Rescuers were monitoring a pod of pilot whales swimming just off the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island late on Tuesday after more than a dozen of the group were killed in a mass stranding.

A humpback whale spotted off Bremer Bay late last week is believed to be the earliest sighting ever of the species on WA’s south coast. Humpback whales are usually spotted of WA's south coast in late March or early April. The whale's early appearance has prompted concerns from scientists about the lack of food stocks in Antarctica.

Coastal seabirds have experienced significant die-offs in Western Alaska the past few years. But recent results suggest that offshore birds are also feeling the impact of low ice and warming ocean temperatures in the Bering Sea.

A farmer in northern B.C. captured a wild cat he found in his chicken coop, picking it up by the scruff of the neck and gently scolding it before putting it into a dog kennel and relocating it further out in the bush. The lynx was so skinny that the farmer left the two dead chickens with the animal.

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council is taking tests and awaiting results from a likely algal bloom spreading across the sea off the Hawke's Bay coast. Coastwatchers say the reddish-brown discolouration has been growing over several weeks – visitors to the Bluff Hill lookout reported what may have been its early signs on January 31, when it appeared to be coming from a ship apparently circling at sea off the Port of Napier.

Unidentified birds may be Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator), whose species range extends to some parts of the Alaska Peninsula.

White, dust-like deposit on the beach on sunny day after high tides. Water samples would be required for identification.

Bird flu, or avian influenza, has struck the Swedish poultry industry hard this winter. Since November, thousands of turkeys and more than one million chickens have been culled. Malin Grant, an epidemiologist at the National Veterinary Institute, says the virus can be deadly for domestic poultry but the strains currently circulating don't easily infect or spread between people.

In Eikefjorden in Kinn municipality, large quantities of dead horse mackerel recently washed ashore. The whole thing will probably end up as a meal for birds and other fish-interested animals, the police say. The cause of the fish kill remains a mystery.

The wildcat showed no hesitancy in actively interacting with people or traffic an ENR spokesperson said. It was likely the animal involved in other interactions with pets.

When he heard something had bitten his sister, Erik Stevens grabbed a light and went to investigate. "I shined the headlamp and opened the lid, and right there at the level of the toilet seat was a cinnamon-colored bear face, big enough to fill the hole."

Record-low levels of sea ice cover in the Gulf of St. Lawrence means a greater number of seals are coming on shore and are more likely to interact with humans.

On Feb. 16, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation reported that many residents and visitors have called SCCF, the city of Sanibel and Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife with concerns about royal terns over the past few weeks and the sight of their carcasses on the Sanibel Causeway bridges. Test results on deceased royal terns confirmed on Feb. 15 that they had high levels of brevetoxins, the neurotoxin associated with red tide.

There was heavy rainfall yesterday across the region. Rain combined with thawing snow and above-freezing temperatures are conditions that increase the likelihood of landslides. The evacuation from six streets was called “precautionary” as authorities are still evaluating whether the slope was destabilized following December landslides.

On Monday, Shania Tymchatyn saved one of her dogs from a lynx, and Yellowknife kennel owner Trevor Lizotte says one of the big cats attacked his dog team last week.

Millions of people are still living a nightmare scenario of arctic cold, snow or ice with little to no power. There will be little time Tuesday before the next blast of winter weather compounds the situation. 

Colorado Springs set new record-low temperatures, breaking marks set 126 years ago, for both Sunday and Monday as a wave of Arctic cold swept through the state over the weekend.

A “not very shy” lynx attracted some attention in Yellowknife Monday. Daniel Bourke saw it near Avens seniors complex where staff called ENR.

More rain and a blanket of snow in recent months has helped Sweden's groundwater levels recover significantly after dropping in several parts of the country.

Very heavy rain has affected South and East Iceland throughout Sunday and overnight. An area of Seyðisfjörður has been evacuated and road closures were announced in three places due to an avalanche, an ice flood, and a downed power line.