Animal Attacks

Subterms

    Latest story

    125 Shares149 Views

    Dolphin Attacks Spoil Summer Along a Stretch of Japanese Beaches

    by

    Nearly 50 beachgoers have been attacked in the past three years. Some marine experts suspect it may be the work of a single “lonely” dolphin.At the beaches along an idyllic coastal stretch of central Japan, lifeguards scan the water, poised to call swimmers back to shore at the hint of a fin. Sharp teeth bare from posters warning beachgoers to be careful because, for the third year running, there is danger in the water.No, it’s not sharks. It’s dolphins. Possibly just a single lonely, sexually frustrated dolphin.In Wakasa Bay, about 200 miles west of Tokyo, dolphin attacks have injured at least 47 people since 2022. Many of them suffered minor bites on their hands, but a few were rushed to hospitals with broken bones or wounds that needed stitches.In 2022, 21 people reported injuries from dolphin attacks along a stretch of beaches near the town of Echizen, according to the police in Fukui Prefecture. Most were reported in what one Japanese media outlet called the “dolphin threat summer.” One man told local media that he was swimming close to the shore when a dolphin bit his arm and tried to force itself on top of him, almost pushing him underwater.The next year, the attacks were concentrated on beaches down the coast near the town of Mihama. In 2023, 10 people were injured, a Fukui police spokesman said. In one case, a man was left with broken ribs.Since July 21 this year, 16 people have been injured in dolphin attacks, mainly off the beaches near Mihama and the nearby Tsuruga city, according to local officials. Two of them had serious hand injuries that needed dozens of stitches.A poster that local authorities have put up at some beaches to warn of dolphin attacks.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 150 Shares179 Views

      in Elections

      A Tourist From New Mexico Is Killed by an Elephant in Zambia

      by

      The incident came months after another tourist was killed in Zambia when an elephant charged her group. One wildlife expert said the attacks were most likely “freak accidents.”A tourist from New Mexico was killed in Zambia when an elephant charged her, according to the police commissioner who investigated the incident. She is the second tourist to be fatally attacked by an elephant in the southern African country this year.The woman who was killed, Juliana G. Letourneau, 64, of Albuquerque, had just visited Victoria Falls, a 350-foot waterfall that straddles the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and was heading back to her hotel on Wednesday when the group that she was traveling with encountered a herd of elephants on the road.She and others stepped out of their vehicle to observe the animals, said Auxensio Daka, the police commissioner for the southern province of Zambia, in a telephone interview on Saturday.“They stopped to watch the elephants, and unfortunately one of them charged towards them as they were standing there watching,” Mr. Daka said.Mr. Daka said that Ms. Letourneau was taken to a clinic in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park near Livingstone, Zambia, where she was declared dead on arrival. Her injuries included deep wounds on the right shoulder blade and forehead, a fractured left ankle and a slightly depressed chest, according to a police statement.No other injuries were reported from the encounter with the elephant.Ms. Letourneau’s brother said on Saturday that he had no details about the incident, and declined to be interviewed. Other relatives could not be reached.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      Veteran Describes Grizzly Bear Attack as ‘Most Violent’ Experience Ever

      by

      Shayne Patrick Burke, a disabled veteran in the Army Reserve, said the attack was “the most violent” thing he had experienced, including being shot at.Shayne Patrick Burke was on a short hike this month to photograph owls in the backcountry of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming when he spotted a grizzly bear cub about 50 to 70 yards in front of him.Instantly, Mr. Burke knew that the cub’s presence signaled trouble, he wrote on Instagram.Moments later, Mr. Burke, 35, was attacked by the cub’s mother.He turned his back, got on his stomach and locked his hands behind his neck, following advice he had read about grizzly bear attacks, he said.During the attack, on May 19, the bear repeatedly bit Mr. Burke and picked him up and slammed him to the ground, before, he wrote, one of his screams “unfortunately, but fortunately, turned her attention to my head.”It was a terrifying moment, but it ultimately saved his life.The bear bit at Mr. Burke’s neck, but his hands and arms were still interlocked behind it and, crucially, he had grabbed a can of bear spray when he saw the cub.“I never let go of the bear spray can,” he wrote. “As she bit my hands in the back of my neck she simultaneously bit the bear spray can and it exploded in her mouth.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      Mountain Lion Attack Leaves Man Dead and Brother Injured in California

      by

      Since 1890, there have been fewer than 50 verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California, and of those, only six have been fatal, officials said.In a rare attack against humans, a mountain lion killed a man and injured his brother while the men were in a remote area of Northern California on Saturday, the authorities said.The brothers, 18 and 21, were in Georgetown, Calif., when the mountain lion attacked, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.At about 1:13 p.m. on Saturday, the younger brother called 911 to report that the two had been attacked in Georgetown, about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, and that he had been separated from his brother.The caller told the authorities that he had “suffered traumatic injuries to his face” during the attack, according to the statement.Deputies and paramedics arrived and helped the younger brother. Deputies then began searching and found the mountain lion crouched next to the older brother, officials said.“The mountain lion was between the deputies and the subject on the ground,” the sheriff’s office said.Deputies fired shots to scare off the animal so they could help the older brother. “Unfortunately, the male subject was deceased,” the statement said.The victims’ names were not released. The surviving brother has undergone multiple surgeries for his injuries and was expected to make a full recovery, according to Sgt. Kyle Parker of the Sheriff’s Office, who cited a family spokesman.Sgt. Parker said that, at the time of the attack, the brothers were searching for antlers that had been shed.Wardens and trappers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and a trapper for El Dorado County responded and found the mountain lion, the sheriff’s office said.The mountain lion was euthanized near the scene of the attack, according to the department, which noted that its remains were sent to a forensics laboratory to obtain DNA and assess its general health.Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare, according to the department.Since 1890, there have been fewer than 50 verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California, and of those, only six have been fatal, the department said.The last fatal encounter that a human had with a mountain lion in California was in 2004 in Orange County. In most cases, the victim was alone when the attack occurred, according to the department.The mountain lion is known by more than 40 different common names, including puma, cougar, panther, red tiger, catamount and screamer, according to the state agency.They live in diverse habitats across California, including the temperate redwood forest, foothills and mountains. More