Sunday, July 20, 2014
Ear muffs for elephants
Back in 1969 someone at Windsor Safari Park thought this was a good idea.
YouTube link.
This elephant, Faa Mai, at Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is much, much happier.
YouTube link.
This elephant, Faa Mai, at Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is much, much happier.
Alleged restaurant burglar arrested after returning for lunch wearing the same clothes
An alleged serial burglar’s craving for El Pollo Loco Mexican-style grilled chicken appears to have contributed to his arrest.
Daniel Warn, 28, was caught on security video in the early morning hours of July 16 going through the drive-through window at the fast food restaurant in Costa Mesa, California. Video allegedly showed him ransacking the eatery, but he failed to find any money.
Later that day, police say Warn, of Bloomington, returned to the El Pollo Local to order food wearing the same distinctive hat and bright green shirt. “Shortly before noon on July 16, employees at the El Pollo Loco contacted Costa Mesa Police reporting that a subject matching the description of the suspect seen on the store video was back at the restaurant, in line to order food,” authorities said.
YouTube link.
Warn was arrested at the restaurant. He is also a suspect in several other commercial burglaries in the south Costa Mesa area that occurred earlier in the week. Warn, who has a criminal arrest record, was out of jail as part of California’s Realignment program. He is being held at the Orange County Jail on $35,000 bail.
Daniel Warn, 28, was caught on security video in the early morning hours of July 16 going through the drive-through window at the fast food restaurant in Costa Mesa, California. Video allegedly showed him ransacking the eatery, but he failed to find any money.
Later that day, police say Warn, of Bloomington, returned to the El Pollo Local to order food wearing the same distinctive hat and bright green shirt. “Shortly before noon on July 16, employees at the El Pollo Loco contacted Costa Mesa Police reporting that a subject matching the description of the suspect seen on the store video was back at the restaurant, in line to order food,” authorities said.
YouTube link.
Warn was arrested at the restaurant. He is also a suspect in several other commercial burglaries in the south Costa Mesa area that occurred earlier in the week. Warn, who has a criminal arrest record, was out of jail as part of California’s Realignment program. He is being held at the Orange County Jail on $35,000 bail.
Cremation ashes that 'looked like dope' returned a year after drug raid
Cremains seized during a drug raid more than a year ago were returned on Friday, Michigan State Police said.
“Correct, they are part of cremated remains,” said First Lt. Wayne Eddington, commander of the MSP Fifth District Task Force, when asked on Thursday about the ashes. “They looked like dope and no one said anything to us for a year. They were packaged like we typically see as drugs. They will be returned on Friday.”
The two plastic bags were seized from a cluttered desk drawer at a home in Barry County, according to attorney Bruce Leach of Grand Blanc.
Troopers described them as plastic bags, one containing 0.9 ounces of a unknown tan-coloured powder and the second was 1.5 ounces of the same unknown powder. The seizure was part of a June 26, 2013, raid on three marijuana dispensaries, including the Karmacy. That business, owned by Kiel Howland, was accused of selling marijuana in violation of Michigan Medical Marijuana law. As part of the investigation, a search warrant was issued for the Barry County home of Howland’s parents. Leach said the cremains were of Howland’s grandparents. Leach asked about the cremains at a Calhoun County District Court hearing for Howland on June 30 and then sent a letter to Assistant Prosecutor Matt Smith on Tuesday.
“As we discussed on the record following the last hearing with Judge Franklin Line, the immediate return of the cremated remains of Mr. Kiel Howland’s grandparents is demanded,” Leach wrote to Smith. He said on Thursday they were seized at the home of Howland’s parents and marked as evidence, “desecrating the treasured family members remains.” Leach said family members told officers at the time what was in the plastic bags and Leach said he has asked for them to be returned. Eddington said he was not at the house and doesn’t know what the officers were told. He said he only learned of the request on Wednesday from Smith.
Prosecutor David Gilbert said he approved the search warrant for the house but officers decided what to seize. “They probably thought there was some evidential value,” Gilbert said. “I don’t know what is in it. If it’s remains it ought to be returned.” Charges against Howland include delivery of marijuana and possession with intent to deliver marijuana. A preliminary examination in the case was reset for Oct. 6. Police have alleged Howland violated the law by selling the drugs to customers rather than using caregivers, as prescribed by the Michigan law. But Leach has argued that the dispensary was licensed and inspected by the City of Springfield and approved to operate. “I am hoping I can end this case at the preliminary examination,” Leach said.
Troopers described them as plastic bags, one containing 0.9 ounces of a unknown tan-coloured powder and the second was 1.5 ounces of the same unknown powder. The seizure was part of a June 26, 2013, raid on three marijuana dispensaries, including the Karmacy. That business, owned by Kiel Howland, was accused of selling marijuana in violation of Michigan Medical Marijuana law. As part of the investigation, a search warrant was issued for the Barry County home of Howland’s parents. Leach said the cremains were of Howland’s grandparents. Leach asked about the cremains at a Calhoun County District Court hearing for Howland on June 30 and then sent a letter to Assistant Prosecutor Matt Smith on Tuesday.
“As we discussed on the record following the last hearing with Judge Franklin Line, the immediate return of the cremated remains of Mr. Kiel Howland’s grandparents is demanded,” Leach wrote to Smith. He said on Thursday they were seized at the home of Howland’s parents and marked as evidence, “desecrating the treasured family members remains.” Leach said family members told officers at the time what was in the plastic bags and Leach said he has asked for them to be returned. Eddington said he was not at the house and doesn’t know what the officers were told. He said he only learned of the request on Wednesday from Smith.
Prosecutor David Gilbert said he approved the search warrant for the house but officers decided what to seize. “They probably thought there was some evidential value,” Gilbert said. “I don’t know what is in it. If it’s remains it ought to be returned.” Charges against Howland include delivery of marijuana and possession with intent to deliver marijuana. A preliminary examination in the case was reset for Oct. 6. Police have alleged Howland violated the law by selling the drugs to customers rather than using caregivers, as prescribed by the Michigan law. But Leach has argued that the dispensary was licensed and inspected by the City of Springfield and approved to operate. “I am hoping I can end this case at the preliminary examination,” Leach said.
Cat rescued after being trapped inside wall for 26 days
Stuffi the cat is recovering after spending 26 days trapped inside a wall in Timmins in northeastern Ontario, Canada.
Stuffi's ordeal began June 16 when Guy Mantha and his wife Linda Jardine-Mantha were upgrading the air conditioning unit and duct work in their home.
"She ran away when we had this air-conditioner tech guy in changing our unit," Jardine-Mantha said, adding her cat is usually shy around strangers.
"We assumed she ran off because she usually hides when people come in. And then she comes out a few hours later." But Stuffi didn't come back and Jardine-Mantha was worried. She put a note and a photo on her Facebook page, called friends and notified the Humane Society. No one had seen her cat. A few days later, Linda stepped up the search after she thought she was hearing noises in the house. With her husband in the construction business, they called on a friend who had a special camera that could be inserted in the air ducts. No luck. Guy and Linda called on another friend who had an infrared camera.
They scanned the house with that, looking for a heat signature that would be produced by any warm-blooded animal. Nothing. "Every once in awhile, we heard meowing, and we thought maybe it's a cat outside in heat because there's a couple of strays around," Jardine-Mantha said. Last Friday, Jardine-Mantha could hear sounds inside the house again. "She called me at work and she said I think I heard it inside the wall ... oh my god, I said," Mantha said. They called the friend with the infrared camera and began another search. They broke a hole in the wall in the closet, and they put a light in there. Her husband's friend looked in and saw the cat.
"So they ripped out the wall and sure enough she was in there, all scrunched up, where she'd been for three and a half weeks, and so we rushed her to the hospital," she said. Stuffi has been recovering at the Algonquin Boulevard Animal Hospital, where she is gradually regaining her strength. "She's a little miracle. It's unreal. Twenty-six days with no food, no water," Jardine-Mantha said. She said she was told by the veterinarian that animals deprived of food and water over a long period of time will usually die of liver failure. Jardine-Mantha said all the tests on Stuffi came back and the animal is fine.
There's a radio interview with Linda Jardine-Mantha on this page
"We assumed she ran off because she usually hides when people come in. And then she comes out a few hours later." But Stuffi didn't come back and Jardine-Mantha was worried. She put a note and a photo on her Facebook page, called friends and notified the Humane Society. No one had seen her cat. A few days later, Linda stepped up the search after she thought she was hearing noises in the house. With her husband in the construction business, they called on a friend who had a special camera that could be inserted in the air ducts. No luck. Guy and Linda called on another friend who had an infrared camera.
They scanned the house with that, looking for a heat signature that would be produced by any warm-blooded animal. Nothing. "Every once in awhile, we heard meowing, and we thought maybe it's a cat outside in heat because there's a couple of strays around," Jardine-Mantha said. Last Friday, Jardine-Mantha could hear sounds inside the house again. "She called me at work and she said I think I heard it inside the wall ... oh my god, I said," Mantha said. They called the friend with the infrared camera and began another search. They broke a hole in the wall in the closet, and they put a light in there. Her husband's friend looked in and saw the cat.
"So they ripped out the wall and sure enough she was in there, all scrunched up, where she'd been for three and a half weeks, and so we rushed her to the hospital," she said. Stuffi has been recovering at the Algonquin Boulevard Animal Hospital, where she is gradually regaining her strength. "She's a little miracle. It's unreal. Twenty-six days with no food, no water," Jardine-Mantha said. She said she was told by the veterinarian that animals deprived of food and water over a long period of time will usually die of liver failure. Jardine-Mantha said all the tests on Stuffi came back and the animal is fine.
There's a radio interview with Linda Jardine-Mantha on this page
Leopard rescued from dry well in India
A leopard fell into a well at Jhab village of Ghoghamba taluka in the Panchmahal district of Gujarat on Monday night. Forest officials brought the big cat out after efforts that stretched the whole day on Tuesday.
The incident came to light in the morning when villagers heard noises from the well and informed Mangalsinh Rathwa, who owns the farm where the well is located. The well was dry and hence the leopard did not drown and was uninjured despite the steep fall.
Local police and forest officials were informed about the leopard and a rescue operation was launched. Forest officials from Vadodara also rushed to the site to oversee the operations. A team of veterinary doctors and experts to cage the leopard also remained present.
YouTube link.
The leopard was brought out using a rope tightened around it's tail. The animal was rushed to Dhobikuva rescue centre at Pavagadn where captured leopards are kept by the forest department. Officials said the leopard may have strayed near the village in search of a prey. In the darkness, it may not have spotted the well and fell into it. The animal is around two-years-old and healthy.
The incident came to light in the morning when villagers heard noises from the well and informed Mangalsinh Rathwa, who owns the farm where the well is located. The well was dry and hence the leopard did not drown and was uninjured despite the steep fall.
Local police and forest officials were informed about the leopard and a rescue operation was launched. Forest officials from Vadodara also rushed to the site to oversee the operations. A team of veterinary doctors and experts to cage the leopard also remained present.
YouTube link.
The leopard was brought out using a rope tightened around it's tail. The animal was rushed to Dhobikuva rescue centre at Pavagadn where captured leopards are kept by the forest department. Officials said the leopard may have strayed near the village in search of a prey. In the darkness, it may not have spotted the well and fell into it. The animal is around two-years-old and healthy.
Giant yellow rubber duck swept away in flood
A giant yellow rubber duck floating on Nanming River in China's south-west Guizhou Province has been swept away by floodwaters just months after it exploded on display in Taiwan.
The 18m (59ft) sculpture by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman disappeared at around 7:00pm local time on Wednesday, after the city saw days of heavy rainfall.
Even though the duck weighs 1 tonne, and was sitting on a 10 tonne metal platform lashed to the riverbed with steel wires, it was easily dislodged by the storm.
"The duck flopped over and was flushed away really quickly by the torrential flood," exhibition co-ordinator Yan Jianxin said. "It disappeared right in front of me." It's the latest mishap for the yellow duck, which burst while on display at a port in Taiwan and deflated during its exhibition in Hong Kong.
The 18m (59ft) sculpture by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman disappeared at around 7:00pm local time on Wednesday, after the city saw days of heavy rainfall.
Even though the duck weighs 1 tonne, and was sitting on a 10 tonne metal platform lashed to the riverbed with steel wires, it was easily dislodged by the storm.
"The duck flopped over and was flushed away really quickly by the torrential flood," exhibition co-ordinator Yan Jianxin said. "It disappeared right in front of me." It's the latest mishap for the yellow duck, which burst while on display at a port in Taiwan and deflated during its exhibition in Hong Kong.
Mystery of giant stolen sausage solved - Update
Police in the town of St Michael in Lungau, south of Salzburg, Austria, have tracked down the thieves responsible for the theft of a massive 80kg sausage from an Italian market last weekend.
Two local boys, aged 17 and 19, have confessed to stealing the giant mortadella on the afternoon of July 12th. After transporting the pilfered wurst to the 17-year-old's house, the greedy youths proceeded to gorge themselves. They failed to finish the giant cold cut and threw the remainder in a ditch.
The 61-year-old Italian vendor estimates the sausage was worth more than €2000. "The following day, after hearing radio reports about the missing mortadella, the boys were struck by their guilty consciences," a press release from the National Police Directorate in Salzburg said.
The teenagers disposed of the 1.5 metre (5 foot) long sausage on Katschberg Straße, on the Katschberg Pass. "The remainder of the mortadella found in the ditch was inedible," reported the police, adding that "both perpetrators have promised to pay for their crime."
Two local boys, aged 17 and 19, have confessed to stealing the giant mortadella on the afternoon of July 12th. After transporting the pilfered wurst to the 17-year-old's house, the greedy youths proceeded to gorge themselves. They failed to finish the giant cold cut and threw the remainder in a ditch.
The 61-year-old Italian vendor estimates the sausage was worth more than €2000. "The following day, after hearing radio reports about the missing mortadella, the boys were struck by their guilty consciences," a press release from the National Police Directorate in Salzburg said.
The teenagers disposed of the 1.5 metre (5 foot) long sausage on Katschberg Straße, on the Katschberg Pass. "The remainder of the mortadella found in the ditch was inedible," reported the police, adding that "both perpetrators have promised to pay for their crime."
Postwoman chased by 2,000 bees that escaped from parcel
A postwoman was chased by a swarm of
bees that escaped from a parcel she was delivering. Carar Tyer was on rounds in Yeovil, Somerset, when she opened her van door
and became engulfed in thousands of the insects.
"I saw this box... and all of a sudden I saw bees around me everywhere and I screamed and ran," she said. A beekeeper was called in to collect the swarm and the 2,000 live bees were delivered to the parcel's recipient.
Bees, according to Parcelforce, are on a "shorlist" of living creatures - including leeches, maggots and earthworms - that can be posted. However, a spokesman for the company said they "must be enclosed in packs constructed so as to prevent injury" to their staff.
Ms Tyer said she was not stung by any of the bees in the parcel but the experience had made her more cautious. "If I get one bee in my van it's a bit scary and I open up all the windows to get it out. So to have that many - it wasn't a good experience," she said. "So I do look a bit more, when I'm half asleep at 6 o'clock in the morning, to see what I'm carrying now."
"I saw this box... and all of a sudden I saw bees around me everywhere and I screamed and ran," she said. A beekeeper was called in to collect the swarm and the 2,000 live bees were delivered to the parcel's recipient.
Bees, according to Parcelforce, are on a "shorlist" of living creatures - including leeches, maggots and earthworms - that can be posted. However, a spokesman for the company said they "must be enclosed in packs constructed so as to prevent injury" to their staff.
Ms Tyer said she was not stung by any of the bees in the parcel but the experience had made her more cautious. "If I get one bee in my van it's a bit scary and I open up all the windows to get it out. So to have that many - it wasn't a good experience," she said. "So I do look a bit more, when I'm half asleep at 6 o'clock in the morning, to see what I'm carrying now."
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