Orca mother finally abandons dead calf she carried for more than two weeks

Researchers say endangered killer whale who lives off the coast of Seattle is back to feeding and frolicking with her pod

Guardian staff and agencies

Mon 13 Aug 2018 01.32 BSTLast modified on Mon 13 Aug 2018 10.02 BST

Researchers say an endangered killer whale that carried her dead calf on her head for more than two weeks has finally abandoned the calf’s body and is back to feeding and frolicking with her pod.

The Center for Whale Research in Washington state says it watched the orca, known as J35, chase a school of salmon in Haro Strait west of San Juan Island, between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, on Saturday afternoon.

J35’s calf died soon after birth on 24 July. The mother carried the baby on her head for at least 17 days, in an image of grief that struck an emotional chord worldwide.

She finally abandoned the carcass as it decomposed.

Center for Whale Research founder Ken Balcomb said he was immensely relieved to see J35 returning to typical behavior.

Three years have passed since an orca residing in the area has birthed a surviving calf. In the past 20 years, 40 orcas have been born into the group while 72 have died. Only 75 killer whales in the endangered group, known as southern resident orcas, remain.

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Whale carcass washes up underneath busy Seattle ferry dock

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A dead gray whale floated underneath a busy commuter ferry terminal in downtown Seattle, sending a putrid odor onto the dock on Thursday and diverting some passenger ferries to another slip before it was moved to a nearby pier, an official said.

Transportation officials had wanted to move the carcass away from the ferry terminal before the busy evening rush hour.

"It's the smell," said Susan Harris, a spokeswoman with Washington State Ferries. "More than anything, it's upsetting for people to see."

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would soon move the body again to a more remote pier to perform a necropsy and determine cause of death, she said.

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Experts suggest changes for zoo’s elephants

Woodland Park Zoo could improve conditions of captivity for its three elephants by allowing them to have free contact with each other and replacing some concrete floors with sand, a panel of animal experts recommended Wednesday.

Overall, the zoo provides excellent care for its elephants, according to the 41-page report.

The six-member panel, chaired by Bryan Slinker, a zoo-board member, veterinarian and dean at Washington State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, shared its findings Wednesday evening with a 15-member task force that is examining the future of the zoo’s elephant exhibit.

The inquiry was sparked by a citizen petition to the zoo, signed by 7,500 people, as well as thousands of emails calling for an investigation after a Seattle Times two-part series, “Glamour Beasts,” which revealed that elephants are dying out in America’s accredited zoos.

The national zoo industry has claimed for decades that elephants are thriving inside America’s zoos. But The Times found that for every elephant born, on average two others die. Just 288 elephants were left inside 78 accredited U.S. zoos.

The Times reported that zoo keepers have tried to artificially inseminate one of its Asian elephants, Chai, at least 112 times, based on medical records and staff logs.

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Violent raccoon attack sends dog and his owner to the hospital

A violent raccoon attack in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood left both a dog and its owner in need of medical attention. 

Jason Campbell says he let his dog out into their fenced backyard on Tuesday night, just like he does every evening.

He heard the confrontation between his pet and an aggressive raccoon even before he saw it.

"I heard him squealing, and I heard the raccoon hissing," he said. "And I was like Alfie, Alfie, get inside!"

His terrier mix, Alfie, quickly ran inside. That's when Jason says the raccoon followed, and then turned on him.

"It kinda pushed me back into the house, so I was kicking and yelling," said Jason. "It was scary, I think the scariest thing was thinking he was going to go up the stairs."

When Jason threw his cell phone at the animal, it eventually retreated, but not before biting Jason on the leg.

As a typical protective pet owner, he took his dog to the animal hospital before seeing a doctor himself.

Jason says the doctors at Harborview Medical Center seemed very interested in his wound.

"I think they were like, whoa, it actually bit you," he said. "I think I had about ten injections last night, and I have to go back for four rounds of rabies treatments."

Alfie also suffered some bites and scratches, but both dog and owner are expected to be okay.

There are some strict rules regarding killing or trapping raccoons. Your best bet, especially in an urban setting, is to contact a pest professional to catch the raccoon for you.

Jason's advice to neighbors is to keep pets on a leash at night, even if they're inside a fenced backyard. 

He's also considering additional backyard lighting.

According to King County Animal Control, raccoons have adapted to urban and suburban life and are becoming more and more common in King County. 

Bites and rabies aren't the only concerns - raccoons' feces and urine also carry diseases that can be spread to people and pets.

Wildlife experts recommend anyone who encounters an aggressive raccoon to run away. You should also keep your pet's food inside and trash cans tightly secured, to keep them from scavenging so close to your home. 

Video

Invasion of the giant spiders – Seattle 'under attack' from creatures painted on to buildings

When seen at roof-level, they appear to be nothing more than an innocent work of art. However, it takes on a far more sinister view from the sky.

The incredible 3D paintings are the handiwork of Marlin Peterson, a self-confessed fan of all things creepy-crawly.

Peterson, who describes himself as a freelance scientific illustrator and muralist, wanted to create a large-scale version of tromp l'oeil - an art style in which 2D images appear three-dimensional when viewed from a certain angle.


He then decided to paint the massive 2,100 sq foot optical illusion of two harvestmen that appear to be perched on top of a warehouse.

Peterson used wire prototype models of harvestmen to help him develop his technique before taking his art materials to the roof and starting on a large-scale version.

The crucial component to the artwork is capturing harvestman's shadow as accurately as possible, as this dictates how realistic the end result is.

Read more and see photos: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2203165/Marlin-Peterson-Artist-creates-giant-3D-paintings-spiders-roof-Seattle-warehouse.html#ixzz26ojmfCdm

Police: Man claims leprechauns beat him up for dancing

A “bunch of leprechauns” beat up a man in Belltown on Saturday, the bruised and bloodied victim told police.

Police say they received reports about the fight around 1:55 a.m. on Bell Street near the Alaskan Way Viaduct, but when they arrived they saw numerous people running from the scene.

Police then saw a man on the ground, who was covered in blood and holding his head and screaming in pain.

When police asked the man who was involved in the fight he said, “It was a bunch of leprechauns,” that were mad because he was dancing with a girl, according to police.

He told police one of the assailants was wearing a white tank top, but could not provide any more details about the leprechauns.

A witness at the scene told police a group of men beat him up.

The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center with multiple head injuries and cuts and bruises on his face, back, knuckles and elbows.

Police were unable to find the leprechauns or anyone else involved.

http://downtownseattle.komonews.com/news/crime/759270-police-man-claims-leprechauns-beat-him-dancing

Rare Sea Creature Appears on Seattle Woman's Dock

Hey, stranger! This guy must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. CREDIT: LDA.

A Seattle resident recently got a big surprise when she discovered a strange-looking furry visitor on her property.

"She woke up and it was lying on her dock, hanging out and sleeping — just chilling," said Matthew Cleland, district supervisor in western Washington for the USDA's Wildlife Services, and the recipient of a photo of the bizarre intruder.

"I thought, 'That's an interesting-looking creature,'" Cleland told OurAmazingPlanet. "I had no idea what it was."

A quick glance through a book in his office soon revealed it was a ribbon seal, an Arctic species that spends most of its life at sea, swimming the frigid waters off Alaska and Russia.

Somehow, the seal turned up on the woman's property, about a mile from the mouth of the Duwamish River, a highly industrialized waterway that cuts through southern Seattle. In 2001, the EPA declared the last 5.5 miles (9 kilometers) of the river a Superfund site — an area contaminated with hazardous substances in need of cleanup.

The sighting was "pretty exciting," said Arctic seal researcher Peter Boveng, leader of the National Marine Mammal Laboratory's Polar Ecosystems Program. "It's really unusual."

Ribbon seals, named for the unmistakable stark white markings that ring their necks, flippers and hindquarters, typically shun dry land.

Boveng said the animals spend only a few months per year on sea ice, to molt and give birth, and have almost never been seen so far south. "So it's a surprise, but knowing the species, it's not a complete surprise to me," he said. "They're good travelers."

The ribbon seal, which Boveng identified as an adult male, "looked to be in really good shape," he said. "We don't have any way to rule out other possibilities, but I'd say it's almost certain that it swam there."

Satellite tracking studies have revealed that ribbon seals do sometimes make it as far as the north Pacific Ocean, south of the Aleutian islands, but much about the species remains mysterious. Because they spend so much of their lives in the open water, it's a challenge to track them.

"Unfortunately we don't know a lot about their numbers," Boveng said. "There's never been a reliable survey."

A conservation groups has made efforts to list ribbon seals as an endangered species because of concerns about disappearing sea ice in the Arctic. So far the federal government has declined to do so, but is continuing to review the case for listing.

The Seattle ribbon seal appears to be only the second on record to make it so far south.

In 1962, a ribbon seal showed up on a beach near Morro Bay, Calif., a town about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Los Angeles. According to contemporary reports, the seal was in good shape, but totally bald except for hair on the head, neck and flippers. It died a month later at the local aquarium.

The Seattle ribbon seal's story is unknown, but one could be forgiven for thinking it a harbinger of things to come. This week, cold winds from Alaska helped create a record winter storm in Seattle, slamming the metro area with 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of snow.

The ribbon seal hasn't been seen again since it was first spotted last week.

"It stirred up a lot of interest," Cleland said. "There are a lot of people out here looking for it."

http://news.yahoo.com/rare-sea-creature-appears-seattle-womans-dock-152011178.html

Legless in Seattle

Security scan finds live snake in backpack at Seattle courthouse

SEATTLE -- Security screeners at the King County Courthouse in Seattle got quite the surprise when when a man put his backpack through the x-ray machine last Friday.

Sgt. John Urquhart with the King County Sheriff's Office said as the bag moved through the machine, what should pop up on the monitor but a snake coiled up inside the backpack?

A live snake.

The screener told a uniformed court marshal, who asked the man if he had "a pet" in his backpack. The man said he did and he was told by the court marshal, in no uncertain terms, that no pets were allowed in the courthouse.

The man left in a huff, and, as Urquhart put it, "the courthouse rats breathed a sigh of relief... as did many of us 'snake haters' as well!'"

http://www.kboi2.com/news/offbeat/124086389.html