WESCA Wildlife Network

Kolkata. Feb. 14:  A visible rise in the number of crow deaths in many parts of the State, including Kolkata, for months and, near lack of communication from State administration about the reasons involved, has set the grapevine abuzz about a probable outbreak of another round of bird flu in West Bengal.

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A flock of birds looking for a place to rest mistook a snow-covered Walmart parking lot in Utah for a body of water and plummeted to the ground in what one state wildlife expert called the worst mass bird crash she’d ever seen.
Volunteers that arrived to help sort out the mess surmised that the birds, eared grebes, saw the reflection of the parking lot’s lights on the snow and thought that it was the surface of lake.
Over 3,000 grebes could be seen littering the parking lot as well as a nearby football field and several other snow-covered areas in St. George, Utah. Rescue volunteers, many of which were simply town residents, worked quickly to capture those birds that were not seriously injured, and release them into a nearby pond. There’s no final count on how many died, although officials estimate it was over 1,500.

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The new issue of Podoces (West & Central Asian Ornithological Journal) journal was published. It's available under: www.wesca.net/Podoces/podoces6.1.html

Miami (CNN) -- Rescuers worked feverishly Friday to save some of the pilot whales who stranded themselves in shallow waters near the Florida Keys.At least 21 pilot whales were found in an area about 20 miles north of Key West, according to officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Officials said 13 whales are dead and the count might climb.

The latest tiger census showed a marked increase in the number of tigers in India, raising hopes for the future of the endangered animal.