Animal Behavior, Methane Poisoning, Dead or Alive and on the move (+ interactive map)

[Starr DiGiacomo]

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When Planet X entered the inner Solar System in late 2002 - early 2003, it was not just the Earth that reacted, as it did with an increase in earthquakes, volcanism and extreme weather, the animal life on Earth also started showing signs of the approaching monster.

The most noticeable symptoms were:

• Crazy Animal Behaviour:  Reports of bizarre behaviour including animal attacks from normally passive creatures and spiders spinning webs over whole fields.
• Confused Animals:  Whales and dolphins stranding themselves on beaches in droves or getting lost upstream in coastal rivers.
• Large fish and bird kills:  Flocks of birds falling dead from the sky and shoals of fish dying and floating to the surface of lakes, rivers and washing up along coastlines.

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Crazy Animal Behaviour

Reports of crazy animal behaviour have included sheep that charged a farmer’s wife off a cliff, deer attacking a car and rabbits biting pedestrians.  Spiders have spun webs over whole fields and caterpillar larvae have covered whole trees in silk.

As usual, the Zetas explain the true causes:

http://www.zetatalk.com/transfor/t154.htm (Jan 11th 2003)

Animal behavior also has been noted as almost crazed, where animals normally passive and seeking to avoid confrontation will attack with provocation, or fly in the wrong direction during migration. This is due to signals the animals or insects get from the core of the Earth, signals not known to man, but nonetheless there.  [……]  Spiders weaving webs to an extreme so that acres are covered under webs, get noted, but the base behavior is normal for a spider.  EOZT

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Confused Animals

Other erratic behaviour among animals included a seeming loss of direction with whales and dolphins swimming inland and stranding themselves on beaches.

Unreliable Compasses  (March 28^th, 2009)

The compass is unreliable for the past few years, and lately has gotten very extreme in its variance. Many animals and insects have a biological compass, recording during migrations where that compass laid, and when taking a return trip relying on the recording to guide them back. If the Earth's N Pole swings away from the press of Planet X, which is increasingly pointing its N Pole at the Earth, then these animals are not given correct clues and aim for land or up a river. Sad to say, this will only get worse as the last weeks and the pole shift loom on the horizon.   EOZT

Are due to the Magnetic Clash   (July 1^st, 2006)

The compass anomaly, swinging to the East, is indicative of the Earth adjusting to the approach of Planet X and the clash of their magnetic fields. The change is indicative of a clash in magnetic fields as Planet X comes ever closer to the Earth, their fields touching. It is the combined field that Earth must adjust to, and continue to adjust to, not the exact position of the N Pole of Planet X within these fields, and the Sun's magnetic field enters into the equation too. This dramatic change, noted by a conscientious tracker, checking dual compasses daily for years, indicates that the Earth is trying to align side-by-side with Planet X, bringing its magnetic N Pole to point toward the Sun, as Planet X is currently doing in the main. These adjustments are temporary, and change about, as magnets can make dramatic and swift changes in their alignment with each other. Put a number of small magnets on a glass, with iron ore dust, and move a large magnet about under them, and watch the jerking about they do. Are we saying the Earth's magnetic field is going to get more erratic in the future, dramatically so? There is no question that this will be one of the signs that will come, yet another not covered by the Global Warming excuse.   EOZT

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Large fish and bird kills

Hundreds, if not thousands, of these events have taken place with the frequency increasing year on year.  Poignant examples include the 20 tonnes of dead herring which washed ashore in Norway and 1200 pelicans found on a beach in Peru.

Earth Farts  (January 9^th, 2007)

We have explained, in great detail, that the stretch zone does not register great quakes when rock layers pull apart and sink, as this is a silent Earth change. Nancy has carefully documented breaking water and gas mains, derailing trains, dislocating bridge abutments, mining accidents, and outbreaks of factory explosions, showing that these have occurred in rashes on occasion, when the rock layers pulled apart. [……]  In September-October of 2005, a smell of rotten eggs was sensed from LA to Thunder Bay on Lake Superior to the New England states and throughout the South-Eastern US. We explained at that time that this was due to rock layers being pulled apart, releasing gas from moldering vegetation trapped during prior pole shifts, when rock layers were jerked about, trapping vegetation. We explained in March of 2002 that black water off the coast of Florida was caused by this phenomena. Do these fumes cause people to sicken, and birds to die? Mining operations of old had what they called the canary in a birdcage, to warn the miners of methane gas leaks. Birds are very sensitive to these fumes, and die, and this is indeed what happened in Austin, TX. Were it not for the explosions associated with gas leaks, it would be common knowledge that gas leaks sicken, as the body was not structured to breathe such air for long.   EOZT

 

Zetatalk Explanation  (January 8^th, 2011)

Dead fish and birds falling from the sky are being reported worldwide, suddenly. This is not a local affair, obviously. Dead birds have been reported in Sweden and N America, and dead fish in N America, Brazil, and New Zealand. Methane is known to cause bird dead, and as methane rises when released during Earth shifting, will float upward through the flocks of birds above. But can this be the cause of dead fish? If birds are more sensitive than humans to methane release, fish are likewise sensitive to changes in the water, as anyone with an aquarium will attest. Those schools of fish caught in rising methane bubbles during sifting of rock layers beneath them will inevitably be affected. Fish cannot, for instance, hold their breath until the emergency passes! Nor do birds have such a mechanism.   EOZT

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[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-14/fish-kill-near-ramsar-listed...

Mass fish kill in eastern Victoria due to salinity and other natural causes, authorities say

April 13 2019

Hundreds of fish have died near an internationally-recognised lake in eastern Victoria.

Key points:

• Hundreds of carp have been found dead at Lake Wellington near Sale
• Regulators have blamed natural causes such as salinity for the deaths
• A scientist says the decline in water quality is due to drought, while advocates say it is a symptom of mismanagement of the waterways

Regulators and water managers have blamed "natural causes" such as salinity for the death of adult carp in the main drain of Lake Wellington near Sale.

Advocates for the Gippsland Lakes said the mass fish deaths were just another indicator of long-term mismanagement of the waterways, while a scientist said the impact of the drought was to blame for the decline in water quality.

Phil Ronalds, who lives near Lake Wellington, a Ramsar-listed wetland, raised the alarm about the dead fish earlier this week.

Photo: Mass carp deaths can deoxygenate the water, putting native fish at risk. (Supplied: Phil Ronalds)

He said diverting water from rivers for the nearby Macalister Irrigation District, and to supply Melbourne with drinking water, was part of the problem.

He said this fresh water kept the saline water at bay at Lake Wellington and across the extensive Gippsland Lakes network.

The Gippsland Lakes is a series of lagoons fed by seven rivers flowing down from Victoria's high country, towards the coastal town Lakes Entrance.

Much of the saline water that causes problems in the lake system is from the entrance being opened permanently to accommodate industry in the port.

Drought and summer bushfires contribute

Federation University environmental scientist Jessica Reeves blamed the current drought and summer bushfires for a decline in water quality across the lakes and increasing salinity.

"[With] rising sea levels, deepening of the entrance … and also the decreased rainfall, there just isn't enough fresh water coming in to dilute the system," Dr Reeves said.

"The overall salinity is increasing and particularly at the fresh water end such as Lake Wellington."

Dr Reeves has been doing research near Lake Tyers and said, because of the ongoing drought, its water levels were lower than people had seen in "living memory".

Confusion over cause of fish deaths

Southern Rural Water (SRW) manages the irrigation water from Glenmaggie Weir, which draws on water from the Macalister River, including the drain where the fish was found.

They were notified about the mass carp deaths on Tuesday, and informed Victoria's Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

"The EPA has confirmed this is one of several recent fish kill reports in the district, which are natural occurrences, typically caused by salt water ingress, not pollution," a joint statement from the two agencies said.

SRW spokesman Gavin Prior said the EPA ruled the carp deaths were from natural causes.

"How they died is not our decision," he said.

"Our [role] is to report our finding to the relevant authority and in that case it's up to the EPA to make that decision."

However an EPA spokesman told the ABC, SRW made the call about the cause of the dead fish.

A request to clarify this with the environmental watchdog had not been received before publication.

A Victorian Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning spokeswoman said the agency helped clean a few hundred European carp, which died on the shores of Lake Wellington last week in a separate event.

Love our Lakes spokesman Martin Potts also blamed the decline in the quality of the lakes on the diversion of water from the rivers, but said the death of carp was good for the lakes system.

However, he said mass deaths could cause further environmental problems and indicated native fish would also be affected.

"A large carp dying can deoxygenate a cubic metre of water," he said.

"We lose oxygen. [This] then causes a black water situation, so you can have quite a large lot of deaths all at once."

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.shoshonenewspress.com/local_news/20190413/tundra_swan_d...

Tundra swan deaths result of multiple environmental issues?

April 13, 2019 at 1:00 am

COEUR d’ALENE — A recent report on dying tundra swans from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game discussed the potential for 2019 to be one of the worst years in terms of total death toll.

According to the report, IDFG staff have received numerous calls about dead tundra swans in the lower Coeur d’Alene River Basin, particularly around Harrison Slough.

The deaths are attributed to poisoning from mine waste contamination found in the wetland sediments where the birds forage, as well as seasonal weather factors that may have exacerbated the situation.

Annually, there has been an average of roughly 150 Tundra Swan deaths in the area. This year, the early body count is ahead of where it is usually at this time.

According to Kiira Siitari, a regional communications manager with IDFG, the previously released report was a warning that more deaths than usual could be expected, not necessarily that it was a guarantee.

“I can’t speak to total dead swans compared to previous years — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitors those numbers under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Working in the lower Coeur d’Alene River area, our Conservation Officers, biologists and sportsmen have noticed more dead swans, up to 60 at a time, in areas like Harrison Slough,” Siitari said. “The hypotheticals listed in the article are our best guess — there’s no scientific study that I know of in place to determine cause and effect of the number of swans that die each year.”

The hypothetical scenarios within the report ranged from timing and distribution of melting ice, water levels, as well as the length of time the swans stayed in the area.

Siitari explained each of the three hypothetical causes listed in the report

Concerning the timing and distribution of ice melt, “we had a snowy, cold February that locked most of the basin up in ice,” Siitari said. “As the swan migration picked up in March, most of the wetlands were still frozen and the areas that were open for birds to land and forage in were primarily in contaminated areas near the mouth of the river.”

The water level situation is the one hypothetical where the mine waste contamination really comes into effect, but not for any reason other than odd seasonal weather.

“It seemed to our biologists that many of the wetlands in the lower basin had less water than in typical years. A dry March or a slow runoff period may be the reason for this,” Siitari said. “Swans would avoid dry or frozen wetlands and target shallow areas in the floodplain with open water. Shallow water in contaminated areas creates a dangerous situation for swans because they can dig deeper into soils, where some of the most heavily contaminated historic mine waste sits.”

Swans feed on the roots and tubers buried in the wet soils, so the deeper they dig, the more pollutants are encountering.

That water level issue, paired up with the length of time the swans remained in the area pointed experts to their last hypothetical, but they can’t confirm these possibilities until the migration is complete.

“This is the most uncertain. Generally, the longer the animal is exposed to a toxin, the greater the chance of negative effects,” Siitari said. “There won’t be any comparison to past years until after the migration season is over and again, it will be out of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s shop.”

Siitari did add that just because the numbers are higher right now does not mean that they will eclipse the usual average of Tundra Swan deaths.

“The swans may have died in a short period of time instead of spread out over several weeks — 60 dead swans is a lot more noticeable than a handful every few weeks,” Siitari said. “Or the way the ice melted congregated swans in very noticeable places (i.e. near highways, towns, fishing spots), so we and the public saw more than most years compared to others.”

Historically, the mining industry in Shoshone County had dumped their mine waste into the Coeur d’Alene River where they washed down the river and settled along the river bottoms, as well as in the marshy wetlands.

Efforts to reduce contamination exposure in tundra swans and other wildlife are led by the Restoration Partnership, of which Fish and Game is a partner.

In 2018, the partnership completed a comprehensive restoration plan that laid out a strategic framework for restoring natural resources, such as waterfowl, that are impacted by the release of historic mine waste.

Approximately $140 million is available from settlements to implement the plan.

These large-scale habitat restoration efforts have already begun.

Starting in 2006, the Restoration Partnership led a 400-acre restoration project on private farm lands near Rose Lake, providing clean marsh habitat for swans and other wildlife.

In 2015, Fish and Game habitat specialists restored another 65 acres of wetlands adjacent to this property in the Robinson Creek Project with funding support from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the partnership.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/more-dolphins-die-in-aegean-sea-...

More dolphins die in Aegean Sea; group suspects navy drills

Associated Press

Monday, April 8th 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Aegean Sea has seen a "very unusual" spike in dolphin deaths over the past few weeks, a Greek marine conservation group said Monday, adding that the rise could be linked to massive Turkish naval exercises in the area.

Fifteen dead dolphins have washed up on the eastern island of Samos and other parts of Greece's Aegean coastline since late February, according to the Archipelagos Institute.

Its head of research, Anastassia Miliou, told The Associated Press that 15 is a worryingly high number compared to "one or two" in the same period last year.

The group said while it's still unclear what caused the deaths, the spike follows the Feb. 27-March 8 Turkish "Blue Homeland" exercises — the country's largest ever — that made constant use of sonar and practiced with live ammunition.

The deafening noise of sonar, used by warships to detect enemy submarines, can injure dolphins and whales, driving them to surface too fast or beach themselves — with sometimes fatal consequences — to escape the din.

"We can't say that the Turkish exercises killed the dolphins, but the fact that we had such an unusual increase in the number washed up dead — and what we have seen must be a small percentage of the total because the Aegean has a long coastline — coincided with exercises that used more than 100 ships," Miliou said. "(The deaths) are very worrying and we can't say that the two events are unrelated."

After several mass beachings of whales, NATO, to which both Turkey and Greece belong, has adopted a code of conduct for using sonar that is designed to better protect marine mammals.

Miliou said the alliance's rules are respected by the U.S. Navy, which has a strong Mediterranean presence, and the Greek navy.

"There's a new (military) generation in place that doesn't want to harm the environment in the name of national sovereignty," she said.

But Miliou said it was unclear whether Turkey has implemented the guidelines. She said the Greek government in Athens should raise the issue in talks with Ankara, particularly ahead of new Turkish naval exercises in the Aegean.

"With these giant exercises ... strain is placed on the entire marine ecosystem, including fish and plankton, because (they) cause intense noise pollution from which marine life can't escape," she said.

Miliou added that the Aegean Sea "can barely handle the strain we are already subjecting it to," such as pollution, overfishing and heavy marine traffic.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/mystery-as-14-dead-sharks-...

Mystery as 14 dead sharks wash ashore in Gansbaai

News / 16 March 2019, 10:48am

Cape Town - The bodies of 14 bronze whaler sharks were discovered near Gansbaai earlier this month.

The sharks are listed as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature list, because they are being targeted in commercial and recreational fishing for their meat.

Bronze whaler sharks are also often spotted during shark-cage diving in the small town. Great white sharks are becoming rare sights during cage diving because of environmental factors.

The carcasses of 13 bronze whaler sharks were discovered washed up on a beach near Gansbaai on March 5.

Another shark carcass was found between Kammabaai and Voëlklip.

Natalia Drobniewska, the operations manager at the SA Shark Conservancy, said one of the sharks was pregnant.

Sharks washing up on the beach is not a common phenomenon.

Georgina Pendell, a marine biologist for the White Sharks Project, said in the year she worked for the organisation, she didn’t hear of any similar cases.

It is still unclear what led to the sharks being washed up.

“There are a lot of possible reasons for the sharks to wash up: being hit by a boat, getting stuck in fishing nets and then dying, getting caught on long lines and then discarded back in the ocean, natural causes and sickness,” Drobniewska said.

Pendell said there was a trawler near to where the sharks were found.

“They might have gotten tangled in the nets, died and then got washed on to the beach,” Pendell said.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://kbjr6.com/news/national-news-from-the-associated-press/2019...

Thousands of dead menhaden wash up in New Jersey shore town

• 1:10 pm
• March 18, 2019

OCEANPORT, N.J. (AP) — State environmental officials say thousands of dead fish have washed up in a New Jersey shore community.

The adult menhaden were found Saturday in creeks and bays in Oceanport that are part of the Shrewsbury River estuary in Monmouth County. Officials say the deaths occurred after a large school of menhaden were pursued by predatory fish and depleted the oxygen from the shallow water.

Officials took water samples and confirmed low dissolved oxygen in the creeks. Local crews were working to remove as many of the fish as possible, while the rest will decompose and eventually sink.

Menhaden are small schooling fish that play a vital role in the ocean food web. They are also harvested commercially for fish oil and use as aquaculture feed.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://newsbeezer.com/canada/dozens-of-dead-ducks-were-found-at-el...

Dozens of dead ducks were found at Elliston Park in Calgary

February 28, 2019

Biologists investigate after finding dozens of dead ducks near a rainwater runoff in a southeastern Calgary park.

Brett Boukall, a senior wildlife biologist at Alberta Environment and Parks, said the authorities around the 10 o'clock had been informed on Wednesday. He said samples would be sent to the lab, and he hopes they have more information in a week become.

Olav Rokne, a spokesperson for the agency, said that they currently do not exactly have the number of dead birds "It has been found that it is more than a dozen."

"Our biologists have gone to the construction site to collect samples of individual dead birds," he said, adding that they are working in partnership with the city

Calgarian Wayne Clarke shared photos of the dead birds with CBC News including a close-up of a bird that seemed to have a well-preserved head and wings while the corpse might have been caught.

Rokne said it appears that the dead birds are only near the rainwater drainage areas in southeastern Calgary Park.

He said in winter that it is common for waterfowl to gather in open water areas such as the Bow River or the storm water ponds and whitewater areas. Temperature lowers the areas of available open water decline, l overcrowding.

"For those birds that remain in these crowded, open waters, there can be hunger, extreme exposure and even diseases that can lead to deaths." It's too early to say for sure but this could be the cause of the incident at Elliston Park, "he said.

He said that there have been similar incidents in the past, especially when the temperature drops to -30. 1

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://whnt.com/2019/03/01/witness-says-toxic-fumes-not-involved-i...

Witness says toxic fumes not involved in death of dozens of birds

Posted 7:49 pm, March 1, 2019

HUNTSVILLE, Ala - On Wednesday morning, a viewer alerted WHNT News 19 about a scene that looked like it was straight out of a movie. More than 60 dead European Starlings were scattered across a small portion of Moores Mill Road in Huntsville. It appeared that they all died at the same time.

An aviary expert at Auburn University said he suspected the birds could have been exposed to poisonous fumes. Many people took to social media expressing concerns about where the fumes could have come from.

WHNT News 19 found a driver who actually witnessed what happened to the birds. We learned that the birds actually died on Monday but more importantly, the witness says there is nothing for the public to worry about.

"Birds just scattered everywhere. It was like a bomb exploded," said Shiela Price, a woman from Meridianville who witnessed what happened Monday afternoon as she left the grocery store.

"We had left Kroger and was headed toward 72 on Moores Mill Road," she explained.

That's when Price says several flocks of birds caught her attention because they were flying in a strange pattern near the road. A few seconds later one large flock dove straight into a white Chevy pick up.

"One swarm of the birds just looked like it attacked that truck. They just swooped down real quick and hit the truck," she said.

She says she thought it was important to contact WHNT News 19 and tell her story.

"Because I was reading on your post and a lot of people were worried that are residents there, that some kind of gas or toxic fumes, or something you know, going to endanger them. And so I wanted to come forth and let everyone know what really happened," she explained.

But what really happened? Why would so many birds dive bomb a car? WHNT News 19 asked Auburn's curator of birds, Dr. Geoff Hill.

"It was probably a life and death chase where they were eminently going to be caught and eaten," he said.

He says when birds are in danger they fly in tight formations to try and protect themselves.

"They fly really low and really fast, and that's when they can make mistakes and hit windows, or a truck because it's really life and death," he said.

Dr. Hill says new research suggests when birds fly in formation the ones in front navigate for the entire flock, which could explain why they all 60 of them hit the truck.

He says it is extremely rare for an entire flock of birds to run into something. He also doesn't believe any toxic fumes or poisonous chemicals were involved in the birds' strange behavior.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/mystery-humpback-whale-fou...

Mystery as humpback whale found dead in middle of Amazon jungle

The ten tonne marine mammal has stunned experts - and it's not know how it died

23:32, 24 FEB 2019

A humpback whale has been found dead in the Amazon jungle miles from its natural habitat - leaving experts in Brazil baffled.

The 36 feet long, ten tonne marine mammal was discovered in the middle of the undergrowth on the island of Marajo off the Araruna Beach, at the mouth of the Amazon River.

Scientists believe the creature died at sea and may have landed in the wooded area after rough seas and high tides threw it inland, far from the ocean.

Dirlene Silva, from the department of health, sanitation and environment (Semma) said to Brazilian media Journal O Liberal: “We only found the whale because of the presence of scavenging birds of prey.

“The vultures were spotted circling above the carcass which was found hidden in the bush some distance from the sea.”

A team from Semma went to the region to inspect the remains, believed to be a 12 month old calf, and to gather information which could help to explain how the aquatic creature crash landed in the jungle.

Video taken on Friday shows the mammal splayed out in swampy mangrove surrounded by trees, with no visible signs of injury.

Biologists from the Bicho D’agua Institute have been called in to collect forensic samples to determine the cause of death.

They believe the massive animal, which measures six feet wide, was already dead when it was carried by huge waves to its unnatural resting place.

Renata Emin, the project’s president and marine specialist said: “We’re still not sure how it landed here, but we’re guessing that the creature was floating close to the shore and the tide, which has been pretty considerable over the past few days, picked it up and threw it inland, into the mangrove.

“Along with this astonishing feat, we are baffled as to what a humpback whale is doing on the north coast of Brazil during February because this is a very unusual occurrence.”

According to the expert, humpback whales are normally seen in Bahia on the north east coast between August to November. It is a well-known breeding and delivery area. Then they migrate to Antarctica to feed.

The biologist said: “Humpback whales don’t usually travel to the north. We have a record of one appearing in the area three years ago, but it’s rare.

“We believe this is a calf which may have been travelling with its mother and probably got lost or separated during the migratory cycle between the two continents.”

Researchers said as there are no clear reasons why it died, only an autopsy will determine the cause of death.

Emin added: “Depending on the state of decomposition, some information may already have been lost.

“We are collecting as much information as we can get and identifying marks and wounds on its body to see if it was caught in a net or hit by a boat.”

The scientists also plan to open up the carcass, collect samples of parasites and evidence from the muscles which will be sent to labs for disease analysis.

It’s believed the stranded animal may have been grounded for several days before it was found.

Gaining access to the remains proved difficult. It took two attempts to reach the site. The first was hampered by the swampy water in the mangrove.

The examination is expected to take up to ten days to complete.

For now there are no plans to remove the hulk due to the size, weight and location.

Instead researchers intend to bury much of carcass and the skeleton will be sent to the Goeldi Natural History Museum in Belem for future studies.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.pragativadi.com/hundreds-of-dead-fish-found-in-sono-rive...

Hundreds of dead fish found in Sono River in Balasore

Feb 24, 2019

Balasore: Hundreds of dead fish have been found floating in Sono River in Balasore district on Sunday morning, triggering panic among the residents.

The incident came to light after some fish traders of the slums in Remuna block of the district came across the dead fishes in the morning during netting.

As the news broke, locals of Patripala and Ganipur area started thronging to the river. While the exact cause of death of fishes on such a large scale was not ascertained, water pollution was suspected to the reason.

While the locals have alerted the concerned officials and the district administration about the incident, officials are yet to reach the spot, sources said.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/02/11/polar-bear-inv...

Dozens of polar bears invade remote Russian town, create 'emergency situation'

Russia might be famous for its bears, but this is ridiculous.

An invasion of about 50 polar bears has caused an "emergency situation" in the small Russian settlement of Belushya Guba, according to the TASS news agency. The town is located on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow.

"The people are scared," said Alexander Minayev, the deputy head of Novaya Zemlya.

"They are frightened to leave homes and their daily routines are broken," Minayev said in a statement. "Parents are afraid to let the children go to school or kindergarten."

The bears arrived in December and have acted aggressively since then, attacking people and entering residences and businesses.

"I have been in Novaya Zemlya since 1983, but there has never been so many polar bears in the vicinity," said Zhigansha Musin, the head of Novana Zemlya.

There could be a connection to global warming: Melting Arctic sea ice has forced polar bears to spend more time on land, where they compete for food. Scientists have long warned that the shrinking sea ice in the Arctic poses a direct threat to the bears – and increases the likelihood of encounters with humans, according to CBS News.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says there are approximately 26,000 polar bears on earth. The species is categorized as "vulnerable." In the United States, it's considered a threatened species.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates the population could decrease by 30 to 50 percent if the loss of sea ice continues.

"Two-thirds of the world's polar bears could die out by 2050," the World Wildlife Fund has said.

This particular invasion in Russia might last awhile. The Russian government has refused to issue licenses to shoot the most aggressive polar bears, TASS reports. But the government has sent a team of experts to the archipelago to assess and prevent attacks on humans.

http://www.zetatalk.com/theword/tworx352.htm

Polar Bears

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Polar Bears May Move North
Discovery Earth Alert, December 14, 2000

Thousands of polar bears that make their home near Hudson Bay in Canada may be forced to move north to survive melting ice caused by global warming. Environmental science professor William Gough of Toronto University's Scarborough College has spent the past six years evaluating the temperature and ice coverage of Hudson Bay, using records that date back to 1900. Polar bears normally spend November to June on the region's thick ice floes, feeding on newborn seal pups. The seal pup diet enables the bears to store enough energy to make it through the summer months on land. Gough said, "The length of time polar bears are able to spend on the ice is crucial because   the weight they gain during this period determines their survival rates and the number of cubs they'll raise." The rising temperatures have already triggered abnormal behavior in the bears. Witnesses have reported seeing caribou being stalked and adult seals being killed on land. The bears have also begun to increasingly view humans as a source of food. Professor Gough said, "There has been a dramatic increase in bear and human   confrontations over the past few years. Just recently, a woman north of Churchill was devoured and we're seeing more and more bears in garbage dumps close to towns." Gough chose Hudson Bay for his studies because it houses the most southerly polar bear population in the world.