In The News

[ShadowPred]

If the shark was still there, the beach would have been closed. Not that that tiny little thing was a threat to anyone.

But in the moment that this happened, I don't think this man can be blamed for harassment for thinking that this Shark could cause harm, and moving it out of the way.

[Cvalda]

Even still, it's a ridiculous news story. "Man nudges sick, non-threatening shark, makes it sound like he perilously set out to single-handedly save the world's children." lulz. It's just cuz he's British and it's a British tabloid and sharks = sensationalism.

[ShadowPred]

It's just cuz he's British and it's a British tabloid and sharks = sensationalism.

Only if you look at it that way.

[SiL]

This took place in Australia. We're well educated on sharks. We know to stay out of the water when they're around.

If he had got his leg taken off everybody would've been calling him an idiot, and rightly so.

[Xenodog]

Also suitable for the 'I don't want to live on this planet anymore' thread;

Rare pygmy elephants 'poisoned' in Borneo


A baby elephant was found next to the body of its dead mother

Ten endangered pygmy elephants have been found dead in a reserve in Malaysia, with officials saying they may have been poisoned.

The animals, which had all suffered internal bleeding, were found near each other over the space of three weeks.

In one instance, a three-month-old calf was found alongside the body of its mother, apparently trying to wake her.

Sabah Environmental Minister Masidi Manjun said it was "a sad day for conservation and Sabah".

Sen Nathan, head veterinarian at the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve in Malaysia's Sabah state on the island of Borneo, said the elephants were all thought to be part of the same family group, and were aged between four and 20.

The bodies of four were found last week but then officials found another four animals dead or dying two days later.

Laurentius Ambu, Sabah's wildlife department director, said two "highly decomposed elephant carcasses" had been found earlier in the year.

"We believe that all the deaths of these elephants are related," he said.

The animals still had their tusks, indicating that they had not been killed by poachers, and none had gunshot wounds.



Samples have been sent for testing, but Mr Nathan said the damage evident in the elephants' digestive systems had led officials to "highly suspect" acute poisoning. Tests will confirm whether they could have been deliberately poisoned.

"It was actually a very sad sight to see all those dead elephants, especially one of the dead females who had a very young calf of about three months old. The calf was trying to wake the dead mother up," he said.

The WWF estimates that there are fewer than 1,500 Borneo pygmy elephants in the wild, most of them in Sabah state.

They are the smallest elephant subspecies, with babyish faces, long tails and straight tusks. They are threatened by logging, hunting and increasing contact with humans.

Mr Masidi said the death of "these majestic and severely endangered Bornean elephants is a great loss to the state".

"If indeed these poor elephants were maliciously poisoned, I would personally make sure that the culprits would be brought to justice and pay for their crime," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21241380

[whiterabbit]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/03/justice/texas-sniper-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[ShadowPred]

Also suitable for the 'I don't want to live on this planet anymore' thread;

Rare pygmy elephants 'poisoned' in Borneo

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65564000/jpg/_65564281_65563768.jpg
A baby elephant was found next to the body of its dead mother

Ten endangered pygmy elephants have been found dead in a reserve in Malaysia, with officials saying they may have been poisoned.

The animals, which had all suffered internal bleeding, were found near each other over the space of three weeks.

In one instance, a three-month-old calf was found alongside the body of its mother, apparently trying to wake her.

Sabah Environmental Minister Masidi Manjun said it was "a sad day for conservation and Sabah".

Sen Nathan, head veterinarian at the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve in Malaysia's Sabah state on the island of Borneo, said the elephants were all thought to be part of the same family group, and were aged between four and 20.

The bodies of four were found last week but then officials found another four animals dead or dying two days later.

Laurentius Ambu, Sabah's wildlife department director, said two "highly decomposed elephant carcasses" had been found earlier in the year.

"We believe that all the deaths of these elephants are related," he said.

The animals still had their tusks, indicating that they had not been killed by poachers, and none had gunshot wounds.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65564000/jpg/_65564549_6051d383-acb9-40d9-adef-72114b993a71.jpg

Samples have been sent for testing, but Mr Nathan said the damage evident in the elephants' digestive systems had led officials to "highly suspect" acute poisoning. Tests will confirm whether they could have been deliberately poisoned.

"It was actually a very sad sight to see all those dead elephants, especially one of the dead females who had a very young calf of about three months old. The calf was trying to wake the dead mother up," he said.

The WWF estimates that there are fewer than 1,500 Borneo pygmy elephants in the wild, most of them in Sabah state.

They are the smallest elephant subspecies, with babyish faces, long tails and straight tusks. They are threatened by logging, hunting and increasing contact with humans.

Mr Masidi said the death of "these majestic and severely endangered Bornean elephants is a great loss to the state".

"If indeed these poor elephants were maliciously poisoned, I would personally make sure that the culprits would be brought to justice and pay for their crime," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21241380

That is f**king terrible. It's sad that apparently it looks like they've been poisoned on purpose, but it's scarier to think that it wasn't on purpose and who the hell knows what it could actually be.

[Vertigo]

I was watching a documentary about jaguars the other day, and they're constantly being poisoned by local farmers for the handful of livestock they take. Elephants can cause lots of damage to crops, so it wouldn't surprise me at all to hear it was deliberate.
I don't know about you, but I think an eye-for-an-eye approach to prosecution would be appropriate...

I'm not a big fan of farmers, can you tell?

[Nightlord]

That is sad and all, especially the calf trying to wake his mom, but it's all well and good for us to say these people are bad for killing them (if they did) but elephants can cause lots of damage to these peoples livelyhood so it's not hard to see why they don't particularly like elephants.

Same deal with things like tigers or lions, everybody wants to conserve them but the people that actually have to live alongside them obviously don't see it that way.

[DoomRulz]

That is sad and all, especially the calf trying to wake his mom, but it's all well and good for us to say these people are bad for killing them (if they did) but elephants can cause lots of damage to these peoples livelyhood so it's not hard to see why they don't particularly like elephants.

The elephants were there first and the humans cause environmental destruction.

f**k the humans, sorry to say.

[Rick Grimes]

That is sad and all, especially the calf trying to wake his mom, but it's all well and good for us to say these people are bad for killing them (if they did) but elephants can cause lots of damage to these peoples livelyhood so it's not hard to see why they don't particularly like elephants.

The elephants were there first and the humans cause environmental destruction.

f**k the humans, sorry to say.

Exactly. How would you feel if someone came in to your environment and started ruining it? I'd be pissed, it's no wonder why Elephants are mad at the people.

[Vertigo]

That is sad and all, especially the calf trying to wake his mom, but it's all well and good for us to say these people are bad for killing them (if they did) but elephants can cause lots of damage to these peoples livelyhood so it's not hard to see why they don't particularly like elephants.

Same deal with things like tigers or lions, everybody wants to conserve them but the people that actually have to live alongside them obviously don't see it that way.

All it takes to stop an elephant is a moderately deep ditch. There's just no excuse.

I do agree that it's a different story when you're talking about something which is actually preying on people, though. I'm shocked the residents of the Sundarbans put up with as much as they do from tigers, though I suppose anyone living an earthy existence in India has a lot more to worry about from snakes.

The trouble with apex predators like lions and tigers is that they're evolved to lock down and capitalise on the best territory - fertile soil, resulting in better vegetation and more herbivores to snack on. This is also prime land for humans, with the result that most of these animals' natural range has been destroyed, or is separated by insurmountable gulfs (resulting in the crippling inbreeding which is currently annihilating lion populations), or in the case of the maneater problem, our territories are alongside each other. Our agricultural requirements would have to change for there to be resolution to the issue, and I expect we'll see more extinctions before that happens.

[Xenodog]

That is sad and all, especially the calf trying to wake his mom, but it's all well and good for us to say these people are bad for killing them (if they did) but elephants can cause lots of damage to these peoples livelyhood so it's not hard to see why they don't particularly like elephants.

Same deal with things like tigers or lions, everybody wants to conserve them but the people that actually have to live alongside them obviously don't see it that way.

All it takes to stop an elephant is a moderately deep ditch. There's just no excuse.

I do agree that it's a different story when you're talking about something which is actually preying on people, though. I'm shocked the residents of the Sundarbans put up with as much as they do from tigers, though I suppose anyone living an earthy existence in India has a lot more to worry about from snakes.

The trouble with apex predators like lions and tigers is that they're evolved to lock down and capitalise on the best territory - fertile soil, resulting in better vegetation and more herbivores to snack on. This is also prime land for humans, with the result that most of these animals' natural range has been destroyed, or is separated by insurmountable gulfs (resulting in the crippling inbreeding which is currently annihilating lion populations), or in the case of the maneater problem, our territories are alongside each other. Our agricultural requirements would have to change for there to be resolution to the issue, and I expect we'll see more extinctions before that happens.

Man-eaters are primarily sick, old or injured predators. Most of India's famous ones were wounded by porcupine quills to the limbs. Some cases though, it is due to a over-abundance of human to eat, like one Leopard hunted by Corbett in the Indian mountains that had grown accustomed to human meat after a Cholera epidemic.

Livestock taking is different, and is where there is no natural prey left for them to eat.

[DoomRulz]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/NJ-School-Implements-No-Cursing-Rule-But-Only-for-Girls-189514501.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_300361620085963_1332292_300800480042077#f1a7e6caa78cb8c

This is just plain funny. I think this is their attempt at living in Victorian times or something.

[Nightlord]

That is sad and all, especially the calf trying to wake his mom, but it's all well and good for us to say these people are bad for killing them (if they did) but elephants can cause lots of damage to these peoples livelyhood so it's not hard to see why they don't particularly like elephants.

The elephants were there first and the humans cause environmental destruction.

f**k the humans, sorry to say.

Exactly. How would you feel if someone came in to your environment and started ruining it? I'd be pissed, it's no wonder why Elephants are mad at the people.

If there's one thing we are exceptionally good at, it's adapting to nearly every environment we encounter, and everywhere we've gone we've disrupted natural habitats and caused extinctions.
So ya see it doesn't work that way guys, we originated in Africa right, so following this mentality we should all pack up and feck off back there.

That is sad and all, especially the calf trying to wake his mom, but it's all well and good for us to say these people are bad for killing them (if they did) but elephants can cause lots of damage to these peoples livelyhood so it's not hard to see why they don't particularly like elephants.

Same deal with things like tigers or lions, everybody wants to conserve them but the people that actually have to live alongside them obviously don't see it that way.

All it takes to stop an elephant is a moderately deep ditch. There's just no excuse.

I do agree that it's a different story when you're talking about something which is actually preying on people, though. I'm shocked the residents of the Sundarbans put up with as much as they do from tigers, though I suppose anyone living an earthy existence in India has a lot more to worry about from snakes.

The trouble with apex predators like lions and tigers is that they're evolved to lock down and capitalise on the best territory - fertile soil, resulting in better vegetation and more herbivores to snack on. This is also prime land for humans, with the result that most of these animals' natural range has been destroyed, or is separated by insurmountable gulfs (resulting in the crippling inbreeding which is currently annihilating lion populations), or in the case of the maneater problem, our territories are alongside each other. Our agricultural requirements would have to change for there to be resolution to the issue, and I expect we'll see more extinctions before that happens.

You're right about the ditches, it's unfortunate that they weren't used in favour of poison, if farmers did do this.

The problem with changing agriculture in these countries is how underdeveloped they are, unless that changes, like you said we'll see extinctions occur.