The Indus River dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor) is found only in the middle and lower areas of the Indus River in Pakistan. Functionally blind and an endangered species, the last population survey in 2019 found just 1419 dolphins. Men from an area village recently captured a dolphin calf from a stream, bagged him, then carried him in a stockpot back to the village. There is a video (because of course they filmed themselves) at the second link which may be disturbing to some readers. Authorities are investigating.
Short video of a newly described (and adorable) mammal from West Africa: the Benin tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax interfluvialis).
A company conducting research and development of cannabis and hemp based products recently published two studies in veterinary journals on the safety of cannabidiol (CBD) in dogs and cats.
Endangered riparian brush rabbits (Sylvilagus bachmani riparius) are small cottontails native to California’s Central Valley. The Oakland Zoo is working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to vaccinate the rabbits against a lethal hemorrhagic virus threatening the species with possible extinction. Riparian brush rabbits are a keystone species meaning their loss would significantly harm the San Joaquin River’s ecosystem.
It’s been established that whales are behaviorally and physically affected by man made noise, such as oil and gas exploration, military sonar and underwater construction. Despite this, Norway intends to conduct sound tests on juvenile minke whales:
Aerial images show that nets up to a mile wide are in place to herd migrating whales into an enclosure: from there they will then proceed into a modified salmon-farming aquaculture pen where the tests will be carried out.
The tests:
[T]he whales will be clamped between two rafts for up to six hours, and electrodes will be attached under their skin to study how their brains respond to varying frequencies of ocean noise. The animals will then be satellite-tagged and released back into the sea.
https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/08/norway-to-conduct-cruel-minke-whale-tests-despite-opposition
A number of scientists have voiced opposition to the tests which, to my mind, seem both unnecessary and cruel.
Cryptid love: An episode of Wide Atlantic Weird podcast covering Bernard Heuvelman’s sea serpent classification system among other cryptozoology related items.
Disgusting.
Sent from my iPhone