brazilian research institute Fiocruz, who is leading the project in Brazil .

"Our teams performed weekly visits to the four neighbourhoods in Rio being targeted. Mosquitoes were analysed after collection in special traps.

"Transparency and proper information for the households is a priority. "

Ten thousand mosquitoes will be released each month for four months with the first release in Tubiacanga, in the north of Rio.

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Rio Carnival Dogs Show Their Colors (PHOTOS)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — About 100 dogs got their own day at a pre-Carnival bash in Rio de Janeiro.

A 10-man brass band and a singer belting out Rio's anthem song "Cidade Maravilhosa" (Marvelous City) kicked off the fest as dog owners gathered to party with pooches on Copacabana beach Sunday.

Fabricio Gonsalves was wearing the same colorful Hawaiian lei as his black and white French bulldog, Belinha. "Dogs love Carnival, too!" was his explanation for the event.

Several canines wore tiny tutus, a few were dolled up like Snow White and one mutt had a forehead full of Indian bindis. A lone cat rode safely atop his owner's shoulders, wearing blue angel wings.

Rio has hundreds of "bloco" street parties in the weeks leading up to Carnival, which this year opens Feb. 28.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/16/dogs-at-rio-carnival_n_4800705.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird%20News

Having a bad day? Woman hospitalised after porcupine embeds 200 spikes in her head

How unlucky can you get?

A Brazilian woman was hospitalised this week after a spiky porcupine fell from the sky and landed on her head.

Housewife Sandra Nabucco was left in agony after the clumsy rodent embedded more than 200 of its sharp quills in her scalp.

The porcupine apparently dropped from a telephone wire while the 52-year-old walked her dog in Gávea, an affluent neighbourhood south of Rio de Janeiro.

‘It was a huge shock. I felt a thud on my head and then felt spines with my hands. The pain was enormous,’ she told Brazlian TV network Globo.

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Croc And Awe: Caimans Swarm On Olympic Site

Thousands of alligator-like creatures have set up home near some of the main 2016 Olympic Games sites in Rio de Janeiro.

Conservationists say up to 6,000 Caimans are now living in a large lagoon system in the densely-populated neighbourhoods west of the city centre.

The reptiles are not considered to be a threat to humans and are both smaller and less aggressive than alligators or crocodiles.

Biologist Ricardo Freitas tracks the survival of the creatures through his work as founder of the Caiman Institute.

He said pollution in the lagoon system increased the temperature of the water, attracting the caimans.

"High temperature is a positive factor for the animal. A big problem would be the lack of food, but people feed them so you have food, high temperature and the caimans, especially the larger ones start to concentrate in these places and dominate the territory," he said.

The caimans gather in a canal in the affluent Recreio dos Bandeirantes suburb which is sandwiched between two busy roads.

It is close to a key 2016 Olympic Games site, including where the Olympic village will be located.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/croc_and_awe_caimans_swarm_on_olympic_site