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Human activities and their urban expansion are increasingly intruding upon wildlife habitats. This has forced animals into dangerous proximity with human infrastructure, resulting in a tragic surge of accidental deaths among animal populations. The situation is no different in Tamil Nadu, which has been grappling with the issue of <keyword id="21240191" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="elephant-deaths" source="keywords">elephant deaths</keyword> on and near its railway tracks. The southern state has recorded at least 36 fatalities from train collisions over the past decade. In response to this pressing issue, the state's high court mandated collaborative efforts between the forest department and railways to curb these incidents. To address this issue, Tamil Nadu has now sought help from the phenomenon that promises to change the world as we know it: <keyword id="19904566" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence" source="keywords">artificial intelligence</keyword> (<keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="AI" source="Orion">AI</keyword>). Installing 12 towers equipped with advanced <keyword id="7885611" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-cameras" source="Orion">AI cameras</keyword> along two key rail tracks near Madukkarai, the state forest department aims to detect and prevent elephant-train collisions, particularly along routes intersecting the elephants' migratory paths. Each tower is outfitted with AI cameras capable of thermal and visible light imaging, comparable to those deployed by the Indian Army along the nation's borders. These cameras are programmed to detect elephants and humans near railway lines. When elephants are spotted within 100 feet of the tracks, alerts are swiftly relayed to forest and railway authorities, enabling them to mitigate risks by slowing down trains and guiding the animals away from harm's way. The project has been executed at a cost of ₹7.2 crore since its launch in February this year, Supriya Sahu, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, told the BBC. But the AI-based surveillance system has proved its worth by demonstrating promising results, detecting nearly 400 instances of elephants approaching railway tracks and facilitating timely interventions to prevent potential accidents. This proactive approach marks a significant improvement over traditional methods, such as regular patrols by forest personnel, which often proved inadequate in ensuring elephant safety. Encouraged by the success of this initiative, Tamil Nadu plans to expand the AI-based system to five additional vulnerable areas across the state, including Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Hosur and Gudalur. This strategic expansion underscores the state's commitment to safeguarding wildlife and mitigating <keyword id="20694291" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-wildlife-conflicts" source="keywords">human-wildlife conflicts</keyword> through innovative technological solutions. Moreover, Tamil Nadu's adoption of AI technology reflects a broader trend in India, where initiatives like the Gajraj project — spearheaded by the federal railway ministry — aim to protect wildlife in elephant corridors across multiple states. By leveraging AI-based surveillance systems to monitor animal movements near railway tracks, these initiatives strive to prevent accidents and foster better coexistence between humans and wildlife.

Tamil Nadu is using army-grade AI surveillance to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks, and it’s working!

Colombo, <keyword id="6355572" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="sri-lanka">Sri Lanka</keyword> has recorded the <keyword id="10424567" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="highest-annual-elephant-deaths">highest annual elephant deaths</keyword> and second-highest human deaths in the world due to the human-elephant conflict, the island-nation'<keyword id="10424565" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="s-committee-on-public-accounts">s Committee on Public Accounts</keyword> (COPA) reported. In discussions held by the COPA recently, it was revealed that Sri Lanka has been ranked second in reporting the <keyword id="1275003" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="highest-number">highest number</keyword> of human deaths due to the human-elephant conflict in the world, while India holds the first rank, Xinhua news agency reported. COPA Chairman Tissa Vitharana said that even though the average number of elephant deaths due to the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka is 272 per year, 407 elephants had died during the past year. He also said that although the average number of human deaths due to the human-elephant conflict is 85 per year, 122 people had died during the past year. Vitharana and other members of COPA emphasised the need for <keyword id="10424566" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-wildlife-department">the Wildlife Department</keyword> and other relevant agencies to work together on a more efficient program to resolve the matter. He said that despite 60 years of efforts to resolve the human-elephant conflict, no significant progress had been made and that a new approach was needed to find a solution. The committee pointed out that although 4,211 km of elephant fences had been constructed by 2016 to control the human-elephant conflict across the island country, they had become inactive in a short period of time due to improper maintenance. The committee also said many constructions had to be halted due to protests by the people in some areas who thought that the construction of the fence was a boundary of their land. Killing wild elephants in Sri Lanka is a criminal offence but there have been regular reports of angry villagers poisoning or shooting them. Official records show the population of wild elephants in Sri Lanka is estimated at 7,500. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/dos-and-donts-during-solar-eclipse-surya-grahan/articleshow/76436997.cms">The do’s and don’ts of a Solar Eclipse — here what you need to know to protect yourself</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/solar-eclipse-december-2020-time-date-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/79697355.cms">The total solar eclipse and its 'diamond rings' won't be visible in India on December 14</a>

Elephant deaths hit a historic high in Sri Lanka amid human-elephant conflicts

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US Fish and <keyword id="11893490" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wildlife" source="Orion">Wildlife</keyword> service is hiring a 'grizzly bear conflict manager'. </li><li>They could be paid up to $103,000 and will be based in <keyword id="12024547" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="montana" source="Orion">Montana</keyword>. </li></ul>Fancy escaping the daily commute and dread of a 24 hour news cycle? How about moving to Montana to keep <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-grizzly-bear-in-yellowstone-park-hunts-wolves-steals-prey-2022-1">grizzly bears</a> out of trouble?The US Fish and Wildlife Service — a government agency that manages wildlife habitats — is currently seeking a "grizzly bear conflict manager". Rather than stepping in to resolve territorial disputes between <keyword id="12078579" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bears" source="Orion">bears</keyword>, they'll be working with local wildlife agencies to manage bear populations and mitigate their contact with humans. The successful candidate will be paid between $79,363 - $103,176 per year, according to the <a href="https://www.usajobs.gov/job/638596000?PostingChannelID=RESTAPI#how-to-apply">advert</a>, and will have to be located within 100 miles of either Missoula, Bozeman, or Kalispell in Montana, United States.In return, they should expect a physical job with no two days likely to be the same. The candidate will split their time between camping in the field and an "adequately lighted, heated and ventilated" office. They'll be expected to use a variety of transport to navigate often harsh terrain, including on foot, snowmobile, boats and small aircraft. They'll also supervise a small team. "The incumbent may be subject to large numbers of biting insects and may be required to work in close proximity to large animals such as a bear and moose," according to the advert.They may also need to carry a firearm for protection, it says.The deadline for applications is 8 March 2022. Applicants must be a US citizen and possess "significant grizzly bear handling experience", per the description.Bear attacks remain relatively rare, <a href="https://www.insider.com/yellowstone-tourist-jailed-didnt-move-away-grizzly-bear-charging-2021-10">but risk becoming more frequent due to human expansion into remote regions across the US and Canada</a> and the effects of <keyword id="11896311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change" source="Orion">climate change</keyword>. Earlier this year, residents of <a href="https://www.insider.com/california-wildlife-officials-to-euthanize-500-pound-black-bear-2022-2">South Lake Tahoe, California contacted wildlife authorities more than 150 times over a 500-pound Black bear</a> that kept breaking into properties to steal food. 'Hank the Tank' — as he was nicknamed — <a href="https://www.insider.com/lake-tahoe-hank-the-tank-is-actually-3-bears-death-sentence-lifted-2022-2">was later found to in fact be three different hungry bears</a>.

A government agency is hiring a 'grizzly bear conflict manager' and is willing to pay up to $103,000 for the right candidate

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Boonchuay the Asian <keyword id="6361821" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="elephant">elephant</keyword> poked his head through a hole in the kitchen, looking for food.</li><li>The resident of the house said the hole was previously created by an elephant last month, CNN reported.</li><li>Elephants in the region have become emboldened by humans feeding them, an expert told Insider.</li></ul>A woman in <keyword id="3739" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Thailand">Thailand</keyword> woke up in the middle of the night last weekend to a jumbo house visitor - an elephant rummaging through her kitchen.Ratchadawan Puengprasoppon, a resident of the Hua Hin seaside resort district, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8HIj00GhBI">filmed the male elephant as it poked its head through a hole in the wall and searched for food with its trunk</a>, sending plates and bowls clattering to the floor.At one point, he scooped up a plastic bag and popped it in his mouth.The elephant, named Boonchuay, has reportedly visited Ratchadawan's village before and lives in a national park nearby, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/21/elephant-in-the-room-visitor-crashes-through-kitchen-wall-in-thailand">according to The Guardian.</a>The hole in Ratchadawan's kitchen wall was previously smashed in by an elephant last month, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/22/asia/thailand-elephant-breaks-in-intl-hnk-scli/index.html">reported CNN, </a>though it is unclear if this was the same elephant."I have seen elephants roaming around our town looking for food since I was young. But this is the first time they actually damaged my house," Ratchadawan told CNN.She suspected that Boonchuay was after some salt stored in her kitchen since there was no food inside.Edwin Wiek, director and founder of animal rescue center <keyword id="6360144" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wildlife">Wildlife</keyword> Friends Foundation Thailand about 18 miles outside of Hua Hin, told Insider that the elephant's behavior isn't uncommon."Some of the people in this village like to put food around their houses to feed the wild elephants that come out of the forest at night," he said."This has become kind of a problem in the last 15 years as the elephants do not respect any distancing any longer due to this."Wiek said that while the region's elephant population has grown in the last two decades because of better protection, the habit of feeding them has resulted in increased conflict between humans and elephants in recent years. Last year, a video surfaced online showing a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPfylALU0j0">wild elephant from a nature reserve tramping through a garden in eastern Thailand.</a>A <a href="https://www.insider.com/elephants-walk-through-town-china-video-2021-6">herd of elephants in China</a> made recent headlines as the group trekked hundreds of miles from their wildlife reserve home for no apparent reason, visiting city streets and farms.<a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/7140/45818198">Asian elephants</a> are endangered and declining overall. <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/elephants/?">Only 50,000</a> are left in the wild, and the species is under threat mostly from habitat loss and human-elephant conflict.

Elephant breaks into woman's kitchen in Thailand looking for a midnight snack

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Indian authorities are searching for a <keyword id="9403" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiger">tiger</keyword> that has claimed its eighth victim in the space of two years. </li><li>RT1 recognizes any traps that are set up for him, only eats after dark, and uses his instincts cleverly.</li><li>A 70-year-old farmhand named Maroti Pendor was the latest victim of the vicious tiger.</li><li>Tigers have killed 225 people between 2014 and 2019 across <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, including 31 in Maharashtra in 2020 alone.</li></ul>Indian authorities are searching for a man-eating tiger that has claimed its eighth victim in the space of two years. On October 5, a 70-year-old farmhand named Maroti Pendor went into the forest to gather firewood. When he didn't come back, his family and other villagers from Khambada, Maharastra, went out looking for him. They found his clothes barely 200 meters beyond the treeline, then his leg, his head, and part of his shredded torso as they got deeper into the forest but the rest of his body was gone, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Times</a> reported.He had become the latest person to be mauled to death by Rajuri Tiger One (RT1), an 8-year-old male who prowls the Tadoba National Park forests in the Chandrapur district, home to 175 tigers.Also known as the Tiger of Rajura, he has killed eight people and injured three others since January 2019, most of whom were also farm workers who had gone looking for firewood, according to the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hunt+for+indian+tiger+killed&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=nws&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwilzfG1qLTsAhWTN8AKHcPGCvgQ_AUoAXoECBIQAw&amp;biw=1409&amp;bih=955amp;biw=1409&amp;bih=955">Daily Mail</a>.It has brought the total of fatal tiger attacks in the district up to 27 as human settlements and industry encroach into the tigers' natural habitat and creating conflict, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/maharashtra-sets-up-chandrapur-human-tiger-conflict-resolution-study-group-report-by-dec-31/story-StlilS7jY12LqkgqhiecBJ.html">Hindustan Times</a> reported. Hunters armed with tranquilizers have not yet been able to capture RT1 despite urgent calls from politicians, including a seven-day ultimatum from Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Subhash Dhote. Village Head, Malesh Atram, said: "The forest department has four teams but only two shooters; the lack of shooters means it is taking too long to capture the tiger," <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9">The Times</a> reported. Nitin Kakodka, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) also renewed calls for the capture of the Tiger of Rajura for the fourth time since January this year.However, Bandu Dhotre, a district <keyword id="6360144" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wildlife">wildlife</keyword> warden and founder of the conservation group Eco-Pro said that officials ignored calls from locals to kill the tiger rather than trapping him, according to <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9">The Times.</a>He said: "This animal is so intelligent that he recognizes the trap set-up. He eats only after dark and uses his instincts cleverly. Villagers are panicked, traumatized by this tiger. The situation is like an unofficial lockdown."The tracking teams are really working very hard. On many days, they have to even go without a bath. An urgent meeting should be held to decide how to put an end to RT1's killing spree. It is proving to be very difficult to catch."In 2018, a female tiger named Avni who killed at least 13 people was dramatically shot dead in a highly publicized case despite appeals against the order being lodged with the country's Supreme Court.More recently, in June, a tiger responsible for the death of three people was captured and sent to a zoo in the state of Madhya Pradesh after officials said it was too dangerous for it to roam freely, according to the <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/08/india-sends-man-eater-tiger-to-lifetime-in-captivity.html">Jakarta Post</a>.Meanwhile, a leopard was shot dead this week after killing two children in Teri Gharwal, Uttarakhand, a northeasterly state which has seen over 10 people killed in leopard attacks over the last two months, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/human-leopard-conflict-rises-in-uttarakhand-over-10-people-killed-in-last-months/story-p9N6fnX31b6szpOL7rKdxK.html">Hindustan Times</a> reported.India is home to 70% of the world's tigers and 50 tiger reserves established in 1973 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to protect the endangered species. The main problem now is the increasing conflict between humans and tigers.Tigers killed 225 people between 2014 and 2019 across India, according to the country's tiger census, including 31 people killed in 2020 alone, the highest amount in a decade, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/31-killed-in-tiger-attacks-across-maharashtra-in-2020-highest-in-a-year-since-2010/story-uodHikRC1froTJRwIS5WVI.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hindustan Times</a> reported.The state government has since created an 11-member committee that will look into measures to reduce conflict between tigers and humans and submit their findings by December 31, 2020.

An 'intelligent' man-eating tiger that has killed its 8th victim in an Indian forest continues to evade the hunters sent to track it down

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Conservation biologist Imogene Canceler told Insider that "<keyword id="6757458" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tiger-king">Tiger King</keyword>" focused too much on the drama surrounding Joe Exotic and its other eccentric characters instead of the plight of the big cats in their care.</li><li>Ellie Armstrong, science advisor for the nonprofit <keyword id="43977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="tigers">Tigers</keyword> in America, told Insider that wildlife professionals in the US knew a documentary about the domestic tiger trade was in the works, but were horrified when they finally saw "Tiger King."</li><li>She said they had known tiger breeding and trafficking was a problem overseas, but didn't realize the extent to which it was happening in the US.</li><li>Director Eric Goode <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/03/tiger-king-netflix">told Vanity Fair</a> he had "originally set out to do a slightly different story," admitting the personalities in the show "did trump the issue of the ethicacy of keeping these animals in captivity, and especially the way these people were using these animals — exploiting them for profit."</li><li>However, the docuseries has sparked important conversations amongst concerned wildlife professionals: "We believe discussions like this will help to raise awareness and at some point, people will stop patronizing roadside zoos and faux sanctuaries," Armstrong said.</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>It's hard to avoid the buzz around Netflix's hit <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/tiger-king">"Tiger King"</a> docuseries at the moment, but two wildlife professionals say viewers are taking the wrong messages away from the show.Officially titled "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness," the Netflix documentary chronicles the escalating conflict between big cat breeders operating private zoos and <keyword id="6360323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="animal-rights">animal rights</keyword> activists, and the story ultimately spirals into an alleged murder-for-hire plot, <a href="https://www.insider.com/tiger-king-memes-tiktoks-fan-videos-inspired-by-the-documentary-2020-4">as Insider's Margot Harris reported.</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/best-memes-reactions-netflix-documentary-tiger-king-2020-3">Insider's Jason Guerrasio added</a>: "But what makes this seven-episode docuseries something you can't turn away from is the flamboyant character called Joe Exotic. And that's saying really something because some of the other characters in the series include a conservation owner who is accused of running a cult, another who is a former cocaine drug lord, and a woman rescuer who is accused of murdering her first husband and feeding him to her exotic wild cats."Since the show was released, social media has been filled with <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-memes-reactions-netflix-documentary-tiger-king-2020-3">Joe Exotic memes</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/tiger-king-memes-tiktoks-fan-videos-inspired-by-the-documentary-2020-4">tiger-related TikToks</a>, and a <a href="https://www.insider.com/man-asks-delivery-drivers-is-carole-baskin-tiger-king-guilty-2020-4">conspiracy theory suggesting character</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/man-asks-delivery-drivers-is-carole-baskin-tiger-king-guilty-2020-4"> Carole Baskin killed her husband, Don Lewis, then fed his body to the big cats in her sanctuary.</a>While the general public is understandably obsessed with a cast of characters weirder than any even Hollywood's finest could dream up, experts say Exotic's biggest victims, the tigers, get lost in all the crazy interpersonal drama. <h2>Animals rights issues are a backdrop to the show's wild characters</h2>Ellie Armstrong, science advisor for the nonprofit Tigers in America and a PhD candidate at Stanford University, told Insider that wildlife professionals in the US knew a documentary about the domestic tiger trade was in the works, but were horrified when they finally saw "Tiger King.""The last I'd heard, it wasn't happening," she said. "I guess things changed when Joe got arrested, and the producers decided to make a reality show instead of a documentary."She said they had known tiger breeding and trafficking was a problem overseas, but didn't realize the extent to which it was happening in the US. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/find-explorers/imogene-cancellare">Conservation biologist Imogene Cancellare</a>, meanwhile, has spent years studying big cats, including working for an accredited wildlife sanctuary, Carolina Tiger Rescue, and researching the genetic connectivity of wild snow leopards across Central Asia.Currently a PhD candidate in the Rare and Elusive Species Lab at the University of Delaware, she loathed the Netflix show, accusing the producers of relegating the tigers to "background noise" for most of the episodes.<div type="image" title="ICancellare_Angsai2019.JPG" height="902" width="1200" msid="75180718" hostid="261"></div>"Conversations have been about the larger-than-life people rather than the plight of private exotic animal ownership and what it means for the animals," she told Insider. "Producers played up the conspiracies with Baskin, but failed to distinguish her real — and much needed — efforts in combating animal abuse."For much of the series, Exotic is presented as a goofy anti-hero, despite being seen stealing a just-born tiger cub from its helpless mother who is still in labor.The series also suggests he "killed tigers, sold others in the middle of the night, and tried to hire someone to kill another person," as Cancellare puts it, but still: "For too many people, the takeaway is 'Carole Baskin's a bitch.' It's wild misogyny."When directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/03/tiger-king-netflix">spoke to Vanity Fair</a> about how the series came about, Goode, himself a conservationist, admitted the personalities in the show "did trump the issue of the ethic-acy of keeping these animals in captivity, and especially the way these people were using these animals — exploiting them for profit."He added: "Personally, I had originally set out to do a slightly different story." He later clarified his statement, saying: "I went into this to explore a different side of the animal world in terms of wild animals in captivity. After spending years with these subjects the project moved in a different direction."Netflix is very adept at making binge-worthy television and with these larger-than-life subjects that was pretty easy to do. However, my goal is and has always been the same, which is to raise awareness and help save the species."<h2>What goes on behind the scenes at private zoos</h2>When the baby tigers were brought out at Joe's zoo, hearts melted. But most of the visitors who pay for a similar experience, or witness it on TV, don't realize what likely went on behind the scenes, according to Armstrong."<keyword id="66518" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiger-cubs">Tiger cubs</keyword> separated from their mother aren't pleasant, snuggly little creatures," Armstrong said. "They're screaming, biting, scratching, and difficult to handle."A big part of getting a cub ready for one of these pay-to-pet operations is making it submissive, and you can imagine what that entails. They're dangerous at a very young age, and their claws and teeth very sharp. Exhibitors will often declaw the cubs and even file down their teeth to make them safe for visitors." <div type="image" title="Ellie Armstrong" height="1597" width="1200" msid="75180722" hostid="261"></div>Declawing may seem like a relatively harmless procedure, but there's a reason why most veterinarians refuse to declaw domestic house cats today — it actually involves amputating the last digits of their paws, Armstrong said, and many of the cats never fully recover.Meanwhile, teeth filing at the roadside zoos has become so pervasive that there's a whole foundation, the <a href="https://peteremilyfoundation.org/">Peter Emily Foundation</a>, dedicated to repairing sanctuary cats' teeth.Cancellare told Insider that instead of getting around-the-clock care from their mothers, these tiger cubs suffer from a host of maladies, including chronic exhaustion, stress diarrhea, and malnourishment.Baby tigers have a relatively short window where they're small enough to be safely handled, so pay-to-pet operators like Exotic and Doc Antle, another zoo owner from the series, need to constantly replenish their supply of cubs by breeding. After the cubs outlive their usefulness, they're often either sold or killed, Armstrong said.Not only do the tiger cubs suffer, but so do their mothers. After her cubs are ripped away from her, the mother immediately goes back into heat, Armstrong said. They become like breeding factories, producing three litters and up to 12 cubs each year, before eventually dying prematurely.Tigers in roadside zoos and private collections often die of neglect or untreated curable illnesses, while others are killed outright because of the need for space, according to Armstrong. Some are even sold to taxidermists or into the parts trade. For operations that have been breeding and selling for 20 years, Armstrong estimates the number of tigers killed "could easily be in the thousands."<h2>Tilting the 'Tiger King' spotlight</h2>Cancellare was reluctant to comment on the particular motivations of the "Tiger King" cast, but lamented that most private owners seem to view tigers as commodities instead of the regal animals they are. "Because it's so easy to acquire a tiger, it's easy for people to collect and treat them as livestock for personal gain under the guise of conservation efforts," Cancellare said.While the docuseries itself may not have delved too deeply into the abuse the tigers endure, it has sparked conversation amongst concerned wildlife professionals on social media and elsewhere.Cancellare herself did a <a href="https://twitter.com/biologistimo/status/1244045831923212288">deep dive on the problems presented in the show on Twitter</a> shortly after the series premiered. "You can tell from the way people often pose with wild animals they're not realizing the implications of their actions," Armstrong told Insider."We believe discussions like this will help to raise awareness and at some point, people will stop patronizing roadside zoos and faux sanctuaries."<h2>What viewers can do to help</h2>Instead of visiting unaccredited roadside zoos, Armstrong asks people to visit true sanctuaries, like <a href="https://www.pawsweb.org/">PAWS</a> in California, Indiana's <a href="https://efrc.org/">Exotic Feline Rescue Center,</a> or <a href="https://www.insyncexotics.org/">In-Sync Exotics</a> in Texas, though a more thorough list can be found at <a href="http://tigersinamerica.org">tigersinamerica.org</a>.She also recommends donating to <a href="https://www.tigersinamerica.org/donate.htm">Tigers in America's Rescue Fund</a> or another sanctuary and advocate for the <a href="https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&amp;page=UserAction&amp;id=1009;id=1009">Big Cat Public Safety Act</a> (HR 1380). Legitimate zoos and sanctuaries often support research efforts for wild tigers as well."Asking your accredited zoo or sanctuary what projects they support can be a good way to learn how you can support wild cats," Cancellare said. "Non-profits like <a href="https://www.panthera.org/">Panthera</a> are collaborating with scientists worldwide to address the conservation threats to tigers in the wild. Support of their work, either through boosting them on social media or donating directly, ensures that conservationists can thoroughly address conservation concerns."Rumours are already circling around a <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/all-the-wild-tiger-king-spin-off-projects-from-a-kate-mckinnon-as-carole-baskin-tv-series-to-a-rumored-film">potential follow-ups to "Tiger King"</a> — including a movie starring Kate McKinnon as Baskin — but not surprisingly, both Cancellare and Armstrong have their reservations."I think the filmmakers have already shown us that they're not responsible storytellers," Armstrong said. "We could use a real documentary, say a '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLOeH-Oq_1Y">Blackfish'</a> about big cats, and not a '<a href="https://www.history.com/shows/swamp-people">Swamp People'</a> with tigers reality show."The fact that Joe killed at least five of his healthy tigers because he needed more cage space, but is still portrayed as someone who deserves our sympathy, did their viewers a serious disservice."Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/best-memes-reactions-netflix-documentary-tiger-king-2020-3">The best memes and celebrity reactions to Netflix's 'Tiger King,' the hit documentary you really should be watching</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/netflix-shows-watch-after-tiger-king-2020-4">11 Netflix shows to watch next if you binged 'Tiger King'</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/tiger-king-memes-tiktoks-fan-videos-inspired-by-the-documentary-2020-4">'Tiger King' fans are making TikToks inspired by the bizarre documentary and its controversial cast</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/jared-leto-dressed-as-joe-exotic-tiger-king-viewing-party-2020-3">Jared Leto dressed up as Joe Exotic for his 'Tiger King' viewing party on Twitter</a>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-tiger-king-got-wrong-according-to-conservation-biologist-2020-4">Insider</a>

A conservation biologist says the animals in 'Tiger King' were just 'background noise' to human drama

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Florida homeowners discovered a 10-foot crocodile in their swimming pool on Sunday morning.</li><li>Wildlife trappers were called to remove it, with a video showing them wrestling it out of the water.</li></ul>Wildlife trappers received a call from a homeowner in Plantation Key, Florida, early on Sunday morning about a crocodile in their swimming pool.Pesky Critters Wildlife Control, a Florida-based wildlife removal company, saw the 10-foot American crocodile in the swimming pool and got to work, the company said in a Facebook post.What ensued was a battle between the giant crocodile and two wildlife trappers, Todd Hardwick and Jeff Peterla, the post said.A video posted by the company shows Hardwick wrestling to pull the animal out of the water as the crocodile thrashed about and tried to escape capture.The crocodile can be seen splashing water onto the pool deck, which Pesky Critters Wildlife Control said created a "dangerous footing situation."According to the <a href="https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/american-crocodile/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,</a> American crocodiles only tend to splash aggressively if they are frightened.Nonetheless, Hardwick and Peterla were able to safely lift the crocodile onto the deck.It was later moved to a safe location with the help of a Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputy, the video shows. The footage also shows the crocodile being released into a nearby body of water.Neither Pesky Critters Wildlife Control nor the sheriff's office immediately responded to Insider's requests for comment.According to the <a href="https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/american-crocodile/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,</a> conflicts between humans and American crocodiles are rare.<a href="https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/american-crocodile/problem/">The commission said</a> people can safely coexist with the creatures by keeping a safe distance from them, not feeding them, keeping pets on a leash away from the water, and avoiding swimming outside of daylight hours.American crocodiles in Florida can <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/science-magazines/american-crocodile" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reach lengths of about 12 feet.</a>

Video shows a crocodile trapper pulling a 10-foot crocodile out of a swimming pool in Florida

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In 1971, the US set off its largest underground nuclear weapon test at a remote Alaskan island.</li><li>Before, scientists managed to relocate hundreds of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/otters-are-one-of-the-smartest-species-on-the-planet-2015-10">sea otters</a> that may have died in the explosion.</li></ul>When a large earthquake shook <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/years-after-fight-for-attu-aleutians-regain-us-military-focus-2022-6">Alaska's Aleutian Islands</a> in 2014, scientists with the US government hurried to assess the damage on <a target="_blank" href="https://amp.businessinsider.com/study-no-leaking-radiation-from-alaska-island-nuclear-site-2019-2">Amchitka Island</a>. They were looking for <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/d6405fa91e04423f91d21ad282a99129">leaking radiation</a> from underground nuclear tests performed decades before.During the first half of the 20th century, the remote island had been a wildlife preserve, until the US government converted it into a nuclear test site. Three atomic weapons went off at Amchitka in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the largest underground detonation the US has ever set off.No humans lived on the island, but the biggest blast, in 1971, killed at least 900 sea otters. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/atoms-for-peace-us-peaceful-nuclear-weapons-use-2021-10">Atomic Energy Commission</a>, the government agency in charge of nuclear research, had predicted at most <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/12/archives/900-otter-deaths-tied-to-atom-test-2-aec-scientists-report-definite.html">240</a> otters would die.If ecologists and others hadn't pushed to relocate some otters before the detonation, it probably would have been much worse."There was pressure from the state of Alaska as well as environmental groups," conservation biologist and author, Joe Roman told Business Insider. "They ended up moving hundreds of otters." Roman wrote about the otter relocation in his new book "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joe-roman-phd/eat-poop-die/9780316372923/">Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World</a>."<h2>Why were otters recolated?</h2>By the time the AEC was looking at Amchitka in the 1960s, the island's sea otter population was one of only a handful that had survived the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-effects-environment-marine-mammals-fish-plants-2023-9">sea mammals</a>' near extinction a century earlier.Their luscious pelts were prized as "soft gold." In the 1700s and 1800s, hunters killed about one million sea otters to sell their fur.<div type="image" title="Two otters cling to each other in the ocean." height="3337" width="5260" msid="106331367" hostid="261" sizebytes="449352"></div>The drop in population was alarming, from between 150,000 to 300,000 in the early 1700s to around 2,000 just 200 years later. Russia, Japan, Britain, and the US signed a fur treaty to help protect the animals in 1911. Over the next several decades, sea otter numbers rose to around 30,000.By 1959, the charismatic animals were starring in a nature film, "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bcS2HgetEE">The Sea Otters of Amchitka</a>." No one wanted to see those adorable otters decimated by an underground explosion, John Vania, an otter specialist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the AEC.A confluence of occurrences made many Americans more environmentally conscious in the 1960s, from Ohio's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-photos-of-cuyahoga-river-on-fire-before-epa-2019-6">Cuyahoga River continually catching fire</a> to Rachel Carson's exploration of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/animals-saved-endangered-species-act-passed-eagle-grizzly-wolf-alligator-2023-11#bald-eagle-1">dangers of pesticides</a> in her book "Silent Spring" to the largest <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-oil-spill-2015-5">oil spill</a> in US waters at the time, near Santa Barbara, California.Protestors didn't want a third <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-us-government-told-kodak-about-nuclear-bomb-testing-2023-7">nuclear test</a> at Amchitka at all. In fact, the conservation group Greenpeace formed out of an organization trying to stop the test.A US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, Karl Kenyon, had already worked on relocating some otters to areas they'd lived before the 18th century hunting. The detonations at Amchitka were a good reason to move even more, ecologists and biologists thought.If the AEC would pay for it, Vania said, the scientists could relocate the otters.<h2>The return of the kelp forests</h2>In addition to funding the relocation, the AEC supplied the scientists with a plane that could hold over 50 otters. Over the next few years, the scientists captured more than 700 otters in nets and carted them to southeast Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia.Over the next 50 years, the sea otter populations in many of these locations, like Sitka, Alaska, would go from several dozen to hundreds or thousands. "All the sea otters — of which there are thousands — in Sitka now are the descendants of these airlifted sea otters," Roman said.Eighty-nine otters went to British Columbia. Now there are over 7,000. An estimated <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128014028000032">125,000 sea otters</a> live in the Pacific Ocean as of 2015.The otters' presence soon changed the landscapes where they live today. Their relocation allowed biologist Jim Estes to study islands with and without otters. As a result, he realized there was a link between otters, sea urchins, and kelp forests.<div type="image" title="beautiful kelp forests" height="667" width="1000" msid="106331368" hostid="261" sizebytes="52854"></div>"In the absence of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sea-otters-steal-surfboards-claims-joining-orca-uprising-2023-7">sea otters</a>, you have a lot of sea urchins," Roman said. "When you have a lot of urchins, they create what's called urchin barrens." The sea urchins eat the kelp holdfasts, which anchor the algae. Roman compares it to sawing down a forest. The kelp eventually disappear.One of the otters' favorite foods is sea urchin. And they can eat a lot of them. "They have very high metabolisms," Roman said. "They're eating machines." When the sea urchin numbers drop, the kelp return.In Sitka Sound, the sea otters reduced the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/japans-priciest-foods-harvested-expensive-2022-9">sea urchin population</a> by 99%. Kelp forests exploded in return. "The forests provide food and shelter for more than 800 species, including sea lions, harbor seals, lingcod, gobies, moray eels, octopuses, crabs, sea anemones, and brittle stars," Roman wrote.<div type="image" title="Many sea urchins on a wooden plate on a blue-and-white patterned surface" height="1500" width="2250" msid="106331371" hostid="261" sizebytes="502938"></div>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sunflower-sea-stars-save-ocean-kelp-forests-west-coast-study-2023-3">kelp forests</a> are also amazing at capturing carbon, a concern for the warming planet.The otters can also affect land animals, Roman wrote, either directly, as food for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ice-age-wolf-dna-suggests-dogs-were-domesticated-in-asia-2022-6">wolves</a> on Alaska's Pleasant Island, or indirectly, with the kelp forests that attracted birds that prey on fish.<h2>Competing with otters</h2><div type="image" title="Three sea otters float in the water" height="1500" width="2444" msid="106331374" hostid="261" sizebytes="129226"></div>Roman called the sea otter relocation one of the "most successful cases" of its kind. However, he said, "you don't really <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-reintroduced-cheetahs-some-scientists-call-it-a-pr-stunt-2022-10">release animals</a> in that way these days."For one thing, the US didn't consult indigenous and First Nations people before unleashing the otters. The mammals brought back the kelp forests, but they destroyed a reliable source of food for many people."Sea otters don't just eat urchins," Roman said. "They also eat geoducks and other valuable benthic invertebrates in the area." That includes crabs and clams. "And of course that brings them into conflict with fishers in that area," he said.Suddenly, otters appeared where they hadn't been for generations. "So no one remembers having sea otters in that area," Roman said. "They're used to harvesting these invertebrates, and they're quite abundant in the absence of a predator."Their voracious appetite is one reason some people call otters the "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/todd-mcleish/return-of-the-sea-otter/">rats of the sea</a>." For some Alaskans and Canadians, they're seen as a nuisance.When otters arrived in new regions of Alaska, Washington, and Oregon in the '60s and '70s, it was still legal to hunt them. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1973, changed that, though Alaska Natives can still hunt otters, whales, and seals."I spoke to Mike Miller, who's a native Sitkan," Roman said. "He promotes this idea of some balance" between the human population and the otters.It's an idea echoed by researchers, too. "We are wondering if there is a sweet spot where you can have it all," ecologist Kristy Kroeker <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230228-how-alaskas-sea-otters-came-back#">told the BBC</a>.While sea otter numbers are far greater than they were 100 years ago, the animals are still <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2023-09/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-announces-southern-sea-otters-will-retain">endangered</a>. They also face challenges due to the climate crisis. And not all the relocated populations survived. They disappeared from Oregon after about a decade.But sea otters' success elsewhere — especially their impact on kelp forests — has made Oregon want to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.opb.org/article/2022/08/04/report-bringing-sea-otters-back-to-oregon-coast-feasible-though-complicated/">try reintroducing</a> them again, just with more caution and the input of coastal tribes this time.

How US nuclear tests in the '70s led to today's thriving otter population on the Pacific west coast

<ul class="summary-list"><li>New images were released showing a "wildlife sanctuary" in Korea's demilitarized zone (DMZ).</li><li>The project marks 70 years since the Korean armistice agreement split the nation between North and South.</li></ul>The demilitarized zone between North and South Korea is currently no place for people — which is exactly why, 70 years after the Korean War armistice, rare flora and fauna have flourished on the untouched strip of land. To mark the 70th anniversary of the end of active hostilities between North and South Korea, newly released images show a wildlife haven in the 160-mile-long buffer zone between the two countries surrounded by fences and landmines. Released by <a href="https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/explore-koreas-demilitarized-zone-through-its-history-nature-and-art/">Google Arts &amp; Culture </a>and several South Korea-based institutions, the striking images show high-level biodiversity in a 560-square-mile stretch of land that has remained undisturbed for several decades. "After the Korean War, the DMZ had minimal human interference for over 70 years, and the damaged nature recovered on its own," the site <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/story/twVRv8x4gE_fWw">said</a>. "As a result, it built up a new ecosystem not seen around the cities and has become a sanctuary for wildlife."<div type="image" title="Musk deer (Moschus moschiferus)" height="1008" width="1347" msid="98256316" hostid="261" sizebytes="55040"></div>The project also allows viewers to take a "virtual tour" of historical sites from the war and artwork based on people's experiences in the region. The DMZ is home to plants and animals "completely unique to Korea" — 38% of which are endangered, Google said on the project site. Unmanned cameras installed by the National Institute of Ecology show endangered cranes, musk deer, bears, and mountain goats, as well as otters that "move freely along the river" between the two countries, all among a wide range of habitats, including snowy mountains, wetlands, and forests. <div type="image" title="Scopolia parviflora (Dunn) Nakai with its bell-shaped purple flowers" height="1008" width="1347" msid="98256317" hostid="261" sizebytes="55294"></div>These cameras also captured an Asiatic black bear for the first time in 20 years, researchers said, a species in rapid decline due to habitat destruction and poaching. In all, 6,168 wildlife species of plants, mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, freshwater fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, and spiders live on the land. <div type="image" title="dmz 1ss 6" height="1333" width="1777" msid="98256318" hostid="261" sizebytes="181428"></div>Environmental organizations and researchers <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/korea-dmz-google-view-wildlife-intl-hnk/index.html#:~:text=The%20DMZ's%20inhabitants%20include%20endangered,areas%20where%20residents%20feed%20the" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continue to call for established environmental protection</a> for the DMZ, but the process would require a collaboration between the two countries, according to CNN. While peace talks in 2018 gave some hope for this possibility, the war between the two countries has not formally ended because the conflict concluded in an armistice rather than a peace treaty in 1953.

New images offer rare glimpse of the DMZ between North and South Korea where wild animals find peace and flourish

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Animal attacks on humans, such as by bears or sharks, are relatively very rare.</li><li>But experts recommend specific actions depending on which predator you're encountering.</li></ul>Despite lots of fear — and films suggesting otherwise — the risk of being attacked by a bear or a shark remains incredibly low.Still, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/southern-california-coast-hotspot-great-white-sharks-beaches-shore-2023-2">great white sharks</a> returning to Southern California and <a href="https://www.insider.com/predatory-bear-attack-in-montana-shows-importance-of-hiding-food-2022-7">grizzly bears</a> spreading out in Montana, it's good to know what to do if you do run into any potentially dangerous animals while in the outdoors or the ocean.Wildlife officials have specific recommendations on the best course of action, but it varies depending on the animal. One thing you should always do regardless of the animal is keep your distance and not approach or surprise it.Here's what you should do if you encounter any of these apex predators and how you can avoid an attack.<h2>Grizzly bears and black bears</h2><div type="image" title="grizzly bear" height="2316" width="3088" msid="100431847" hostid="261" sizebytes="389396"></div>There are two kinds of bears you're likely to run into while outdoors in North America, depending on where you are: grizzly bears and black bears. Black bears especially are widespread, located in most US states, while grizzlies are concentrated in areas of Montana and Wyoming, and throughout Alaska.Hiking in groups is one way to <a href="https://www.insider.com/predatory-bear-attack-in-montana-shows-importance-of-hiding-food-2022-7">avoid a bear encounter</a>, as a group is likely to make more noise, thus allowing the bear to hear you coming rather than be caught off guard.Regardless of the kind of bear you run into, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Park Service</a> says it's important to stay calm and remember that it's rare for a bear to attack.You should hold your ground, wave your arms around, and talk calmly to the bear, telling it to back off, in order to identify yourself as a human and not a prey animal. Screaming or making a sudden movement could scare the bear.You can move away slowly and sideways, continuing to face the bear. Make sure to leave the bear an escape route and avoid boxing it in somewhere.The park service says if a bear stands, it is usually just curious, rather than showing aggression.A bear may bluff by charging at you and turning away at the last moment. If this happens, the park service says you should stand your ground. If you have <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bearspray.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bear spray</a>, you should use it when the charging bear is 30 to 60 feet away, and spray until it changes direction.<div type="image" title="Closeup of a young Black Bear in Ontario, Canada" height="3429" width="4573" msid="100431848" hostid="261" sizebytes="338970"></div>The park service is clear that you should not run — bears can run faster than racehorses and are inclined to chase fleeing animals — and you should not climb a tree, which grizzlies and black bears can both do.If the <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-to-do-if-you-see-a-bear-attack-2019-4">bear attacks</a>, how you respond will depend on whether it's a grizzly or black bear.If a grizzly bear attacks, you should play dead. The park service says you should lay flat on your stomach with your hands behind your neck, keeping your legs spread wide to make it harder for the bear to flip you over. Stay in this position until the bear leaves. If the bear continues the attack, then you should fight back and hit the bear in the face.If a black bear attacks, you should not play dead. The park service says you should try to find a safe place like a car or building. If that's not possible, you should fight back, taking aim at the bear's face and muzzle.Regardless of the type of bear, the park service said that in the extremely rare event that a bear attacks you in your tent or stalks you and then attacks, it signals the animal views you as prey. You should not play dead and fight back as hard as you can.<h2>Sharks</h2><div type="image" title="Photo of a bull shark taken during a diving expedition in Tiger Beach, Bahamas." height="2519" width="3359" msid="100431849" hostid="261" sizebytes="756300"></div>Plenty of swimmers are in the close vicinity of sharks and never realize it because, as with bears, it is rare for sharks to attack humans.One way to avoid a potential shark attack is to avoid swimming alone in waters where sharks could be present, as sharks tend to avoid busy beaches.If you do see a shark while you are in the ocean, researchers say you should keep your eyes on it. Eye contact lets the shark know you see it and helps prevent the shark from interpreting you as prey, Marissa Wu at the Roundhouse Aquarium in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/southern-california-coast-hotspot-great-white-sharks-beaches-shore-2023-2">Southern California</a>, previously told Insider.Most of the time, the shark is curious and will swim along after checking you out. You should keep an eye out for aggressive behavior, such as the shark swimming quickly toward or away from you. A shark that is simply curious will likely be swimming leisurely in a broad S-like pattern.While keeping your eyes on the shark, you should calmly swim back to the shore.If a shark does attack, you should hit it in the eye or nose, or, if possible, stick your hands into its gills and pull hard. In most instances, the shark will release and swim away, at which point you should call for help and get back to the beach as quickly as you can.<h2>Orcas</h2><div type="image" title="An orca" height="1780" width="2374" msid="100431851" hostid="261" sizebytes="226880"></div>Although known as "killer whales," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-orcas-kill-great-white-shark-eat-liver-south-africa-2022-7">orcas</a> earned that name for their fierce reputation of hunting other animals — not humans. Still, if you encounter an orca there are several things you should do to avoid a dangerous encounter with the predator.With orcas recently attacking sailboats, a whale expert told <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/environment/majestic-predators-of-uae-waters-expert-shares-what-to-do-when-you-see-killer-whales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khaleej Times</a> that you should <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orca-killer-whale-attack-boat-expert-advice-2023-5">never enter the water if you see a killer whale</a>."Never swim with these animals because they are much bigger than us, even the small dolphins," Ada Natoli, a professor at Zayed University Abu Dhabi and Founder of the UAE Dolphin Project Initiative, said. "One can observe them from a kayak or paddle boat but always refrain from swimming with them."Natoli also noted there are no known instances of fatal orca attacks on humans, but the recent conflicts with boats has caused some concern. If your boat encounters a killer whale, he said you should try to keep a distance of at least 50 to 100 meters, or 164 to 328 feet, turn off your engine, or at least slow down.He also said you should avoid approaching an orca from the back or from the front and try to stay on their side. Orcas will often approach boats out of curiosity, but he said it should not be the other way around.The <a href="https://www.theca.org.uk/orcas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Groupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica</a> (GTOA), an Atlantic orca working group, provides similar advice. They recommend slowly reversing away from an orca, if possible, and keeping a low profile on deck to avoid attracting an orca's attention.GTOA also says you should keep a firm hold on the boat when moving around, in case the orca does ram the boat.<h2>Other large mammals that may seem harmless but can actually really hurt you</h2><div type="image" title="Bison" height="3042" width="4057" msid="100431853" hostid="261" sizebytes="446264"></div>Apex predators are not the only animals that can attack humans.Every year, tourists to Yellowstone National Park underestimate the dangers posed by bison, and every year some are charged and gored. Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone, one of the country's most visited national parks, than any other animal, according to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/safety.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Park Service</a>.Although bison look similar to big, furry cows, they can run three times faster than humans and are extremely agile, able to swim, turn quickly, and jump fences.Large mammals like elk and moose are also extremely fast and can cause harm to humans if spooked or provoked.The park service recommends that visitors never approach wildlife, and stay at least 25 yards, or 75 feet, away from such animals. They recommend staying 100 yards away from bears and wolves.If a bison or elk charges, the park service recommends immediately running away from the animal, which may be bluff charging. Retreat into a vehicle or building, or utilize your bear spray.

From bears to sharks to orcas, here's what to do if you find yourself up against these apex predators

<ul class="summary-list"><li>More than 100 <keyword id="11918126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dogs" source="Orion">dogs</keyword> survived a month of starvation at a shelter near Borodyanka, <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>. </li><li>The surviving dogs have been unable to cross into <keyword id="11937111" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="poland" source="Orion">Poland</keyword> to get necessary veterinarian care. </li></ul>More than 100 dogs that survived starvation at an animal shelter near Borodyanka, Ukraine, are being turned away at the Poland border, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/borodyanka-shelter-dogs-ukraine-war-poland/">CBS News</a> reported. UAnimal, An animal charity <a href="https://www.facebook.com/UAnimals.official/posts/4815305035191344">announced</a> last week that over 300 dogs died at the Borodansky Animal Shelter from hunger and thirst. The animals were left to starve in their enclosures for more than a month. "With the shelter increasingly inaccessible due to the conflict, sadly many of the dogs perished," Wendy Higgins, director of <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">international</keyword> media for Humane Society International, told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/06/1091159646/more-than-300-dogs-starved-to-death-at-a-shelter-in-ukraine">NPR</a>. In a tweet, Kate Parker, a wildlife crime campaign manager at Naturewatch Foundation said that animals are being turned back because of a rule that says animals must be accompanied by an owner to cross as well as for disease control. "These dogs are starved, traumatized, and now stuck in a war zone," Parker told CBS News. Parker told CBS News that shelters have been destroyed, and those remaining may not have electricity or the staff to assist the animals. Additionally, many veterinarians have fled the country for their own safety. She added that there are veterinarians in shelters in Poland that are waiting to help. Parker told CBS News that she's hoping officials make an exception this time for the sake of animal welfare, and said they'd abide by any quarantine guidelines for disease control. Parker did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Over 100 dogs that survived starvation in a Ukrainian shelter are being denied entry into Poland because of a rule that says animals can only cross with an owner

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From bears to sharks to orcas, here's what to do if you find yourself up against these apex predators

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Over 100 dogs that survived starvation in a Ukrainian shelter are being denied entry into Poland because of a rule that says animals can only cross with an owner

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