Sicilian Donkey

WASCALLY WABBIT

Staff — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:25:00 GMT

In Germany, a teacher took a kid to court. Must have been something serious.

She claimed the girl had been tormenting her by drawing rabbits on the blackboard...

Witnesses told the judge that the woman had run from the classroom, crying, when she saw that a rabbit had been drawn on the blackboard. The girl who had been accused denied that she was the one who had done the drawings.

No word on whether the teacher was this guy.

GUARD DONKEYS

Staff — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:15:00 GMT

While you're sitting on the couch watching the Kardashians, donkeys are protecting sheep and goat herds by chasing off predators.

They bray loudly, which alerts the smaller animals to the presence of danger. Ranchers can also hear the donkey bray if they are close enough and help drive off any predators. Once in a while they will attack a predator that gets too close to the herd, and can stomp them to death.

Ouch. One donkey can take care of 200 sheep and will cooperate with other guard animals such as sheep dogs. And you think flossing is too much work.

FIRST TIME LOOK AT A LORIS

Staff — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:10:00 GMT

Portrait of Count M.T. Loris-Melikov, the best I could do

Wildlife researchers in Sri Lanka with no respect for privacy have photographed the rarely-seen Horton Plains slender loris . Those with time to keep track of such things say the primate, like Greta Garbo, has only been seen four times since 1937.

The pictures show a 20-centimeter long male adult sitting on a forest branch forest. Conservationists have discovered it appears to have shorter and sturdier limbs than other loris; a possible adaptation for the cooler, high-altitude montane -- or cloud -- forest in which it lives.

Maybe he's just been hiding from the more prevalent fat loris, who keeps picking from his plate..

HOW DO YOU LOSE 1,000 DUCKS?

Staff — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:21:00 GMT

Especially if the ducks can't fly because they're made of plastic.

Officials with a child advocacy group are trying to retrieve some 1,000 plastic ducks that remain on the loose following a Fort Wayne duck race last month.
Stop Child Abuse & Neglect says 17,000 ducks were placed in the St. Joseph River for the annual fundraiser duck race on June 19, but were swept away by the current and only 15,000 were retrieved the same day...

The group's website says it doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize the beauty of the river.

Protip: Then don't release 17,000 plastic ducks into the river in the first place.

WHERE WOULD YOU LOOK FOR A LEMUR?

Staff — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:19:00 GMT

In Vienna, only one place, apparently.

Two young ring-tailed lemurs which had escaped from Salzburg zoo five days ago have been recaptured by their keepers in a hotel bar in a nearby village, according to local media reports Friday.
The two-year-old males had escaped from Salzburg's Hellbrunn zoo on Sunday afternoon, journeying around 25 kilometres (15 miles) over the next four days.

On Thursday morning, they crept through the open window of a hotel in the village of Wals, where staff lured them into the bar with fruits before calling the zoo to collect them.

Moral: Drink at home.

VIPERS TARGET ROTTEN GOLFERS

Staff — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:06:00 GMT

Horace Rawlins, winner of the inaugural U.S. Open in 1895.HoraceRaw

The Swedes are not only famous for eating stinky fish for breakfast; they also spend lots of time in the rough when they golf. The vipers don't appreciate it.

With temperatures soaring over the last ten days, the health board has seen a 47 percent increase compared to the same period last year in the number of phone calls from members of the public concerned about various forms of bites and stings.

Misfiring golfers are among the groups most vulnerable to attack, with many reporting being bitten by vipers as they reached for balls in rough grass or bushes.

Everybody's a critic. Maybe they should try addressing the ball before they hit it.

WHO SAYS ALL STATE TROOPERS DO IS EAT DONUTS?

Staff — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:00:00 GMT

In Indiana, Bloomington State Trooper Doug Hutchinson responded to a report of "debris" in the road. Then get this:

What the officer found when he responded wasn't debris at all, but an injured kitten wandering through the multi-lane intersection.

Hutchinson positioned his patrol car in the intersection to block traffic and grabbed the kitten, to the applause of nearby motorists. After attempting to find a home for the kitten through the Monroe County Animal Shelter, Hutchinson has now adopted the fortunate feline himself. He's named it Lucky.

Well done.

WHAT CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?

Staff — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 21:17:00 GMT

Instead of finding a cure for cancer, scientists in the UK have devoted themselves to answering the question. It's the chicken.

British researchers say the chicken must have come first as the formation of eggs is only possible thanks to a protein found in the chicken’s ovaries.

‘It had long been suspected that the egg came first but now we have the scientific proof that shows that in fact the chicken came first,’ said Dr Colin Freeman, from Sheffield University, who worked with counterparts at Warwick University.

That solved, the researchers turned in for a good nap.

A JOB EVEN YOU CAN DO

Staff — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 21:08:00 GMT

In Fort Walton Beach, Florida, BP is looking for people to watch for sea turtles and other wildlife during nighttime cleanup efforts (presumably to keep the turtles safe from the hoards of public relations people trying to minimize the effects of the disaster). They're paying 25 bucks an hour.

Interested candidates should have a degree or completed academic work in the biological or environmental sciences; experience in bird or turtle watching; have documented field biology experience as a researcher, technician, intern or student; or have documentation of a Marine Turtle Permit issued by Florida.

They forgot to mention the ability to stay awake all night.

HOW SQUIRRELS AND PIGEONS BEAT THE HEAT...

Staff — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:22:00 GMT

...while you suffer, Sweaty.

Both animals have higher body temperatures than humans – pigeons about 104 degrees Fahrenheit and squirrels between 98 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit. That means they don’t get as hot as humans as quickly and aren’t as susceptible to the heat as people are.

Squirrels have sweat glands. Guess where, Dr. Scholl.

Squirrels have sweat glands in between the pads at the bottom of their feet and in between their toes, said Burton Lim, a mammalogist and Royal Ontario Museum assistant curator. By sweating through their feet, they’re able to cool themselves off...

As for the pigeon, it doesn’t sweat at all. Believe it or not, they pant like dogs. All birds “respire from their mouths” with their tongues, explains Brad Millen, a technician in natural history at the Royal Ontario Museum who specializes in ornithology. Pigeons and other birds have tongues that have tiny bones in them.

Who knew?

THE STING

Staff — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:05:00 GMT

A propane delivery man in Colorado learned not to mess with bees unless you have the slightest clue..

(John) McMillan, who works for Ludvik Propane Gas Service in Walsenburg, was making a delivery in Colorado City...

McMillan was spraying bees with a propane hose when the nozzle caught fire.

"From what I understand, he was making a delivery and he couldn't get to the tank because there was a bee nest and he was trying to get access to the (customer's) tank and using the propane to kill the bees"...

During those moments, the nozzle hit the ground and sparked a fire, injuring McMillan and damaging the customer's fence and backyard...

BuzzBee reportedly spit up his Honey Nut Cheerios laughing when he heard. Sting was unavailable for comment.

WELLINGTON MAN HAS BEEF WITH HIS DOG

Staff — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:44:00 GMT

In Wellington, New Zealand a dog auditioned for a spot on Top Shot.

A dog accidentally stepped on the trigger of the .22 rifle and ended up firing at his 40-year-old owner...

The man was flown to Whangarei Hospital , where doctors removed the bullet from his left buttocks.

He'll think twice in the future before serving that pooch Brand X dog food.

SIX FLAGS: MORE FLAGS, MORE ASSAULTS

Staff — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:29:00 GMT

Two knuckleheaded Six Flags Great America employees in Gurnee, Illinois went to the park on their day off and beat up a woman in a Porky Pig costume.

Taras Sikalchuk, 20, and Dmytro Petrychenko, 19, took a photo with the woman in the pig suit about 2:20 p.m. Monday at Six Flags in Gurnee, then punched the mascot in the head 10 to 15 times, Gurnee police said.

Both men are employees of the park and were visiting on their day off, police Sgt. Jon Ward said.

In other news, there are Six Flags workers so brain dead they would go to the park when they didn't have to.

BUNGLE IN THE JUNGLE

Staff — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:12:00 GMT

Gorilla from Brehm's Het Leven der Dieren

In another story of researchers gone wild with grant money, scientists studied play-fighting among gorillas and found similarities between them and you, ya big ape.

In their games, "not only did the gorillas in our study hit their playmates and then run away chased by their playmates, but they also switched their roles when hit so the chaser became the chased and vice versa," said researcher Marina Davila Ross, a behavioral biologist at the University of Portsmouth in England. "There are a lot of similarities with the children's game of tag."

Mr. Peebles reportedly offered Magilla Gorilla for the study but was turned down.

THESE BIRDS HAVE JOBS, WHY NOT YOU?

Staff — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:00:00 GMT

In Germany, cops will train two young turkey vultures to find human remains.

Unlike other vultures, turkey vultures have an excellent sense of smell, in addition to sharp eyesight. They could reach remote areas and are more resilient than dogs, Hermann said.

Beaky Buzzard is standing by his phone.

THE TASMANIAN DEVIL MADE HIM DO IT

Staff — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:27:00 GMT

Lots of people know Tasmanian Devils from Taz, the Warner Bros. cartoon character. They may not know that Tasmanian Devils are an endangered species. A contagious cancer has reduced their numbers by 60 per cent in 10 years. Breeding centers are trying to raise money to raise disease-free devils. That's good.

But in a real stretch, a supervisor at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney is blaming Warner Bros. for problems raising money to help Tasmanian Devils.

Nick de Vos, unit supervisor of Australian animals at Taronga Zoo, said Warner Bros has "a lot to answer for" when it came to the devils' image problem.

"[Warner Bros] have got an animal that chews through everything and anything, that spins around and that is constantly emitting this incoherent scream. Well, real devils never spin around and they have many different calls, including a soft call."

Get over yourself, Nick.

WHAT A RELIEF

Staff — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:16:00 GMT

At last, a good idea out of Washington, 'cause when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Dulles and Reagan National Airports have opened "pet relief areas" to give dogs a place to go to the bathroom at the airport.

The pet areas were created because of federal rules requiring "service animal relief areas" for service animals that accompany passengers on trips, but the areas are also open for families traveling with pets.

Each fenced-in dog bathroom at Dulles has a fake fire hydrant, artificial grass, and bags so the owners can clean up after their pups.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD...

Staff — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:02:00 GMT

....sometimes leads straight down a hole 80 feet deep. That's where Lucy, an African Spur Thigh tortoise, headed when she escaped her New Hampshire home four years ago,

Lucy's species is native to the Sahara Dessert and she knew exactly where to go to survive.

"When it's really dry those tortoises will dig a hole 20-80 feet deep and sit for a year and wait for it to rain," said Mike Wellington.

"And when it rains they come out and eat grass, so she must have dug a hole and sat there through the winters," he said.

Friday night the Wellingtons got a call from a neighbor a half a mile up the road. Lucy was alive.Now, about 35 pounds heaver than when she left, the Wellington's are confident this is their escape artist.

As Tooter Turtle would say, "There's no place like home."

OSCAR THE CAT WANTS TO PAY HIS OWN WAY

Staff — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:51:00 GMT

Don't you wish people were more like this British cat ?

Oscar first started bringing home gardening gloves but quickly moved on to ladies knickers, socks and children's underwear...
"When we let him out in the garden he started bringing us back gardening gloves and bits of rubber gloves and then he went up market and started bringing back children's knickers.
"Then it began to escalate and I telephoned the police as people must have been missing clothes, especially with women's underwear being taken.

"But he just doesn't stop and he's still doing it now.

"It's all a bit mysterious. We don't know where he's getting the items from because there are no children living near to us so he might be going quite far afield.

"We feel that he is bringing us presents as a token of appreciation, an offer to help pay his way."

What a guy.

CAT WHO DOESN'T LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER

Staff — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:33:00 GMT

The original lock for the Charles River in Boston

An eagle-eyed kayaker with a big heart rescued a cat that was trapped in a cage submerged in the Charles River.

“We were just looking at stuff along edge of river and the cat started thrashing around,” said Drew Curtis of Jamaica Plain, who spotted the bedraggled cat as he returned from kayaking Thursday morning with his mother and 11-year-old son in Weston.

“To have her in a carrier in the river and no one doing anything about it, I couldn’t imagine that that was accidental,” said Dr. Cynthia Cox, head shelter vet for the MSPCA.

“Another 15 minutes and she would have been too cold to maintain that,” she said.

Curtis said the soaked cat went limp after her rescue and could only blink for 10 minutes before beginning to move and make weak noises.

MSPCA staff spent several hours just raising the hypothermic kitty’s body temperature. The MSPCA is looking for the owner of plump 12-year-old cat, named Grandma Moses by the MSPCA staff. Anyone with information is urged to call 800-628-5808.

The Standells probably still think the world of the place.