Sunday, October 05, 2014
Dinner time for a 4-day-old orphaned hedgehog
This little orphan is being hand-fed by staff at Wildlife Aid every 90 minutes using a special formula of Babydog milk and camomile tea.
YouTube link.
YouTube link.
Door-to-door popcorn-selling Cub Scouts menaced by sword-wielding man
A man wielding a large sword menaced a group of Cub Scouts who knocked on his door as they sought to sell popcorn in a fundraising drive, Wisconsin police report.
After the children knocked on the door of his Sparta residence, Owen Reese, 22, “opened the door holding a sword above his head and immediately began yelling” at them, according to police. While holding the sword over his head and “motioning like he was going to swing it at them.”
Reese got within five feet of the Cub Scouts before they “escaped unharmed.” When officers arrived at Reese’s residence, he again answered the door “holding a sword with both hands at shoulder height.” He dropped the weapon when the officers levelled their guns at him.
A subsequent search of Reese’s home turned up “a large number of knives and swords, as well as marijuana and several smoking devices.” Reese was arrested for reckless endangerment and cited for “drug related offences.” During questioning by Sparta Police Department officers, Reese explained that his sword-wielding was commonplace: “Reese told officers he always answers the door with a sword to protect himself against religious people.”
After the children knocked on the door of his Sparta residence, Owen Reese, 22, “opened the door holding a sword above his head and immediately began yelling” at them, according to police. While holding the sword over his head and “motioning like he was going to swing it at them.”
Reese got within five feet of the Cub Scouts before they “escaped unharmed.” When officers arrived at Reese’s residence, he again answered the door “holding a sword with both hands at shoulder height.” He dropped the weapon when the officers levelled their guns at him.
A subsequent search of Reese’s home turned up “a large number of knives and swords, as well as marijuana and several smoking devices.” Reese was arrested for reckless endangerment and cited for “drug related offences.” During questioning by Sparta Police Department officers, Reese explained that his sword-wielding was commonplace: “Reese told officers he always answers the door with a sword to protect himself against religious people.”
Cat that had suffered garage door mishap freed
A cat in Florida just might owe its life, or at least one of them, to an alert police patrol supervisor and the Flagler Beach firefighters who helped him free the stuck feline, Flagler Beach Police Capt. Matt Doughney said.
A howling cat that somehow became wedged between a garage door and door frame was discovered on Wednesday by a passing police sergeant who heard the cat’s cries.
Sgt. David Arcieri called the fire department, which was able to free the unlucky feline. The cat had likely been on top of an open garage door when it was closed by an unsuspecting homeowner, pinning the cat between the top of the door and the door frame, Doughney said. Sgt. David Arcieri heard the cat howling, stopped to investigate and called for backup, the captain said. “He’s the day shift supervisor and was on patrol. He rides with his windows down,”
Doughney said, noting that all of his officers are instructed to do so to enable them to hear what is happening on the streets. “In this instance, it was a cat; but what if it had been a child? What if someone had fallen in the backyard and was crying out for help? What if someone was being robbed? You could drive right past and never realize there was a problem.” Arcieri snapped a photo of the stuck cat and called the Fire Department to help him, Doughney said.
Firefighters put just enough pressure on the top of the door with their body weight to allow the cat to fall free. There was no damage to the garage door and the cat walked away on its own, the captain said. Arcieri later spoke with the homeowner and learned the cat is a neighbourhood cat without a specific owner. “If he hadn’t been riding with the windows down, he never would have heard it,” Doughney said. “Kudos to him. Kudos to the Fire Department. It’s all about high-quality customer service. I don’t know how many lives cats have, but that cat definitely owes one to Officer Arcieri.”
Sgt. David Arcieri called the fire department, which was able to free the unlucky feline. The cat had likely been on top of an open garage door when it was closed by an unsuspecting homeowner, pinning the cat between the top of the door and the door frame, Doughney said. Sgt. David Arcieri heard the cat howling, stopped to investigate and called for backup, the captain said. “He’s the day shift supervisor and was on patrol. He rides with his windows down,”
Doughney said, noting that all of his officers are instructed to do so to enable them to hear what is happening on the streets. “In this instance, it was a cat; but what if it had been a child? What if someone had fallen in the backyard and was crying out for help? What if someone was being robbed? You could drive right past and never realize there was a problem.” Arcieri snapped a photo of the stuck cat and called the Fire Department to help him, Doughney said.
Firefighters put just enough pressure on the top of the door with their body weight to allow the cat to fall free. There was no damage to the garage door and the cat walked away on its own, the captain said. Arcieri later spoke with the homeowner and learned the cat is a neighbourhood cat without a specific owner. “If he hadn’t been riding with the windows down, he never would have heard it,” Doughney said. “Kudos to him. Kudos to the Fire Department. It’s all about high-quality customer service. I don’t know how many lives cats have, but that cat definitely owes one to Officer Arcieri.”
Bear cubs rescued after getting stuck in hollow tree
Two bear cubs had to be rescued after they became stuck in a hollow tree.
The rescue, in Polk County, Wisconsin, started last Saturday when a local resident heard strange noises from the tree and ended a day later, after the involvement of three different agencies.
The rescue began on Sunday when the resident saw a snout sticking out of a hole in the tree's trunk and called the Polk County Sheriff’s Department for help. The sheriff’s department contacted the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which sent two wardens to the scene.
Raw video.
YouTube link.
When the two wardens arrived with a local wildlife rehabilitation expert, they discovered that it was not just one but two bear cubs stuck in the tree. The wardens believe the bears climbed into the tree through the hole and then became stuck when tree debris fell on them, a DNR spokeswoman said.
News video.
YouTube link.
The wardens decided they would need to saw around the bears to free them and called in the Milltown Fire Department to help, according to DNR. “We cut a hole in the tree and then we all backed off and waited,” Warden Phil Dorn said in a report released by DNR. The cubs quickly scampered out of the tree and into the woods.
The rescue began on Sunday when the resident saw a snout sticking out of a hole in the tree's trunk and called the Polk County Sheriff’s Department for help. The sheriff’s department contacted the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which sent two wardens to the scene.
Raw video.
YouTube link.
When the two wardens arrived with a local wildlife rehabilitation expert, they discovered that it was not just one but two bear cubs stuck in the tree. The wardens believe the bears climbed into the tree through the hole and then became stuck when tree debris fell on them, a DNR spokeswoman said.
News video.
YouTube link.
The wardens decided they would need to saw around the bears to free them and called in the Milltown Fire Department to help, according to DNR. “We cut a hole in the tree and then we all backed off and waited,” Warden Phil Dorn said in a report released by DNR. The cubs quickly scampered out of the tree and into the woods.
Zoo finally realised it had been trying to mate two male hyenas for four years
A zoo in Japan has been forced to admit that it tried to mate two male hyenas for four years, after mistakenly thinking that one of them was female.
Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo said it had been given the spotted hyenas, Kami and Kamutori, as a "male and female pair" as part of an exchange with a South Korean zoo in 2010.
After the two animals struggled to reproduce, the zoo conducted a gender test under anaesthesia. The results confimed that Kami, the now five-year-old "female", was actually a male.
A statement from the zoo said "the external genitalia of the male and female are similar", making identification of sex "very difficult". There are now plans to find an authentic female to breed with either Kami or Kamutori, it added.
Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo said it had been given the spotted hyenas, Kami and Kamutori, as a "male and female pair" as part of an exchange with a South Korean zoo in 2010.
After the two animals struggled to reproduce, the zoo conducted a gender test under anaesthesia. The results confimed that Kami, the now five-year-old "female", was actually a male.
A statement from the zoo said "the external genitalia of the male and female are similar", making identification of sex "very difficult". There are now plans to find an authentic female to breed with either Kami or Kamutori, it added.
Con men used Monopoly money to pay for €6 million worth of jewels
A Greek jeweller who thought he’d found a way to avoid the tax man was left empty-handed and red-faced after selling over €6 million (£4.7 million, $7.5 million) worth of jewels to two con men who paid him with a suitcase full of Monopoly money.
It started several weeks back when two people who claimed they were French contacted the Greek man to buy four “rare” rings and a necklace. After some discussions online and over the phone, the trio decided to meet in Paris to do the deal. So it was on September 25th the men met. The buyers came with a suitcase filled with €6 million in cash, which is not uncommon in deals for pricey antiques or jewellery where the parties want to avoid paying taxes.
At this point, the jeweller later claimed to police, to carry out his due diligence on the money. He says he plucked one of the wads of €500 bills out of the case and took it around the corner to currency exchange for verification. Once the veracity of the bills was verified, the jeweller says he headed back to the hotel and concluded the sale. However then things took a turn for the worse from his point of view.
“After his clients left the jeweller checked the rest of the bills. That’s when he realized there was a problem. The majority of the bills bore the name of the famous game Monopoly,” an unnamed source said. The jeweller then desperately tried to reach the buyers, but not surprisingly they didn’t answer their phone. Instead he ended walking into the police station and recounting his sad tale.
It started several weeks back when two people who claimed they were French contacted the Greek man to buy four “rare” rings and a necklace. After some discussions online and over the phone, the trio decided to meet in Paris to do the deal. So it was on September 25th the men met. The buyers came with a suitcase filled with €6 million in cash, which is not uncommon in deals for pricey antiques or jewellery where the parties want to avoid paying taxes.
At this point, the jeweller later claimed to police, to carry out his due diligence on the money. He says he plucked one of the wads of €500 bills out of the case and took it around the corner to currency exchange for verification. Once the veracity of the bills was verified, the jeweller says he headed back to the hotel and concluded the sale. However then things took a turn for the worse from his point of view.
“After his clients left the jeweller checked the rest of the bills. That’s when he realized there was a problem. The majority of the bills bore the name of the famous game Monopoly,” an unnamed source said. The jeweller then desperately tried to reach the buyers, but not surprisingly they didn’t answer their phone. Instead he ended walking into the police station and recounting his sad tale.
Man caught with stolen bouncy castle after he inflated it outside his home
A 39-year-old man from Derry in Northern Ireland who bought a large stolen bouncy castle worth £5,000 was caught by police after he inflated it outside his own home.
Patrick Coyle, of Cashel Hill, was charged with handling stolen property in the Republic of Ireland.
The court heard that police received a report of a stolen bouncy castle worth £5,000 that had been stolen in Co Donegal.
Police then found the bouncy castle ‘fully inflated’ outside Coyle’s home with electric cables and a pump running from his house to power it. Coyle was convicted of handling stolen goods. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years.
Patrick Coyle, of Cashel Hill, was charged with handling stolen property in the Republic of Ireland.
The court heard that police received a report of a stolen bouncy castle worth £5,000 that had been stolen in Co Donegal.
Police then found the bouncy castle ‘fully inflated’ outside Coyle’s home with electric cables and a pump running from his house to power it. Coyle was convicted of handling stolen goods. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years.
Man who claims to be picked on for being a dwarf pooed on council office floor
A man who claims he is abused because he is a dwarf has been warned by a judge he could be jailed after a dirty protest in a Hull council office.
Ian Salter-Bromley, 54, exposed himself and spread excrement and urine in the main reception and toilets of Hull's Wilson Centre after he went in to complain, Hull Crown Court heard.
Salter-Bromley, who is 4ft, outraged staff on two separate visits, pulling his arm back as if to punch a female receptionist and telling an Asian man: "You should go back to your own country."
Salter-Bromley appeared at court for sentencing after being found guilty of being in contempt of a court injunction granted to city council staff to protect them from his repeated abuse.
He described the Alfred Gelder Street help centre staff as "useless f*ckers" before removing his trousers and fouling on the floor twice on July 29, leaving it for staff to clean. He claimed the council had not taken action to protect him from his neighbours and left kitchen worktops in his council flat 8in too high for him to reach. Salter-Bromley told the hearing he is the subject of abuse because of his dwarfism, including the theft of his wheelchair and walking sticks and being the target of schoolchildren who play "let's torment the dwarf" in the school holidays. Judge Jeremy Richardson QC said he accepted Salter-Bromley suffered a variety of social and medical problems, which had left him angry and in a cycle of unhappiness. "It is vital that you conduct yourself in a civilised fashion," the judge told him.
"Individuals who suffer similar medical problems, tragedies or disabilities usually conduct themselves with decorum, in a seemly, civilised way. As such, people are only too willing to help." The judge went on: "Mr Salter- Bromley has shown a disgusting lack of personal hygiene and his conduct has been disgraceful. I truly regret having to make these observations here. In many ways, I feel sorry for him. However, I cannot ignore his threatening, abusive and antisocial behaviour towards public servants. These are individuals who provide a valuable service to the community. They have been subjected to insults, they have been subjected to threats and all manner of unlawful behaviour. Hull City Council officials have done, in my judgment, their level best to meet the medical and social needs of Mr Salter-Bromley. No criticism is to be leveled at the local authority whatsoever." Judge Richardson said he appreciated Mr Salter-Bromley was now in a wheelchair because of a fall injury, but said he had demonstrated by his manner and demeanor in court he could be threatening.
He told Salter-Bromley: "You conduct yourself in an uncivilised way, which you seem to relish." Salter-Bromley said he had a miserable life because his council flat in Hull, had terrible neighbours and the specifications he needed for the height of the worktops had not been met. He said: "I have never lived there. I am officially the tenant, but everything is 8in too high. No one seems to be bothered. I have to crawl up two flights of stairs. What man in a wheelchair has to do that? My neighbours are drug addicts, alcoholics and young mothers. I have to put up with all their abuse. People make fun of me. You would not believe the abuse I get. Kids say in the holidays 'let's torment the dwarf'. If I say things, I get treated like a child – all because I look different. They drag me around and push me in the road. That seems to be acceptable, because the police don't want to know. My father made me stand up for myself. I am able to speak my mind. That's all I ever do. I don't physically harm anyone." Judge Richardson told Salter-Bromley he was giving him a 21-day suspended prison sentence for his breach of the injunction. He said: "Any more breaches and I will probably activate this prison sentence. Please, please, behave in a civilised way. Taking your trousers off and exposing your person before defecating and urinating, then abusing staff is uncivilised."
He described the Alfred Gelder Street help centre staff as "useless f*ckers" before removing his trousers and fouling on the floor twice on July 29, leaving it for staff to clean. He claimed the council had not taken action to protect him from his neighbours and left kitchen worktops in his council flat 8in too high for him to reach. Salter-Bromley told the hearing he is the subject of abuse because of his dwarfism, including the theft of his wheelchair and walking sticks and being the target of schoolchildren who play "let's torment the dwarf" in the school holidays. Judge Jeremy Richardson QC said he accepted Salter-Bromley suffered a variety of social and medical problems, which had left him angry and in a cycle of unhappiness. "It is vital that you conduct yourself in a civilised fashion," the judge told him.
"Individuals who suffer similar medical problems, tragedies or disabilities usually conduct themselves with decorum, in a seemly, civilised way. As such, people are only too willing to help." The judge went on: "Mr Salter- Bromley has shown a disgusting lack of personal hygiene and his conduct has been disgraceful. I truly regret having to make these observations here. In many ways, I feel sorry for him. However, I cannot ignore his threatening, abusive and antisocial behaviour towards public servants. These are individuals who provide a valuable service to the community. They have been subjected to insults, they have been subjected to threats and all manner of unlawful behaviour. Hull City Council officials have done, in my judgment, their level best to meet the medical and social needs of Mr Salter-Bromley. No criticism is to be leveled at the local authority whatsoever." Judge Richardson said he appreciated Mr Salter-Bromley was now in a wheelchair because of a fall injury, but said he had demonstrated by his manner and demeanor in court he could be threatening.
He told Salter-Bromley: "You conduct yourself in an uncivilised way, which you seem to relish." Salter-Bromley said he had a miserable life because his council flat in Hull, had terrible neighbours and the specifications he needed for the height of the worktops had not been met. He said: "I have never lived there. I am officially the tenant, but everything is 8in too high. No one seems to be bothered. I have to crawl up two flights of stairs. What man in a wheelchair has to do that? My neighbours are drug addicts, alcoholics and young mothers. I have to put up with all their abuse. People make fun of me. You would not believe the abuse I get. Kids say in the holidays 'let's torment the dwarf'. If I say things, I get treated like a child – all because I look different. They drag me around and push me in the road. That seems to be acceptable, because the police don't want to know. My father made me stand up for myself. I am able to speak my mind. That's all I ever do. I don't physically harm anyone." Judge Richardson told Salter-Bromley he was giving him a 21-day suspended prison sentence for his breach of the injunction. He said: "Any more breaches and I will probably activate this prison sentence. Please, please, behave in a civilised way. Taking your trousers off and exposing your person before defecating and urinating, then abusing staff is uncivilised."
Pregnant cow rescued after getting head stuck in window of wartime pillbox
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue released a pregnant cow that became stuck in a building at Gibraltar Point in Skegness.
The Lincolnshire Red got its head stuck in the window of a wartime pillbox at 10.30am on Thursday.
Firefighters and the Urban Search and Rescue Team were called to the scene and the cow was sedated by a vet so that heavy breaking equipment could be used to knock away the window.
Spencer Creek, Technical Rescue Manager for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “Compared to fighting fires this may seem a little bit strange, but because of the county’s rural nature animals do occasionally get into danger. Normally when this does happen they have become stuck in mud or water, so this was a bit different.
“With the cow trapped in the stone window it was actually causing swelling around its neck, so it was important we had the vet there to calm the animal so it wasn’t in distress and the skills of the Urban Search and Rescue Team.” The rescue team left the scene at 5:30pm. The cow seems to be fine and moving on from the ordeal.
Firefighters and the Urban Search and Rescue Team were called to the scene and the cow was sedated by a vet so that heavy breaking equipment could be used to knock away the window.
Spencer Creek, Technical Rescue Manager for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “Compared to fighting fires this may seem a little bit strange, but because of the county’s rural nature animals do occasionally get into danger. Normally when this does happen they have become stuck in mud or water, so this was a bit different.
“With the cow trapped in the stone window it was actually causing swelling around its neck, so it was important we had the vet there to calm the animal so it wasn’t in distress and the skills of the Urban Search and Rescue Team.” The rescue team left the scene at 5:30pm. The cow seems to be fine and moving on from the ordeal.
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