Day Of The Animals: Tales Of Man Vs Beast (And Man Suffers)

[Min Bannister]

Gruesome story in the Metro today, can only find snippets online but the Metro said it had originally been thought to be a murder, turns out the injuries were caused by his dog.

Toxicology tests will be carried out to determine if a teenager's death in his Greenock home was drug related.

The body of Robbie McKenzie, 17, was found in Drumfrochar Road at about 1210 GMT on Monday.

A post-mortem examination has been held. A police spokeswoman said: "The cause of death has been unascertained and may be drug related."

Mr McKenzie was found with serious facial injuries, which are believed to have been caused by his pet dog.

Police said there were no signs of violence in Mr McKenzie's house.

BBC

 

[Quake42]

Mr McKenzie was found with serious facial injuries, which are believed to have been caused by his pet dog.

Ah - shades of the face transplant lady - as I understood it she had taken too many pills (though she denies reports that she was attempting suicide) and the family dog, in a panic when it could not wake her, ended up mauling her badly. I wonder if something similar has happened here with the dog trying to wake its owner from a drug induced coma.

 

[Rrose_Selavy]

Mass mouse escape on Saudi plane
More than 100 passengers on a Saudi plane were left panic-stricken by the unexpected appearance of furry fellow flyers - dozens of mice.
The small rodents - about 80 in total, according to a local newspaper - escaped from the bag of a man travelling on the domestic flight.

An airline official said the aircraft was at 28,000 feet (8,500m) when mice began scurrying around the cabin.

Some of the mice fell on passengers' heads, Al-Hayat newspaper reports.

The incident occurred on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from the capital, Riyadh, to north-eastern town of Tabuk.

The flight landed safely and the bag's owner was detained by police investigating how he managed to get the mice onto the plane.

No explanation was given for the man's live cargo.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 183587.stm

Published: 2006/12/15 15:07:46 GMT

© BBC MMVI

 

[CygnusRex]

Xmas Lizard

...And the three wise men brought gifts of gold, frankensense, and a freshly slaughtered goat.

Virgin birth expected for Komodo dragon
Reuters Wednesday December 20, 07:09 PM

By Patricia Reaney

Virgin birth expected for Komodo dragon

LONDON (Reuters) - Flora, a pregnant Komodo dragon living in a zoo, is expecting eight babies in what scientists said on Wednesday could be a Christmas virgin birth.

Flora has never mated, or even mixed, with a male dragon, and fertilised all the eggs herself, a process culminating in parthenogenesis, or virgin birth. Other lizards do this, but scientists only recently found that Komodo dragons do too.

"Nobody in their wildest dreams expected this. But you have a female dragon on
ADVERTISEMENT
her own. She produces a clutch of eggs and those eggs turn out to be fertile. It is nature finding a way," Kevin Buley of Chester Zoo in England said in an interview.

He said the incubating eggs could hatch around Christmas.

Parthenogenesis has occurred in other lizard species, but Buley and his team said this was the first time it has been shown in Komodo dragons -- the world's largest lizards.

Scientists at Liverpool University discovered Flora had had no male help after doing genetic tests on three eggs that collapsed after being put in an incubator.

The tests on the embryos and on Flora, her sister and other dragons confirmed that Komodo dragons can reproduce through self-fertilisation.

"Those genetic tests confirmed absolutely that Flora was both the mother and the father of the embryos. It completely blew us away because it (parthenogenesis) has never been seen in such a large species," Buley explained.

A Komodo dragon at London Zoo gave birth earlier this year after being separated from males for more than two years.

Scientists thought she had been able to store sperm from her earlier encounter with a male but, after hearing about Flora's eggs, researchers conducted tests which showed her eggs were also produced without male help.

"You have two institutions within a few short months of each other having a previously unheard of event. It is really quite unprecedented," said Buley.

The scientists, reporting the discovery in the science journal Nature, said it could help them understand how reptiles colonise new areas. A female dragon could, for instance, swim to another island and establish a new colony on her own.

"The genetics of self-fertilisation in lizards means that all her hatchlings would have to be male. These would grow up to mate with their own mother and therefore, within one generation, there would potentially be a population able to reproduce normally on the new island," Buley added.

>Source<

 

[ramonmercado]

'Virgin births' for giant lizards

There have been two reported cases of Komodo dragon "virgin births"


Komodo dragons
The largest lizards in the world are capable of "virgin births".
Scientists report of two cases where female Komodo dragons have produced offspring without male contact.

Tests revealed their eggs had developed without being fertilised by sperm - a process called parthenogenesis, the team wrote in the journal Nature.

One of the reptiles, Flora, a resident of Chester Zoo in the UK, is awaiting her clutch of eight eggs to hatch, with a due-date estimated around Christmas.

Kevin Buley, a curator at Chester Zoo and a co-author on the paper, said: "Flora laid her eggs at the end of May and, given the incubation period of between seven and nine months, it is possible they could hatch around Christmas - which for a 'virgin birth' would finish the story off nicely.

"We will be on the look-out for shepherds, wise men and an unusually bright star in the sky over Chester Zoo."

Flora, who has never been kept with a male Komodo dragon, produced 11 eggs earlier this year. Three died off, providing the material needed for genetic tests.


Flora had never been kept with male Komodo dragons

These revealed the offspring were not exact genetic copies (clones) of their mother, but their genetic make-up was derived just from her.

The team concluded they were a result of asexual reproduction, and are waiting for the remaining eight eggs to hatch.

Abnormal phenomenon?

Another captive-bred female called Sungai, at London Zoo in the UK, produced four offspring earlier this year - more than two years after her last contact with a male, the scientists reported in the same paper.

Again, genetic tests revealed the Komodo dragon babies, which are healthy and growing normally, were produced through parthenogenesis.

Sungai was also able to reproduce sexually, producing another baby offspring after mating with a male called Raja.

Maybe parthenogenesis is much more widespread and common than previously considered

Richard Gibson

Richard Gibson, an author on the paper and a curator at the Zoological Society of London, said: "Parthenogenesis has been described before in about 70 species of vertebrates, but it has always been regarded to be a very unusual, perhaps abnormal phenomenon."

It has been shown in some snakes, fish, a monitor lizard and even a turkey, he said.

"But we have seen this in two separate, unrelated female Komodo dragons within a year, so this suggests maybe parthenogenesis is much more widespread and common than previously considered."

He added: "Because these animals were in captivity for years without male access, they reproduced parthenogenetically.


Sungai's offspring are doing well

"But the ability to reproduce parthenogenetically is obviously an ancestral capability."

He said the lizards could make use of the ability to reproduce asexually when, for example, a lone female was washed up alone on an island with no males to breed with.

Because of the genetics of this process, he added, her children would always be male.

This is because Komodo dragons have W and Z chromosomes - females have one W and one Z, males have two Ws.

The egg from the female carries one chromosome, either a W or Z, and when parthenogenesis takes place, either the W or Z is duplicated.

This leads to eggs which are WW and ZZ. ZZ eggs are not viable, but WW eggs are, and lead to male baby Komodo dragons.

And like Sungai, she would be able to switch back to sexual reproduction, so she could breed to establish a new colony.

There are fewer than 4,000 Komodo dragons in the wild, and they are found in three islands in Indonesia: Komodo, Flores and Rinca.

Adult males can grow up to 3m (10ft) in length and weigh up to 90kg (200lb) - making them the biggest lizards on the planet.

The researchers said that, to ensure genetic diversity of Komodo dragons kept in captivity, zoos should perhaps keep males and females together to avoid asexual reproduction.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6196225.stm

 

[ramonmercado]

Lobster is not just for Christmas
Eddie the pet lobster has proved a hit with regulars at his owner's local pub.
Nick Allford, of Southwick, Wiltshire, bought the crustacean as a Christmas present for himself.

"When I mentioned in the pub that I was getting a lobster, they said I must be drunk or insane, but when I introduced him, they were intrigued.

"He's developed a fan club," said Mr Allford, who plans to buy a female so they can breed. Progress will be charted via a web site.

It also appears that Eddie has developed a winning streak.

"I bought him £20 of raffle tickets in the local pub draw and he won seven prizes - biscuits, Turkish delights, diaries, beer and a lemon," the proud new owner said.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 228151.stm

 

[akaWiintermoon]

Pigs get revenge on farm hand!

From AOL News:

Man injured in pig attack
Last Updated: Monday, 08 January 2007, 04:59 GMT

A farm estate worker needed hospital treatment after he was attacked by a herd of pigs.

The 51-year-old man, who has not been named, was attacked on the Heggatt Hall estate at Horstead, Norfolk.

A Norfolk Police spokesman said the man fell and was attacked by a sow in a pen, then other pigs joined in. He suffered bumps and bruises and a head injury, which is not now considered to be life-threatening

 

[ramonmercado]

Hong Kong animal smuggler held

Snakes are eaten and used in traditional medicine in east Asia
A man with a suitcase full of rare and endangered animals including a live crocodile and 46 turtles and tortoises has been arrested at Hong Kong airport.
His bag was also found to contain six snakes and 11 flying squirrels, Hong Kong authorities said.

The man, who was travelling from Thailand, was charged with illegally importing animals and fined 16,000 Hong Kong dollars (£1,000).

The unnamed man was also given a six-month suspended sentence.

Highly-endangered

A special import permit and health certification are needed to bring reptiles, birds and mammals into or through Hong Kong.

The crocodile was identified as a highly-endangered species, the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said in a statement.

Among the reptiles were black pond turtles, three-keeled land tortoises, radiated tortoises and true tortoises, all of which are endangered species.

The animals were intended to reach mainland China where they may have been used for food or traditional medicine.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6247647.stm

 

[ramonmercado]

Payout for parrot illness
Andrew Norfolk



A man who worked for a pet shop has been granted damages of £700,000 for a severe disability caused by a sick parrot.
Glyn Atherton, 35, has been wheelchair-bound for six years after developing psittacosis while assistant manager of a shop in Nottingham. The African Grey from which he caught the infection died of the disease.



Mr Atherton, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, was admitted to hospital with flu-like symptoms, but was later readmitted for six weeks and psittacosis was diagnosed. When he went home in 2000, he could walk no more than 20 yards and could neither work nor drive. His wife, a part-time secretary, is his chief carer. They have a daughter aged 12.

Mr Atherton’s claim for compensation was to have been heard by the High Court in Sheffield, but was settled out of court the Focus DIY group admitted liability for exposing him to the risk of infection.

He worked at Focus Do It All for three months. Although not directly involved with its pets section, he had often walked past the parrot, including when staff in protective clothing cleaned its cage.






http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/ ... 15,00.html

 

[ramonmercado]

Keep an eye out for runaway kangaroo

ADVERTISEMENT





With a hop, skippy and a jump, he was gone.

Gardai were called in yesterday to try to trace a missing kangaroo in the West. The brown two-year-old kangaroo escaped from a field in Co Roscommon on Sunday evening and has not been seen since, to its owner's distress.

The animal was being cared for as a pet in a field at Crennane, between Ballaghaderreen and Loughglynn. However, he escaped on Sunday evening and there have been no reports of any sightings since then.

Gardai at Castlerea have asked members of the public in the area to keep a lookout for the animal, who is about two-and-a-half feet tall.

"It was being kept as a pet but has not been seen since it escaped from the field on Sunday," said a garda spokesman.

"The owner is very anxious to have it returned before it comes to any harm."


www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories ... e_id=15100

 

[akaWiintermoon]

This made me laught at first - until the thought of the poor mice stuffed in a bag struck me. I'm glad they escaped. Probibly put down by now but at least they tasted freedom once.

From AOL News:

Flying mice spark panic

Air alert: Mice fell on to the passengers

When 80 mice escaped on a Saudi domestic flight the squeaks of panic drowned out the roar of the engines.

The rodents had escaped from a bag on the overhead luggage rack.

Screams were heard when they began dropping into the laps of the 100 panic-stricken passengers.

Authorities detained the owner of the bag after the aircraft landed in Tabuk, in the north west of the country.

 

[akaWiintermoon]

From AOL News:

Python swallows 11 dogs

The villagers did not kill the dog-eating python

Villagers in Malaysia have finally found out why 11 dogs guarding their fruit orchard disappeared - a 22-foot python had swallowed them.

"I was shocked to see such a huge python,'' orchard-keeper Ali Yusof said while being pictured with the snake, which was as thick as a tree trunk.

Villagers did not harm the snake, which was tied to a tree then handed to wildlife officials.

There was no picture of the actual snake provided. I'm just stuck with this image in my head of a snake wrapped round a tree and tied up like a bow! :lol:

 

[ramonmercado]

Jan. 29, 2007, 1:22AM

Mini-horse named Panda a special helper for blind upstate New York woman

BETHLEHEM, N.Y. — Panda is everything you would want in a pet and guide animal for the blind — protective, alert, house-trained, plus she loves to play fetch. And at 29 inches tall and 120 pounds, she's a darn small horse.

Panda, named for her black-and-white coat, is a miniature horse that has helped 58-year-old Ann Edie navigate the world of city streets and country lanes since 2003.

"Panda loves her work," said Edie, a special education teacher. "She knows what she's supposed to do. When I pick up the harness, I get the feeling from her of, 'I'm ready for anything. Let's go have fun.'"

When Edie's chocolate Labrador helper Bailey died after 10 years on the job, she tried out two other dogs before learning about guide horses in 2000. Edie, who owns other horses, found Panda at the Guide Horse Foundation in Kitrell, N.C.

Although she appreciates the attributes that dogs bring to guide work, Edie said she is sold on the mini-horses. Because they are herd animals, they can predict where a moving object is heading and help adjust, said Edie.

"I've found that horse intelligence lends itself well to guide work," she said.

At home, where she's not needed to work, Panda snuggles, naps on a carpet or plays with toys.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/biz ... 06627.html

 

[Quake42]

A shame there is no picture of Panda.

 

[ramonmercado]

A shame there is no picture of Panda.

Oh yes there is! (Maybe its a panto horse.)

 

[ramonmercado]

Sweet-toothed sheep block roads

Concerned residents say sheep are refusing to move for traffic
Sweet-toothed sheep are hampering attempts to defrost icy roads - by eating the sugar-based grit.
Flocks of sheep have been spotted licking the roads on Halkyn mountain, Flintshire, since the council began using a sugar base to help grit stick.

Local resident Elfed Evans said the animals were refusing to move for traffic as they tucked in to the treat.

Flintshire council said sheep were also attracted to salt grits, which are more corrosive than the new sugar variety.

The new type of grit is made from sugar, starch and cereal.

Resident Elfed Evans said he had spotted dozens of sheep licking the grit off the road during the recent cold snap.

He added: "As soon as the gritter goes past they converge on the road licking off the grit.

"The sheep seem to be addicted to the sweet salt and refuse to move when cars approach."

Cost-effective

A spokesman for Flintshire council said they were aware of the situation.

He added: "The environmental advantages of using this product is that it is less corrosive to vehicles and the road infrastructure generally.

"The current operational procedures used in Flintshire have identified that the use of this product is cost-effective, particularly when used in conjunction with our storage and spreading facilities.

"We note the concerns in relation to the sheep on Halkyn Mountain and traffic, but it is known that they can also be attracted to the taste of the basic rock salt."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wale ... 317693.stm

 

[filcee]

Wild eagles attack paraglider

Wild eagles attack paraglider
By Rob Taylor Fri Feb 2, 9:22 AM ET

CANBERRA, Feb 2 (Reuters Life!) - Britain's top female paraglider has cheated death after being attacked by a pair of "screeching" wild eagles while competition flying in Australia...

source

 

[Anome]

She should consider herself lucky. I would love to see a pair of Wedge-Tailed Eagles in the wild.

 

[Rrose_Selavy]

Four-legged duckling shocks owner
An ugly duckling has made waves on a farm - when he was born with four legs.
A rare mutation has left eight-day-old Stumpy with two extra legs behind the two he moves around on.

Owner Nicky Janaway, of Warrawee Duck Farm in the New Forest, Hampshire, said she was gobsmacked when she turned Stumpy over to check his sex.

"It was absolutely bizarre. I was thinking 'he's got too many legs' and I kept counting: One, two, three, four,'" she said.

Mrs Janaway said the animal would not survive in the wild.

"He's eating and surviving so far and he is running about with those extra legs acting like stabilisers," she said.

"He's had so much attention he is having a power nap at the moment because he's exhausted but we will making sure he's OK and hopefully he will carry on and survive."

The mutation is rare but cases have been recorded across the world.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 371901.stm

Published: 2007/02/17 16:47:59 GMT

© BBC MMVII



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hamp ... 371901.stm

 

[rynner2]

Four-legged duckling shocks owner

Yummy! Four drumsticks!

 

[rynner2]

Tiger kills girl at Chinese zoo

A six-year-old girl has been killed by a tiger at a zoo in Kunming in south-western China's Yunnan province.
The girl was posing for photographs with the tiger when it was startled by camera flashes and pulled the girl's head into its mouth, state media said.

Staff beat the tiger until it released the girl, but she had suffered a crushed skull and died in hospital.

The zoo has stopped allowing visitors to pose with its tigers for a charge of $2 (£1), Xinhua news agency said. :shock:

The girl was identified as Rui Xin. Her mother was bitten on the arm while trying to rescue her.

A local newspaper said the zoo had been charging visitors for the opportunity to pose with the tiger since May 2005.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 390005.stm

 

[Analogue Boy]

Tiger kills girl at Chinese zoo

A six-year-old girl has been killed by a tiger at a zoo in Kunming in south-western China's Yunnan province.
The girl was posing for photographs with the tiger when it was startled by camera flashes and pulled the girl's head into its mouth, state media said.

Staff beat the tiger until it released the girl, but she had suffered a crushed skull and died in hospital.

The zoo has stopped allowing visitors to pose with its tigers for a charge of $2 (£1), Xinhua news agency said. :shock:

The girl was identified as Rui Xin. Her mother was bitten on the arm while trying to rescue her.

A local newspaper said the zoo had been charging visitors for the opportunity to pose with the tiger since May 2005.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 390005.stm

WTF were they thinking of?!?!?!?

A pic with a tiger is worth £5 at least!

 

[ramonmercado]

Trunk call for Boss: elephant can't forget best mate


A CIRCUS elephant has been plunged into misery since the 'arrest' of her best friend in an unusual case of puppy love.

Kenya, a 20-year-old African elephant with the Super Australian Circus Sydney has lost her appetite and is down at heel since the 11-months-old pup called Boss (right) was seized by gardai on suspicion of biting a child.

Gardai in Sligo seized the dog, a cross between a German Shepherd and a Rottweiler four days ago, after a serious allegation that it had bitten a child.

Circus owners are denying there was such an attack and the matter is expected to go before Sligo District Court this week.

Meanwhile, they say that Kenya has gone right off her food and is listless during performances.

"Since Boss was taken last Friday, Kenya has stopped eating and drinking," said Evete Scholl, co-owner of the circus with her husband, Alexander.

"I have had to put a pony in with Kenya in the hope it will ease her loneliness.

"She is absolutely miserable. Normally, she's very playful and loves to play with a football and put her trunk around me in a hug. But there's none of that since Boss was taken," she said.

Evete paid a visit to Boss in a Sligo council dog-pound yesterday. She was accompanied by his other circus friends, a pair of chihuahuas.

"But they are too small to be let spend the night in her trailer," she said.

She said Boss was taken when gardai arrived at the circus site in Sligo town 24 hours after a complaint that a boy aged six or seven had been bitten.

"They told me they had two witnesses to say the dog was off his leash. But I know that can't be true. I tied him up myself," she said.

She said there was no direct complaint to the circus from the family making the allegation.

Gardai last night said a child was treated in hospital and by his own doctor for a bite.

The dog owners are expected to be summoned on a charge that the animal wasn't under effective control.

www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories ... e_id=15333

 

[rynner2]

Moose downs helicopter
Last Updated: 1:54am GMT 07/03/2007

An Alaskan moose grounded a helicopter after it was shot by a tranquillizer dart.

Rather than collapsing, the angry animal charged, damaging the hovering aircraft's tail rotor and forcing it down near Gustavus, about 500 miles east of the state capital Anchorage.

A pilot and a biologist both escaped uninjured but the moose was maimed and had to be destroyed.

The pilot had manoeuvred the helicopter to keep it from falling into any water and drowning after it was shot, said Doug Larsen from Alaska's Division of Wildlife Conservation.

But instead of moving toward open space, the moose charged the helicopter.

"As an animal gets closer to going down, it loses its ability to rationalise what's in its best interest," Mr Larsen said.

http://tinyurl.com/384j6g

 

[ramonmercado]

Malaysian monks face ant dilemma
By Jonathan Kent
BBC News, Kuala Lumpur

Penang's wildlife have been known to make temples their homes
A group of Buddhist monks in Malaysia is appealing for help to solve a problem with ants.

Buddhism forbids devotees from harming any living creature.

So the monks are looking for a creative and non-violent solution to deal with the insects, which are biting worshippers.

The monks at the Ang Hock Si Temple, also known as the Hong Hock See temple, in Georgetown on Penang Island have had to learn to live with nature.

Some years ago they shared their temple compound with a cobra.

The chief monk, the Venerable Boon Keng, told the BBC that they had become used to meditating alongside the snake but eventually decided to catch it and take it away to a nearby forest.

Now he says the cobra's place has been taken by a colony of fire ants.

Vacuum cleaner

But the ants are dropping from the temple's sacred bodhi tree onto people meditating below - and when they bite it causes painful swelling.

The Venerable Boon Keng practises what he calls "letting go" meditation - so he "lets go" of the pain.

But out of consideration for worshippers less far along the path to enlightenment the monks are looking for ways to persuade the ants to go.

An attempt to remove them using a vacuum cleaner failed, so the Buddhist community is appealing for help.

They cannot encourage anyone to harm the ants, but the chief monk says that if someone turns up unbidden and deals with them without the monks' involvement then that is the will of the universe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6441631.stm

 

[GNC]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staf ... 449759.stm

Trapped hamster saved by vacuum

A hamster trapped in a kitchen pipe was eventually rescued by being sucked up on the end of a vacuum cleaner.

Henry got stuck in a pipe measuring almost 4in (10cm) wide and 4ft (1.2m) deep at a house in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

After the RSPCA failed to reach him, help was sought from two council wardens who tied a number of hamster ladders and Curly Wurly bars together.

Finally, a narrow attachment on the vacuum was used to retrieve him.

He was unharmed apart from worn down nails.

A statement from Tamworth Borough Council said the owner's son was terrified of Henry so the wardens found him a new home and also paid the vet's bill.

It continued: "Henry is now safe and sound and has been given a good home by the council's customer services manager who has adopted him for her son."

A happy ending, too. But if the son was terrified of hamsters, why did they buy Henry for a pet in the first place? Did the son put Henry in the pipe, we wonder?

 

[rynner2]

Same Hamster story in the Times ends:

Henry’s life was ebbing away. It was time for the last-ditch measure of an airlift. Rescuers called for the vacuum cleaner.

“We decided to use the vacuum on its lowest suction setting. We used the nozzle attachment to minimize any injuries. We didn’t want to suck Henry into the pipe; we just wanted him on the end of it. It was his best chance; the other option was to leave him down there to die,” Mr Layton said.

Carefully they lowered the nozzle down the hole. They made contact and sucked Henry to safety. Suffering from dehydration and bleeding claws, he was taken to a vet, who gave him an antibiotic injection. In a rare gesture of community spirit, the street wardens paid the £15 bill.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 511590.ece

 

[rynner2]

Four-legged duckling shocks owner
An ugly duckling has made waves on a farm - when he was born with four legs.
A rare mutation has left eight-day-old Stumpy with two extra legs behind the two he moves around on.

Owner Nicky Janaway, of Warrawee Duck Farm in the New Forest, Hampshire, said she was gobsmacked when she turned Stumpy over to check his sex. Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 371901.stm

Published: 2007/02/17 16:47:59 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Stumpy is still going strong - video here:
http://www.mediaplayer.telegraph.co.uk/ ... 4B799A9A39

 

[ted_bloody_maul]

Bear on bus

Honey bear attacks Mexican bus passenger


A kinkajou - also known as a honey bear - that escaped from a Mexico City zoo boarded a bus and attacked a passenger.

The kinkajou, about the size of a small dog, got on the bus at about 11pm on Monday after escaping from the San Juan de Aragon Zoo.

The animal sat next to the bus driver for almost an hour as he drove through the city, and scratched and bit a 20-year-old female passenger when she tried to hold it, Mexican news agency Notimex said.

There was some initial confusion about the animals identity. While Red Cross spokesman Jair Martinez initially identified the creature as a monkey, and some local media referred to it as a lemur.

Aleli Mayorca of the citys main Chapultepec Zoo said it was a martucha, or kinkajou, a nocturnal animal native to Central and South America.

The kinkajou is related to, but different from, the racoon.

Martinez said the woman was treated for her injury, and the animal was placed in quarantine.

Link

 

[maureenmac1]

Sealion attack

A 13-year-old girl was attacked by a sealion as she surfed behind a speedboat off Australia's west coast, according to reports.

A witness told a newspaper the animal leaped out of the sea "like a white pointer".

A marine scientist said the attack by the sealion, which can grow to more than 880lb in weight but usually stay away from humans, was bizarre and that the animal may have been trying to play with the girl. Ella Murphy had her jaw broken and lost three teeth during the attack.

aol news