Friday, January 09, 2015
Here's wildlife carer Margit Cianelli with baby tree kangaroos Anneli and Kimberley
Former zookeeper Margit shares her home, Lumholtz Lodge, which is situated on 160 acres of rainforest in Queensland, Australia, with any nature-loving visitors who book a stay - and whatever wildlife happens to wander in.
Margit says her initial plan was to turn her home into a bed-and-breakfast. But she simply got so many requests from people who wanted to visit and learn about the local wildlife that it just sort of happened.
YouTube link.
Margit says her initial plan was to turn her home into a bed-and-breakfast. But she simply got so many requests from people who wanted to visit and learn about the local wildlife that it just sort of happened.
YouTube link.
Woman perturbed at being confronted by boa constrictor after plunging office toilet
A woman who took a plunger to a toilet at her office on Tuesday got the scare of her life Tuesday when a 5-foot boa constrictor came slithering out.
"I thought my eyes were deceiving me," said Stephanie Lacsa, co-founder of Vertical PR + Marketing in San Diego.
"But as soon as I saw the flicker of its tongue, I definitely knew that it was, in fact, a large snake heading straight towards me." Like many people, Lacsa hates snakes.
"I ran out of the bathroom screaming louder than I'd like to admit and taped the door shut," she said. Animal control officers eventually captured the Colombian rainbow boa and took it to their shelter for an examination.
YouTube link.
"The snake scared the living daylights out of us,' said Holly Wells, who also works at the company. It was later discovered that the snake, which was underweight and in the process of shedding when discovered, belongs to another tenant in the building.
"But as soon as I saw the flicker of its tongue, I definitely knew that it was, in fact, a large snake heading straight towards me." Like many people, Lacsa hates snakes.
"I ran out of the bathroom screaming louder than I'd like to admit and taped the door shut," she said. Animal control officers eventually captured the Colombian rainbow boa and took it to their shelter for an examination.
YouTube link.
"The snake scared the living daylights out of us,' said Holly Wells, who also works at the company. It was later discovered that the snake, which was underweight and in the process of shedding when discovered, belongs to another tenant in the building.
Minivan dragged for 16 miles after rear-ending then becoming wedged under semi-truck
A minivan was dragged for 16 miles on a nothern Michigan highway after it rear-ended a semi-truck and became stuck, according to the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office.
Visibility was low just before 2am on Wednesday when the minivan hit the rear of a semi-truck trailer in the northbound lanes of I-75 south of Roscommon, which is about 70 miles north of Mount Pleasant. The driver of the minivan, Matt Menz, said he never saw the trailer turn on flashing lights to warn of slow speeds before the crash.
The truck driver couldn’t see the minivan, carrying a family of four, tucked under the rear right end of the trailer, so he kept driving. Menz said he initially tried to free the minivan when the semi was going slowly, but as road conditions improved and it sped up, he didn’t want to become dislodged because he was afraid the minivan would roll. He told his wife to call 911. “We ran into the back of a semi-truck and he’s not stopping and our car is embedded underneath of it,”
Pamela Menz told a Roscommon County 911 dispatcher. The minivan’s horn was broken when it hit the semi, she said, so they couldn’t use it to alert the truck driver they were caught. They initially weren’t able to tell dispatchers where they were on the highway because the snow made it too difficult to see. “We can’t see. Everything frozen up because our heater’s gone,” Pamela Menz said. Matt Menz said he tried to stay focused on talking to the dispatcher. “If you allow yourself to panic, you’re kind of just useless,” he said. “There was time for that after we got stopped.”
YouTube link.
Eventually, they were able to see that the semi was signalling that he was going to get off at the first Roscommon exit. “We’re gonna go where he goes,” Matt Menz told the dispatcher. “We have no choice.” The semi-truck driver, still unaware the minivan was dragging behind the trailer, kept driving north into Crawford County. “I just want to get off the back of this thing,” Pamela Menz told a dispatcher. In all, the minivan was towed along for 16 miles and 25 harrowing minutes. Sheriff’s deputies were finally able to locate and stop the vehicles south of Grayling. While no one was seriously injured in the crash, the minivan’s occupants were taken to a local hospital to get checked out.
The truck driver couldn’t see the minivan, carrying a family of four, tucked under the rear right end of the trailer, so he kept driving. Menz said he initially tried to free the minivan when the semi was going slowly, but as road conditions improved and it sped up, he didn’t want to become dislodged because he was afraid the minivan would roll. He told his wife to call 911. “We ran into the back of a semi-truck and he’s not stopping and our car is embedded underneath of it,”
Pamela Menz told a Roscommon County 911 dispatcher. The minivan’s horn was broken when it hit the semi, she said, so they couldn’t use it to alert the truck driver they were caught. They initially weren’t able to tell dispatchers where they were on the highway because the snow made it too difficult to see. “We can’t see. Everything frozen up because our heater’s gone,” Pamela Menz said. Matt Menz said he tried to stay focused on talking to the dispatcher. “If you allow yourself to panic, you’re kind of just useless,” he said. “There was time for that after we got stopped.”
YouTube link.
Eventually, they were able to see that the semi was signalling that he was going to get off at the first Roscommon exit. “We’re gonna go where he goes,” Matt Menz told the dispatcher. “We have no choice.” The semi-truck driver, still unaware the minivan was dragging behind the trailer, kept driving north into Crawford County. “I just want to get off the back of this thing,” Pamela Menz told a dispatcher. In all, the minivan was towed along for 16 miles and 25 harrowing minutes. Sheriff’s deputies were finally able to locate and stop the vehicles south of Grayling. While no one was seriously injured in the crash, the minivan’s occupants were taken to a local hospital to get checked out.
Traffic police told to wear nappies ahead of Pope's visit to the Philippines
When Pope Francis visits the Philippines next week, about 2,000 traffic enforcers who will be on duty will be required to wear adult nappies (diapers), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman, Francis Tolentino, has said.
Tolentino also encouraged people who will wait for hours to see the pope to also wear nappies.
The prospect of wearing nappies while on duty was “well received” by his men, he said on Wednesday. Tolentino said the idea will be tested on Friday by 800 traffic enforcers who work shifts during the nearly 24-hour annual procession of the Black Nazarene. It will be the first time that traffic enforcers in the Philippines will wear nappies while on duty in the streets, he said.
The Black Nazarene procession attracts hundreds of thousands of barefoot, mostly male, Filipino Roman Catholics, who parade a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ which devotees believe possess mystical powers that could cure ailments and answer wishes of good health and fortune.
Tolentino says there won’t be enough portable toilets for the millions of people expected to see Pope Francis hold an open-air mass at the seaside Rizal Park on 18 January. “If you attend an event that will last for 24 hours, you cannot go around looking for a [portable toilet],” Tolentino said. Priests, nuns, seminarians, and the elderly also should consider wearing nappies, he said. Asked if he will also wear one, Tolentino said, “I will try, but in my case, I have less hydration.”
The prospect of wearing nappies while on duty was “well received” by his men, he said on Wednesday. Tolentino said the idea will be tested on Friday by 800 traffic enforcers who work shifts during the nearly 24-hour annual procession of the Black Nazarene. It will be the first time that traffic enforcers in the Philippines will wear nappies while on duty in the streets, he said.
The Black Nazarene procession attracts hundreds of thousands of barefoot, mostly male, Filipino Roman Catholics, who parade a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ which devotees believe possess mystical powers that could cure ailments and answer wishes of good health and fortune.
Tolentino says there won’t be enough portable toilets for the millions of people expected to see Pope Francis hold an open-air mass at the seaside Rizal Park on 18 January. “If you attend an event that will last for 24 hours, you cannot go around looking for a [portable toilet],” Tolentino said. Priests, nuns, seminarians, and the elderly also should consider wearing nappies, he said. Asked if he will also wear one, Tolentino said, “I will try, but in my case, I have less hydration.”
Tiger rescued after getting stuck in a fence
Forest officials have used a tranquiliser gun to free a tiger that became stuck in a fence near the village of Borda in the western Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, India.
The tiger, stuck for five hours overnight, growled as it tried several times to escape before being shot close-range with the gun. A forest official, Chand Hande, said the tiger - later driven away sedated in a truck - would be set free in the forest.
"When we got to know that a tiger was stuck in the fencing of a field in the Borda village, our team rushed to the spot and managed to tranquilise him after a long time," he said.
YouTube link.
"We will set him free in the forest in the evening," Hande said. Tigers have long been bordering on extinction as they face the dangers of poaching, killings and habitat loss despite government conservation efforts.
The tiger, stuck for five hours overnight, growled as it tried several times to escape before being shot close-range with the gun. A forest official, Chand Hande, said the tiger - later driven away sedated in a truck - would be set free in the forest.
"When we got to know that a tiger was stuck in the fencing of a field in the Borda village, our team rushed to the spot and managed to tranquilise him after a long time," he said.
YouTube link.
"We will set him free in the forest in the evening," Hande said. Tigers have long been bordering on extinction as they face the dangers of poaching, killings and habitat loss despite government conservation efforts.
Rhinos made a bid for freedom from safari park after security guard fell asleep
A young female rhinoceros named Rihanna led two pals on an escape bid from a safari park last Thursday after spotting a security guard had fallen asleep.
The rhinos escaped from the front entrance of the Ramat Gan Safari Park in the city of Ramat Gan in the Tel Aviv district of western Israel after the security guard nodded off and failed to notice until too late what was happening.
Although another employee of the park gave chase, it was too late to stop the white rhinos from hitting the road. An enquiry is now ongoing to find out why the gate to their enclosure and the gate to the facility itself had been left open. Police who got a call to say that three rhinos were on the loose said that they initially doubted it, but when they realised it was true they had stopped the animals' further escape with a roadblock.
They then worked with zoo staff to stop the rhinos travelling too far, and too drive them back to the safari park. A police spokesman said: "We located the rhinos in the car park not far from the safari park itself." All three white rhinos including Rihanna as well as the other two females named Keren Peles and Karnivala were returned to the park after their brief adventure without further incident.
YouTube link.
Zoo spokeswoman Sagit Horowitz said: "Overall, the rhinos were outside about 10 minutes, in which they were in the parking lot adjacent to the entrance and did not enter the national park." The security guard that was supposed to stop the rhinos has reportedly been relieved of his duties.
Although another employee of the park gave chase, it was too late to stop the white rhinos from hitting the road. An enquiry is now ongoing to find out why the gate to their enclosure and the gate to the facility itself had been left open. Police who got a call to say that three rhinos were on the loose said that they initially doubted it, but when they realised it was true they had stopped the animals' further escape with a roadblock.
They then worked with zoo staff to stop the rhinos travelling too far, and too drive them back to the safari park. A police spokesman said: "We located the rhinos in the car park not far from the safari park itself." All three white rhinos including Rihanna as well as the other two females named Keren Peles and Karnivala were returned to the park after their brief adventure without further incident.
YouTube link.
Zoo spokeswoman Sagit Horowitz said: "Overall, the rhinos were outside about 10 minutes, in which they were in the parking lot adjacent to the entrance and did not enter the national park." The security guard that was supposed to stop the rhinos has reportedly been relieved of his duties.
Scorpion disturbed woman's breakfast
A scorpion scuttling across her kitchen floor gave Carol Cook from Stansted, Essex, a huge shock on Tuesday morning.
She encountered the animal after opening a new box of Weetabix cereal and fears it was lurking in the carton.
The angry arthropod reared up at Carol and raised its tail in a characteristic show of aggression.
Carol, who is in her early 50s, and husband Gary subdued the brown beast with a sheet of paper and a plastic container before seeking advice from the RSPCA and Uttlesford District Council’s environmental health department. She said that both told her that the scorpion’s brown colouring was a comforting sign - as the most venomous versions are black. Mrs Cook estimated her intruder was around three inches long – or around 7.6cm.
She said husband Gary was unperturbed by their visitor: “He said ‘Calm down, calm down’ but I’ve seen the film, The Scorpion King. When I saw its tail lifting up, it was quite scary, because you are aware it could sting.” She was anxious to find out more about the creature, which now appears to be dead. Mrs Cook said: “I would like someone to say what it is - and whether or not I should have worried about it.”
Although scorpions are found on every continent except Antarctica, she speculated global warming might be playing a part in her discovery. Scorpions are not native to the UK but colonies have been established after the species was introduced. In all, around 1,750 species of scorpions have been identified. Of these, only about 25 are known to have venom capable of killing a human. Iain Newby, who runs Dangerous Wild Animal Rescue Facility, in Great Wakering, Essex, said it "could be something quite venomous". He added: "It might have been in the cardboard packaging during shipping, or in the factory, or it could have come from somewhere completely different."
Carol, who is in her early 50s, and husband Gary subdued the brown beast with a sheet of paper and a plastic container before seeking advice from the RSPCA and Uttlesford District Council’s environmental health department. She said that both told her that the scorpion’s brown colouring was a comforting sign - as the most venomous versions are black. Mrs Cook estimated her intruder was around three inches long – or around 7.6cm.
She said husband Gary was unperturbed by their visitor: “He said ‘Calm down, calm down’ but I’ve seen the film, The Scorpion King. When I saw its tail lifting up, it was quite scary, because you are aware it could sting.” She was anxious to find out more about the creature, which now appears to be dead. Mrs Cook said: “I would like someone to say what it is - and whether or not I should have worried about it.”
Although scorpions are found on every continent except Antarctica, she speculated global warming might be playing a part in her discovery. Scorpions are not native to the UK but colonies have been established after the species was introduced. In all, around 1,750 species of scorpions have been identified. Of these, only about 25 are known to have venom capable of killing a human. Iain Newby, who runs Dangerous Wild Animal Rescue Facility, in Great Wakering, Essex, said it "could be something quite venomous". He added: "It might have been in the cardboard packaging during shipping, or in the factory, or it could have come from somewhere completely different."
Thieves gave themselves a hair cut after breaking into charity shop
Thieves broke into a charity shop in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and made a mug of coffee before sitting at the manager’s desk and giving themselves a hair cut.
The British Heart Foundation shop manager Janet Kenworthy arrived at work to find a vandalised till and the office computer gone - but was more shocked when she went to her desk and found a pile of brown hair cuttings at the foot of her chair.
Her desk scissors were left covered in hair strands in the break-in, where the thieves took two jars of coffee and three tins of baked beans from the office kitchen but left the bread. Ms Kenworthy said: “Who breaks in and gives themselves a hair cut?
“It was a big pile of brown hair on the floor. So strange. It is senseless, but also unpleasant to think people have been in the shop and rifled through the drawers and made themselves a drink.” Thieves broke in by kicking down the front door at the shop in Market Place. The break-in happened some time between 5pm on Monday January 5 and early morning Tuesday 6. Police are appealing for witnesses.
The British Heart Foundation shop manager Janet Kenworthy arrived at work to find a vandalised till and the office computer gone - but was more shocked when she went to her desk and found a pile of brown hair cuttings at the foot of her chair.
Her desk scissors were left covered in hair strands in the break-in, where the thieves took two jars of coffee and three tins of baked beans from the office kitchen but left the bread. Ms Kenworthy said: “Who breaks in and gives themselves a hair cut?
“It was a big pile of brown hair on the floor. So strange. It is senseless, but also unpleasant to think people have been in the shop and rifled through the drawers and made themselves a drink.” Thieves broke in by kicking down the front door at the shop in Market Place. The break-in happened some time between 5pm on Monday January 5 and early morning Tuesday 6. Police are appealing for witnesses.
Teenager charged over drive-by potato attacks
A teenager from Clydebank, Scotland, has been charged in connection with three assaults after a spate of drive-by potato attacks.
The 18-year-old was charged following the incidents when potatoes were allegedly thrown from a car at pedestrians in the Clydebank area.
In all the incidents, which occurred on December 29, people were injured. One 13-year-old girl sustained serious bruising to her face after a potato was thrown at her. A second woman said she thought she had been shot after a raw baking potato was thrown at her from a passing car at 1.10am.
The 32-year-old NHS worker, who did not want named, was smacked in the head by a potato, followed by a tub of Asda coleslaw, causing her to keel over in the middle of the street outside the Twisted Thistle pub on Dumbarton Road. “I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous,” the victim said. “In my line of work you hear a lot of crazy stories but this tops them.
“I was so shocked - it was terrible. I actually thought I had been shot by a BB gun.” Inspector Natalie Doherty, of Clydebank Community Investigation Unit, said officers were pursuing a positive line of inquiry in relation to a second man. She said: “Whilst initially the males involved may have deemed this a boyhood prank, the consequences were clearly not considered and as a result two females including a 13-year-old child have been left injured.”
In all the incidents, which occurred on December 29, people were injured. One 13-year-old girl sustained serious bruising to her face after a potato was thrown at her. A second woman said she thought she had been shot after a raw baking potato was thrown at her from a passing car at 1.10am.
The 32-year-old NHS worker, who did not want named, was smacked in the head by a potato, followed by a tub of Asda coleslaw, causing her to keel over in the middle of the street outside the Twisted Thistle pub on Dumbarton Road. “I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous,” the victim said. “In my line of work you hear a lot of crazy stories but this tops them.
“I was so shocked - it was terrible. I actually thought I had been shot by a BB gun.” Inspector Natalie Doherty, of Clydebank Community Investigation Unit, said officers were pursuing a positive line of inquiry in relation to a second man. She said: “Whilst initially the males involved may have deemed this a boyhood prank, the consequences were clearly not considered and as a result two females including a 13-year-old child have been left injured.”
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