Latest news with #wildlife
New York Times
19 minutes ago
- New York Times
Stalking the Elusive Hellbender
Beneath the sun-dappled surface of burbling Appalachian rivers, giants lurk. They hide on the bottom, their mottled skin — a swirl of orange, brown and gray — blending with the sand and pebbles. They peer out with beady eyes from beneath boulders, waiting to ambush crayfish and other prey. But they're not monsters. They're salamanders. Specifically, Eastern hellbenders, the largest ones in North America. These giants sometimes grow more than two feet long yet manage to remain elusive even in shallow waters. Their range extends from New York south to northern Alabama, with another population in the Missouri Ozarks. Some believe that the name hellbender came from European settlers who thought the creature seemed like something from hell that was bent on returning. Others affectionately call the creatures 'mud devils' or 'Allegheny alligators.' Whatever the nickname, hellbenders have become a cultural symbol, lending their likeness to beer, cafes, baseball teams, a 100-mile ultramarathon-style race and at least one burrito shop. But seeing one in the wild takes persistence, care and luck. In early June, I traveled to the mountains of western North Carolina to give it my best shot. Out in the Current Kevin Merrill, who, with his wife, owns Oxbow River Snorkeling, swerved his pickup truck onto an unassuming pullout along the North Fork of the French Broad River, not far from Asheville, N.C., and began pulling gear out of the back: five-millimeter wet suits, snorkels and masks, special gloves and hoods, and anti-fog liquid for the lenses. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBC
19 minutes ago
- General
- CBC
Meet 'Nana's boys': 3 bald eagles who live on N.S. woman's roof
Three bald eagles have made a comfortable home on one Nova Scotia woman's property. Our eagle-eyed reporter Meig Campbell has the story.
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Health
- Japan Times
Bear attacks woman outside disabled home in Akita
A woman was sent to hospital unconscious after an apparent bear attack outside a facility for people with disabilities, police said on Friday. More and more wild bears have been spotted in residential areas in Japan in recent years, resulting in a rising number of attacks and deaths. "A 73-year-old woman was found lying down with head injuries at the facility entrance on Thursday night," a local police spokesman in Akita Prefecture said. Emergency doctors told police they believed it was a bear attack based on the injuries the woman suffered, the spokesman said. Security camera footage outside the facility showed a bear-like animal attacking the woman when she was walking with what appeared to be a garbage bag, he added. "She was unable to talk due to injuries and was unconscious when sent to hospital." According to government data, bears attacked 85 people in the year ending March 2025, with three people killed. In the previous year, there were 219 attacks and six deaths. Akita region decided last week to extend its bear alert until September, citing "frequent bear sightings and high risk of encountering a bear." "Please take basic countermeasures and exercise the highest level of caution," it warned residents. Last month, a bear sighting prompted organizers of a golf tournament to cancel the opening day. And in June, a bear roaming the runway forced Yamagata airport to cancel flights. Climate change affecting food sources and hibernation times, along with depopulation caused by an aging society, are causing bears to venture into towns more frequently, scientists say.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Anger after trophy hunter kills lion that was part of a research project
Wildlife groups have condemned the killing of a collared lion, part of a research project in Zimbabwe, by a trophy hunter. The incident echoes the infamous case of Cecil the lion, whose death at the hands of an American tourist in the same country a decade ago sparked international outrage. The latest lion, known as Blondie, was involved in an Oxford University study and wore a research collar sponsored by Africa Geographic, a safari company. Africa Geographic stated that Blondie was killed by a hunter in June close to the country's flagship Hwange National Park. The lion was reportedly lured out of a protected area and into a nearby hunting zone with the use of bait. After Blondie's killing became a new rallying cry for those opposed to hunting, a spokesperson for Zimbabwe's National Parks told The Associated Press on Thursday that the hunt was legal and the hunter had the necessary permits. Zimbabwe allows up to 100 lions to be hunted a year. Trophy hunters, who are usually foreign tourists, pay tens of thousands of dollars to kill a lion and take the head or skin as a trophy. Africa Geographic CEO Simon Espley said Blondie's killing made 'a mockery of the ethics' trophy hunters claim to prescribe to because he wore a clearly visible research collar and was a breeding male in his prime. Hunters say they only target ageing, non-breeding lions. "That Blondie's prominent collar did not prevent him from being offered to a hunting client confirms the stark reality that no lion is safe from trophy hunting guns,' Espley said. Hunting lions is fiercely divisive, even among conservationists. Some say if it is well managed it raises money that can be put back into conservation. Others want killing wildlife for sport to be banned outright. Some countries in Africa like Kenya have commercial hunting bans, others like Zimbabwe and South Africa allow it. Botswana lifted a ban on hunting six years ago. Tinashe Farawo, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe parks agency, said money from hunting is crucial to support the southern African nation's underfunded conservation efforts. He defended the hunt and said they often happen at night, meaning the collar on Blondie may not have been visible. He said he had no information on Blondie being lured out of the park with bait — which is usually a dead animal — but there 'is nothing unethical or illegal about that for anyone who knows how lions are hunted. This is how people hunt.' 'Our rangers were present. All paperwork was in order. Collars are for research purposes, but they don't make the animal immune to hunting," Farawo said. He declined to name the hunter. Cecil's killing in 2015 unleashed furious anger against Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter who lured the lion out of the same national park in Zimbabwe and shot him with a bow before tracking him for hours and finally killing him. Cecil, whose head and skin were cut off and taken for trophies, was also involved in a research project by Oxford University. Zimbabwe authorities initially said they would seek to extradite Palmer over the hunt, although that didn't happen, while a hunting guide who helped him was arrested, only for charges to be dropped. Zimbabwe's national parks agency says the country makes about $20 million a year from trophy hunting, with a single hunter spending an average of $100,000 per hunt — which includes accommodation and hiring vehicles and local trackers. Zimbabwe is home to approximately 1,500 wild lions, with around one-third of them living in the vast Hwange National Park. Across Africa, the wild lion population is estimated at around 20,000. However, their numbers are decreasing due to habitat loss and human conflict. Lions, one of Africa's most iconic species, are currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
NHK
2 hours ago
- NHK
Wild bear encounters continue in Japan
An apparent bear attack has left a 73-year-old woman injured in the head and face in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The woman was found collapsed and bleeding outside a group home for people with disabilities in Kitaakita City late on Thursday. She is a resident of the facility. Police say the woman was unconscious when she was taken to hospital. They believe she was attacked by a bear, judging from her injuries. A security camera at the group home reportedly shows the woman walking outside the entrance, before being attacked head-on by a meter-long animal, apparently a bear. In Fukushima City, a newspaper delivery man on a motorcycle collided with a bear that jumped out of the roadside early on Friday. The motorcycle was toppled by the impact, and the man in his 30s suffered scratches to his arms and knees. Police say the bear was about one-meter long, and ran into the woods after the collision. The road runs along a river in a farming district. Since June, there has been a series of wild bear sighting in Fukushima City, even near urban areas.
