Rare white killer whale spotted off Russian coast

Scientists have glimpsed a white adult orca, or killer whale, while on a research expedition off the far eastern coast of Russia.



The sighting in waters off the Kamchatka peninsula is believed to be the first time such a whale has been spotted in the wild.



Researchers said the marine mammal, whom they nicknamed Iceberg, was swimming with its mother and siblings, and appeared to be fully accepted by its 12-strong family.



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How Iowa Made Laws to Cover Up Animal Abuse

Earlier this month, politicians in Iowa bowed to corporate pressure when they passed a law designed to stifle public debate and keep consumers in the dark. Instead of confronting animal cruelty on factory farms, the top egg- and pork-producing state is now in the business of covering it up.



HF 589 criminalizes investigative journalists and animal protection advocates who take entry-level jobs at factory farms in order to document the rampant food safety and animal welfare abuses within. In recent years, these undercover videos have spurred changes in our food system by showing consumers the disturbing truth about where most of today's meat, eggs, and dairy is produced. Undercover investigations have directly led to America's largest meat recalls, as well as to the closure of several slaughterhouses that had egregiously cruel animal handling practices. Iowa's Ag Gag law -- along with similar bills pending in other states -- illustrates just how desperate these industries are to keep this information from getting out.



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New frog species found in New York City

Amid the skyscrapers, sidewalks and subways of New York City, scientists have discovered a new species of frog within view of the Statue of Liberty. In fact, the researchers who discovered the frog say the center of its range is Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.



The newly identified animal is among more than a dozen distinct leopard frog species. And, while it's fairly common to find new species of animals in the remote wildness or in rain forests, to discover one in marshes and ponds within an urban area such as New York is nothing short of amazing.



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Dolphin and beluga pregnant at Shedd

This year is shaping up to be the year of the big baby at the Shedd Aquarium.



Pacific white-sided dolphin Piquet, 24, who weighs about 200 pounds, and beluga whale Mauyak, 31, who weighs 1,200 pounds, both are pregnant, aquarium officials announced Tuesday.



First time mother Piquet (PEE-ket) is due in May. Mauyak (My-AK), who gave birth to Qannik (kah-NIK) and Miki (MEE-kee) at the Shedd, is due in October



Photo: BRENNA HERNANDEZ~SHEDD AQUARIUM



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Riot gear for Chicago police horses

Days after announcing that Chicago Police would get new riot gear, including 3,000 new face shields, in time for the NATO/G8 summits in May, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration has begun soliciting protective equipment for police horses, too.



Emanuel's camp is seeking bids for "police horse riot gear and training aids," including leather nose guards with "impact-absorbing foam," rear and front leg shields made of "high-impact plastic" and training tools to help prepare the horses for crowd-control operations, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The city plans to outfit all 30 horses in the CPD's mounted unit, in excess of their annual $2.7 million budget.



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Anybody want a peacock?

The Fox Hollow community in Boynton Beach, FL, is considering paying a trapper $6,000 to round up half the neighborhood population of peafowl and kill them.



“I want every one of them out of here,” said resident Dorothy Laswell. “They bang on my French doors, throw themselves at my windows, and wake me up every morning, jumping on my roof at 6 o’clock. And during mating season, they scream and holler.”



There are an estimated 400 peafowl living in Fox Hollow, and they have their defenders. So the homeowner’s association is considering a compromise of sorts: eliminating half the bird population.



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It's snipers vs. deer in Washington DC

The authorities managing Washington, DC's Rock Creek park could decide as early as this week whether to activate a deer management plan that calls for killing 80% of the white-tailed deer, or more than 300 of the animals living in the area, over a two to three-year period.



It's not exactly a comforting scenario: government sharpshooters, equipped with night-vision goggles and silencers, deployed in the dead of night in a favorite Washingtonian park for the express purpose of slaughtering hundreds of white-tailed deer.



Without such extreme steps, environmental experts say the forest would be eaten into oblivion in a matter of years. There are 80 deer per square mile of park; new shoots and delicate plants don't have a chance. The park is also experiencing severe erosion, because of the lack of regrowth.



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Johannesburg zoo worker killed by lion

On February 14, a lioness sprung at the throat of zoo worker Joe Ramonetha and killed him. Apparently, security gates were left open while Ramonetha was feeding the 11-year-old lioness or cleaning out her enclosure at the Johannesburg Zoo.



The 63-year-old was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. This is the zoo's first fatal animal attack in 50 years.



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4 arrested in hog theft ring

CELINA, Ohio – A sheriff in western Ohio said four family members have been operating a hog theft ring.



The Mercer County sheriff said the four have taken hogs from large farms in Ohio and transported them to Indiana, where they were trying to sell the animals.



Investigators said it’s not easy for farmers to notice when a few hogs are missing out of several thousand.



This reminds me of an old joke ...

Q: How did the farmers find out that the thefts were occurring?

    A:The pigs squealed!

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365 New Species Spotted in Peru

Hundreds of species never before seen in a Peruvian national park have been found during an inventory of the Amazonian forests there, according to a conservation group.



The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced the discovery of 365 species previously undocumented in Bahuaja Sonene National Park in southeastern Peru. More than a dozen researchers inventoried the park's plant life, insects, birds, mammals and reptiles. The species found are known to exist elsewhere, but have never been seen inside Bahuaja Sonene.



The discovery included 30 undocumented bird species, including the black-and-white hawk eagle, Wilson's phalarope and ash-colored cuckoo. The survey also found two undocumented mammals — Niceforo's big-eared bat and the Tricolored Bat — as well as 233 undocumented species of butterflies and moths. This expedition was the first time that research of this scale has been carried out in Bahuaja Sonene National Park since it was created in 1996, according to the WCS.



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