A bottlenose dolphin found stranded near Mile Marker 18 at Padre Island National Seashore on Saturday night by park staff has pneumonia, officials with the Texas State Aquarium said Monday.

But additional tests still are needed to determine the overall condition of the 287-pound dolphin, said Sarah Paige, the aquarium’s animal husbandry director.

The female dolphin, who was given the name Alice, receives fluids every four hours and is monitored closely at the aquarium’s Sea Lab. She is housed alone in a 40,000-gallon tank.

Lea Walker, Corpus Christi regional coordinator for the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, estimated the dolphin is an adult about 5 to 7 years old.

“We’re cautiously optimistic at this point,” Walker said. “She’s definitely feisty.”

Park employees on sea turtle patrol spotted the dolphin about 6 p.m. Saturday and immediately contacted Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network staff to help in the rescue.

Rain, high winds and cold weather made it tough for rescuers to reach the dolphin’s location and to make the careful transfer.

“The beach was horrible. It took about two hours to get there and getting back was bad too,” Walker said.

Aquarium staff and network volunteers are unsure why the dolphin became stranded but plan to begin feeding her solid food within the next couple days.

“We have to be careful and introduce it slowly,” Walker said. “We might start with a mixture of fish gruel.”

Bottlenose dolphins commonly inhabit warm seas throughout the world and on average live about 25 years. Officials said the bodies of very young or old dolphins that became ill often are found stranded along the coastline between January and late March.

“The fact that she’s alive shows she’s tough,” Walker said. “The best-case scenario is she fully recovers and can be re-released into the Gulf of Mexico.”

A bird of prey spotted flying over Larne Lough has been confirmed as the first sighting of the rare Montagu’s harrier in Northern Ireland.

And the birdwatcher who caught sight of the harrier believes climate change may have played a part in bringing it to more northerly climes.

It was initially thought that the bird was a female hen harrier, but, thanks to video footage taken by birding enthusiast Cameron Moore, the Northern Ireland Rarity Committee has just confirmed that it was a female Montagu’s harrier.

Mr Moore was initially told by another birdwatcher that the bird couldn’t be a Montagu’s harrier as it doesn’t occur in Northern Ireland – but some nagging doubts remained.

Eventually he submitted the footage to the Northern Ireland Rarities Committee, which came to the conclusion that it was indeed a female Montagu’s harrier – the first to appear in Northern Ireland.

“It has to be 100%. Four or five people on the committee study the footage and if they are not 100% on that bird, it’ll not pass,” he said.

Mr Moore, from Whitehead, never goes birdwatching without his camcorder and it proved to be a valuable tool when he learned from his friend Keith Glasgow that a bird of prey had been spotted in Magheramorne, heading towards Ballycarry Bridge.

“I decided to investigate this sighting and arrived at the bridge to see three hooded crows harassing a harrier,” he said.

Mr Moore wasn’t close enough to make an identification but the following morning he and his friend Joe Lamont went out to search for the mysterious predator.

“On arrival at the bridge we spotted the harrier hunting at the south end of Larne Lough,” he said.

“In order to get a better view of the bird we made our way down a lane at the top end of the lough and again spotted the bird hunting. At this point I started to video record what I believed to be a female hen harrier.

“I stated to Joe that the wings were too long and it flew in too strange a manner to be that of a hen harrier. Joe agreed and asked why a hen harrier would be on low ground at this time of the year.

“The bird stayed in view for around 15 minutes and then flew into a wooded area and out of sight. When I returned home I viewed the footage and my instincts said that this was a Montagu’s harrier.”

Montagu’s harrier is known as Britain’s rarest breeding bird of prey, travelling north in summer to breed in southern and eastern England – the northern edge of its range, which stretches down through northern Africa.

“The Montagu’s is a little smaller than our common buzzard and has a wing span between 100cm and 120cm and is dark brown in colour,” Mr Moore said. “The upper wing has a dark line along the secondaries, its tail is long and has a series of bands with a white rump. They eat small birds, rodents and rabbits.”

The birds may be starting to appear further north because of climate change, he said.

“As the temperature goes up, they are getting pushed further and further north. There are things happening – it’s definitely global warming that is pushing them further north,” he said.

The harrier is not the only rare bird Mr Moore has spotted. In January this year he was walking with his grandson along the shore in Whitehead when he caught sight of a rare Bonaparte’s gull, a bird native to Canada.

A Chinese puppy named Dudu has survived being hit by a car and then buried by his owners who thought he was dead. 7 hours after the burial the property office called Dudu’s owner to say that he was sitting outside the door of the apartment block.

“I rushed out and Dudu staggered toward me. He was covered with soil and had dried blood at the edge of his mouth, and both eyes swollen with blood,” said Dudu’s owner, Miss Li.

She and her mother rushed the dog to Beier Pet Hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery. According to the hospital manager Dudu was probably in shock when they couldn’t feel him breathing. He said that Dudu is lucky the hole was not deep.

Truman the Tiger is a household name to almost every Mizzou student and alumni, but what about Sulley the Tiger?

It’s been almost two years since Sulley was rescued from a “photo for money” operation in Louisiana.

“One of those situations where these three [tigers], including Sulley, were in a car and that was a very inappropriate thing because one of them passed away from the heat exposure,” said Pat Craig of the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colo., where Sulley is currently kept.

While people paid $25 each to have their picture taken with the tiger, his malnourishment was starting to take a toll.

“He probably wasn’t fed appropriately during his developmental years,” said MU surgeon Derek Fox. “Bones can be very finicky with respect to their development and growth. If they’re not exposed to the right things, especially nutrition, they can grow very crooked.”

Sulley’s legs started to bow outward when he walked. These deformities were leading to multiple permanent joint malformations, arthritis and pain. That’s when the Wild Animal Sanctuary called the University of Missouri.

When doctors assessed the situation, they were more than willing to lend a hand.

“We tried our best to help Sulley and felt indebted to do so becuase it was really the fault of man and humans of why he has suffered the way he has,” said Fox.

For the past few years, Mizzou surgeons have been studying a technique used in humans to correct similar limb deformities in dogs. With careful planning, Sulley was ready to have this same procedure performed.

Although the surgery went fine, the doctors say it’s going to be a long road ahead for Sulley. It could be almost three months before he is back to his old self again. Considering his past, the doctors think his recovery time shouldn’t be that bad.

Several companies donated both time and money to the effort, including Mizzou Tiger for Tigers, the nation’s first tiger mascot conservation program.

A miracle golden eagle that the National Aviary of Pittsburgh nursed back to health from near-death was released to the wild this morning.

The bird flew off on strong wings from New Creek Mountain near Scherr, W.Va.

The golden eagle has been fitted with a tracking device. It is expected to join other migrating golden eagles on their way to Canada.

Erin Estell, manager of animal programs at the National Aviary, was part of the team that provided round-the-clock care to the bird.

“I feel great, relieved,” she said after the bird’s release. “Lots of stress and anxiety flew away with that bird. It’s good to see him fly so strong.”

The bird’s left leg had been caught on the mountain in a trap meant for coyotes. The bird struggled to free itself for nearly a week. When it was found Jan. 5, it was dying. The trap’s metal jaws wore through its skin and muscle, exposing bone the trap had crushed. An infection in the wound had spread to its blood. It was dehydrated, malnourished, anemic and in liver failure.

The eagle came to the National Aviary, where it underwent surgery. Staffers changed its wound dressings every other day. They force-fed it mice laced with medications; at one point, it received a dozen antibiotics and vitamins.

Golden eagles, though not endangered, are protected under federal law.

Within the next week, the bird’s path will be shown on the aviary’s web site within the next week.

Tom “Bucky” Olguin returned home Saturday after four months of hospitalization from complications of West Nile virus. His illness was difficult to diagnose and in his case even more difficult to recover from, but he had some help from his horse.

Bucky and Jackie Olguin are Casa Grande Valley residents and have two sons, 14-year-old Waylon and 9-year-old Luke.

Jackie was born and raised in Casa Grande. Bucky spent his early childhood in Albuquerque, N.M., where he was born. Around age 9 his family moved to Stanfield, and he spent time between the home in Arizona and the family ranch in New Mexico.

In December Bucky was diagnosed with West Nile virus, known to be contracted from mosquito bites and present in Arizona for a few years.

Before contracting WNV he was a local truck driver and spent his free time roping and with his family.

Olguin took his first trip to the hospital Nov. 6 with severe flu-like symptoms he had been experiencing for a little over a week.

Having been a kidney transplant recipient, he was expected to be more prone to the flu and common cold, and was sent home to recover with bed rest. The illness did not ease, however.

On Nov. 8 he was again admitted to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center after breaking out in sweats, cold chills and experiencing nausea, among other harsh symptoms.

The doctors couldn’t diagnose Olguin and were pressed to find answers. His illness progressed as his doctors ran tests. As it did so he lost his speech and all energy; he became unable to walk or even stand.

The hospital continued to run tests and still could not find a solution to the situation. Olguin became delusional and started talking to himself and hallucinating. He suffered extensive breathing problems, states of severe confusion and began panting with each breath he took.

He began to have difficulty sleeping. One day he was unable to sleep for 24 1/2 hours. To ease his unrest the hospital administered sleeping medication, and he soon went into a coma.

He was transferred to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. After the transfer Olguin’s family was forced to leave their home and were welcomed by Bucky’s parents, Rudy and Mary Olguin. They offered to take care of the couple’s two sons while Jackie stayed with Bucky.

Jackie was forced to leave her job at the Arizona City Golf Course so she could continue hospital visits and travel to and from Phoenix daily.

After the transfer, Olguin was kept in a medicated coma for nearly five days while the hospital ran a CAT scan and other tests. Once taken off the medication he did not wake.

Eight days later the doctors had conclusive results and were positive that Olguin had West Nile. Only a short time after the diagnosis he woke from his coma for the first time.

Jackie said it was like he knew what was wrong so he could wake up to face it.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that 15,000 people in the U.S. have been infected with West Nile virus since the first detection in 1999. Of those, 500 have died.

These odds held no relevance in the Olguins’ eyes. Bucky was no quitter and his determination to recover proved advantageous.

From Dec. 29 until Jan. 25 he remained in intensive care at Good Samaritan. He was then moved to a specialized branch of the hospital where he began rehabilitating his bodily functions. This unit incorporates animals into physical and speech therapy in a process called animal assisted therapy. This technique is unique to Banner Good Samaritan.

Olguin, having been raised on a ranch, spent much time working with animals. It only made sense to incorporate his lifestyle into his recovery.

He was first greeted by trained therapy dogs, which he would pet and feed to build strength and flexibility in his arms and hands.

During physical therapy Jackie suggested, “What if we brought his roping horse up?”

The hospital agreed to allow the horse to be incorporated into the daily physical therapy and Coco journeyed to Banner Good Samaritan.

Olguin completed different activities with his horse including brushing, petting and feeding her carrots to build his upper arm and trunk strength and speaking to her to work on his speech therapy. While Bucky was completing these activities he was asked to sit on the edge of a chair and reach for the horse, which helped build his muscles and endurance in his arms. By placing both feet on the ground he was building trunk strength and using his leg muscles.

“Bringing his horse in was a moral boost for Bucky,” said his therapist, Jill Sclease.

After reintroducing the horse into his life his spirits were lifted, he gained strength more rapidly and was more enthusiastic about recovery. He began slowly gaining strength and was more able to control his body.

“I think it jolted something in his brain that said, ‘Hey I have a life at home. This hospital is not my life,’” said Jackie. “It seemed to bring back a sense of control for him.”

The Olguin family owns two other horses, Bandit and Wedo; a pig, Snickers; and a few dogs and cats.

Jackie and Sclease both emphasized the importance of the emotional attachment between ropers and their horses and how animals share compassion and emotion opposed to the harsh mechanical workings of exercise equipment.

Sclease is confident he will continue to improve. She said, “He’s a tough worker and he won’t give up easily.” Bucky’s family extended great thanks to Sclease for her help in his recovery process.

Jackie also thanked Bucky’s parents, Rudy and Mary, sister Taunya Rodriguez, and friends Pascual Careleana and Juan Villar.

Rudy is an auctioneer and Mary is the personnel director for Horizon Human Services. They also operate a small horse-drawn buggy business on the side.

Careleana and Villar organized and directed the Cowboy Bike Run in Bucky’s honor. The proceeds of that was donated to the family to help cover expenses. The amount totaled nearly $5,000. They are also planning a roping benefit in April to help minimize the family’s costs for equipment that will be needed at home.

Now that Bucky has been released and is home, the couple will return to Good Samaritan three times a week for continued physical therapy. However, he will have to have special equipment at home that insurance will not cover.

Anyone wishing to make donations to help Bucky and his family may do so by visiting Helpacowboy.com/Bucky/ or by going to any Wells Fargo Bank and making a donation under the name Tom Bucky Olguin.