Click for bigger.
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Woman claims to have duck crossed with a rooster
Patricia Rydeen is the owner/operator of Ears Wings N’ Things, a farm, somewhere, consisting of emus, chickens, ducks, roosters, peacocks, and more, noticed something odd one day: one of her roosters with a duck.
“I saw him on top of my duck, and I thought fine, they aren’t supposed to breed anyway,” said Rydeen. But, somehow, they did breed, and Ducken was the result. “At first I was calling it Chuck,” she said. “But that’s more like a chicken-duck, when actually it’s a duck-chicken, so I was thinking of Ducken as a name.”
Ducken, whose sex is still to be determined, has some difficulty maintaining balance, which Rydeen believes is due to the weight of Ducken’s head which has what appears to be a chicken leg protruding from it. She is not certain Ducken will live much longer. “If he lives, it’s meant to be,” she said. “And if he dies, it’s meant to be. I just can’t put it down. I can’t kill it. I can’t kill anything, frankly.”
YouTube link.
For now though, Ducken seems to be happy, making typical duck-like noises and demonstrating alertness to his/her surroundings. Rydeen said despite the unusual growth, Ducken appears very similar to a typical newborn duckling. Scientists say it is unlikely that a rooster and a duck can successfully breed.
“I saw him on top of my duck, and I thought fine, they aren’t supposed to breed anyway,” said Rydeen. But, somehow, they did breed, and Ducken was the result. “At first I was calling it Chuck,” she said. “But that’s more like a chicken-duck, when actually it’s a duck-chicken, so I was thinking of Ducken as a name.”
Ducken, whose sex is still to be determined, has some difficulty maintaining balance, which Rydeen believes is due to the weight of Ducken’s head which has what appears to be a chicken leg protruding from it. She is not certain Ducken will live much longer. “If he lives, it’s meant to be,” she said. “And if he dies, it’s meant to be. I just can’t put it down. I can’t kill it. I can’t kill anything, frankly.”
YouTube link.
For now though, Ducken seems to be happy, making typical duck-like noises and demonstrating alertness to his/her surroundings. Rydeen said despite the unusual growth, Ducken appears very similar to a typical newborn duckling. Scientists say it is unlikely that a rooster and a duck can successfully breed.
Man called 911 after raccoons fell through ceiling
A pair of burglars in Toronto were just after food in the kitchen.
From the attic in the middle of the night, two young raccoons burrowed their way into Al-Hillal's kitchen. "We heard scratching and that ... and water was running," said homeowner Zak Al-Hillal.
The raccoons feasted at the fruit bowl and were less than friendly when the homeowner discovered their "crime." "We were really scared because the mother jumped on us and I didn't know what to do," Al-Hillal said.
So Al-Hillal and his wife ran to their bedroom, barricaded the door and dialed 911. When police arrived, Al-Hillal threw the keys to them from a balcony and let the cops shoo the raccoons out. Officials say the homeowners should have seen this coming. They had a hole capped in their roof the day before.
Video.
From the attic in the middle of the night, two young raccoons burrowed their way into Al-Hillal's kitchen. "We heard scratching and that ... and water was running," said homeowner Zak Al-Hillal.
The raccoons feasted at the fruit bowl and were less than friendly when the homeowner discovered their "crime." "We were really scared because the mother jumped on us and I didn't know what to do," Al-Hillal said.
So Al-Hillal and his wife ran to their bedroom, barricaded the door and dialed 911. When police arrived, Al-Hillal threw the keys to them from a balcony and let the cops shoo the raccoons out. Officials say the homeowners should have seen this coming. They had a hole capped in their roof the day before.
Video.
Drunk man and one of his monkeys stopped in truck
When Largo, Florida, police detained a man and his monkey in a traffic stop on Thursday morning, they had no idea they had apprehended a pair whose notoriety had spurred a protracted investigation by state wildlife officials. Yet Largo resident Eugene Kotelman and his simian companion, a macaque named Doc Holliday, have been at the centre of a case whose trail leads through the woods of Pasco and into cyberspace, according to Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Authorities said Kotelman, 36, is the same man who flagged down a Pasco County sheriff's deputy last month with a mysterious complaint that his pet monkey had escaped his vehicle and had vanished into the forest outside a Hess gas station. Reports of that incident caught the attention of Fish and Wildlife officials.
Surveillance videos from the Hess showed a man matching the description of "Monkeysdaddyg," a YouTube auteur who has posted several videos of young monkeys cavorting in the bathtub and, in one case, hopping around a living room in matching leopard-print diapers. State authorities had been seeking the creator of the videos for potential violation of wildlife possession laws. "We've had dealings with him before," Morse said. "We've been looking for him." For Kotelman and Doc Holliday, life on the run came to an abrupt end shortly after midnight on Thursday, when Kotelman was arrested by Largo police. They said he was driving his Ford truck at 70 mph down East Bay Drive in Largo. Doc Holliday was riding shotgun. Kotelman, a travelling barbecue vendor, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday on a felony DUI charge.
Largo police Lt. Mike Loux said Kotelman has a "lengthy criminal history" involving multiple arrests on DUI and driving with a suspended licence charges. State officials also filed charges against Kotelman this week — for failure to meet minimum caging requirements and failure to document a source of acquisition for wildlife, Morse said. Both are misdemeanors carrying a maximum penalty of 60 days' jail time or a $1,000 fine. Morse said that he didn't know how Kotelman first got on the wildlife agency's radar but that officials had been pursuing him for some time. "Essentially, he doesn't have a permit for the monkey," Morse said. Morse said it's unclear what the future holds for Doc Holliday. The monkey is being held in quarantine at an undisclosed location, he said. The fate of monkeys confiscated from their owners typically depends on how well the animals can adapt to social settings with other members of their own species, according to University of Notre Dame primate expert Agustin Fuentes.
YouTube link.
"The ideal would be to get them to a good sanctuary where they can have a good life and be with other monkeys," Fuentes said. But if the monkey has been "poorly socialized" by its human owner so it can't interact well with other animals, Fuentes said it could be euthanized. Also unclear is whether other monkey associates of Kotelman and Doc Holliday are still on the loose. The YouTube videos wildlife officials say were created by Kotelman feature two monkeys. Several short films depict them bathing in the tub together, occasionally leaping up to swing from the showerhead or perch on the bathroom windowsill. Another video shows the monkeys, attired in leopard-patterned diapers, jumping between pieces of furniture in front of a TV. Kotelman "may have more than one" monkey, Morse said. For the moment, however, the other members of this gang remain at large.
Surveillance videos from the Hess showed a man matching the description of "Monkeysdaddyg," a YouTube auteur who has posted several videos of young monkeys cavorting in the bathtub and, in one case, hopping around a living room in matching leopard-print diapers. State authorities had been seeking the creator of the videos for potential violation of wildlife possession laws. "We've had dealings with him before," Morse said. "We've been looking for him." For Kotelman and Doc Holliday, life on the run came to an abrupt end shortly after midnight on Thursday, when Kotelman was arrested by Largo police. They said he was driving his Ford truck at 70 mph down East Bay Drive in Largo. Doc Holliday was riding shotgun. Kotelman, a travelling barbecue vendor, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday on a felony DUI charge.
Largo police Lt. Mike Loux said Kotelman has a "lengthy criminal history" involving multiple arrests on DUI and driving with a suspended licence charges. State officials also filed charges against Kotelman this week — for failure to meet minimum caging requirements and failure to document a source of acquisition for wildlife, Morse said. Both are misdemeanors carrying a maximum penalty of 60 days' jail time or a $1,000 fine. Morse said that he didn't know how Kotelman first got on the wildlife agency's radar but that officials had been pursuing him for some time. "Essentially, he doesn't have a permit for the monkey," Morse said. Morse said it's unclear what the future holds for Doc Holliday. The monkey is being held in quarantine at an undisclosed location, he said. The fate of monkeys confiscated from their owners typically depends on how well the animals can adapt to social settings with other members of their own species, according to University of Notre Dame primate expert Agustin Fuentes.
YouTube link.
"The ideal would be to get them to a good sanctuary where they can have a good life and be with other monkeys," Fuentes said. But if the monkey has been "poorly socialized" by its human owner so it can't interact well with other animals, Fuentes said it could be euthanized. Also unclear is whether other monkey associates of Kotelman and Doc Holliday are still on the loose. The YouTube videos wildlife officials say were created by Kotelman feature two monkeys. Several short films depict them bathing in the tub together, occasionally leaping up to swing from the showerhead or perch on the bathroom windowsill. Another video shows the monkeys, attired in leopard-patterned diapers, jumping between pieces of furniture in front of a TV. Kotelman "may have more than one" monkey, Morse said. For the moment, however, the other members of this gang remain at large.
Parents criticize discipline after students meowed at teachers
An investigation is underway after young students were forced to act like cats and crawl across a hot track. It happened on Wednesday afternoon northwest of San Antonio in the town of Junction.
Several students still have visible scrapes and blisters on their knees and palms. Parents say some of the fifth graders were being rowdy in the halls and started making cat noises at teachers.
As punishment, the entire class was taken to the track and told to get on their hands and knees. "It was painful because the track was hot and it was rough and it was tearing our skin and it was burning," said student Madison Phillips.
Four teachers were involved in the incident on the track. The superintendent's office says the district will get to the bottom of what happened, but it's unclear at this point if there will be any sort of punishment.
Video.
Several students still have visible scrapes and blisters on their knees and palms. Parents say some of the fifth graders were being rowdy in the halls and started making cat noises at teachers.
As punishment, the entire class was taken to the track and told to get on their hands and knees. "It was painful because the track was hot and it was rough and it was tearing our skin and it was burning," said student Madison Phillips.
Four teachers were involved in the incident on the track. The superintendent's office says the district will get to the bottom of what happened, but it's unclear at this point if there will be any sort of punishment.
Video.
Cat survived 1 hour 45 minute spin in washing machine
A South African cat emerged washed and rinsed but unharmed after nearly two hours trapped inside a washing machine.
Karin Bennett, 63, heard muffled meows but searched in vain for her black cat Tabitha for an hour and 45 minutes, until she saw a furry face in the machine's glass door. She turned off the power, struggled to open the jammed door, and finally dashed a soaked Tabitha to the vet who treated her for shock and hypothermia.
Tabitha had a little water in her lungs, but was blow-dried and returned home healthy five hours later. "It could happen to anybody," said Bennett. "She must have been sleeping in there. The vet told me she had lost seven of her nine lives," Bennett added.
Tabitha seemed to forget the ordeal quickly, going back to hiding in unlikely places. Bennett credits her recent cost-saving measures with saving Tabitha's life. She had stopped washing in warm water a few months ago.
Karin Bennett, 63, heard muffled meows but searched in vain for her black cat Tabitha for an hour and 45 minutes, until she saw a furry face in the machine's glass door. She turned off the power, struggled to open the jammed door, and finally dashed a soaked Tabitha to the vet who treated her for shock and hypothermia.
Tabitha had a little water in her lungs, but was blow-dried and returned home healthy five hours later. "It could happen to anybody," said Bennett. "She must have been sleeping in there. The vet told me she had lost seven of her nine lives," Bennett added.
Tabitha seemed to forget the ordeal quickly, going back to hiding in unlikely places. Bennett credits her recent cost-saving measures with saving Tabitha's life. She had stopped washing in warm water a few months ago.
Dog gets itself into a bit of a pickle
Most dogs are happy to be tied to the railings while they're waiting for their owners, but this pooch from Yueyang, Hunan province, southern China, had to go one better.
Baffled Park Ting, 38, spotted the trapped mutt trying to wriggle through the gates and soon realised it was stuck fast.
"It had got its hips stuck going forward, so then it tried to go backwards through another gap but that just made it worse. By the time I got to it, the poor thing couldn't move an inch," said Park.
Locals gradually managed to inch the dog backwards and forwards until he was free. "He looked a bit sorry for himself but was fine otherwise," added Park.
Baffled Park Ting, 38, spotted the trapped mutt trying to wriggle through the gates and soon realised it was stuck fast.
"It had got its hips stuck going forward, so then it tried to go backwards through another gap but that just made it worse. By the time I got to it, the poor thing couldn't move an inch," said Park.
Locals gradually managed to inch the dog backwards and forwards until he was free. "He looked a bit sorry for himself but was fine otherwise," added Park.
Bear solves missing man riddle
A wild bear on the prowl in the forests of Tyrol is being feted by locals after inadvertently helping unravel the mystery of a missing man. According to police, the brown bear, which for several weeks had been rampaging in the area close to the border between Austria and Switzerland, knocked down a tree which fell on an electricity pylon and started a fire.
Police and firefighters called to the remote region discovered the body of a man who had been reported missing by his wife two days earlier. The 100kg, two and a half year old animal has been dubbed Inspector Bear by locals, in place of his less catchy scientific label, M13.
A spokesman for Tyrolean state police said: "This is an ongoing investigation, so I cannot give more information, other than to say we consider the bear to be innocent." The man has been identified as Peter Hilber, 40, who was known to move in criminal circles, according to the police. M13 and his brother, M12, have been living in the border region between Austria, Switzerland and Italy for several weeks.
M13 has wreaked havoc in some areas, overturning beehives and killing a goat. Both animals come from a repopulation programme in Trentino, northern Italy. The whereabouts of M12 and M13 are being monitored by a GPS tag around their necks which sends text messages to the authorities every seven hours. M13 was also in a collision with a Swiss train on Monday night but was not believed to have been seriously injured.
Police and firefighters called to the remote region discovered the body of a man who had been reported missing by his wife two days earlier. The 100kg, two and a half year old animal has been dubbed Inspector Bear by locals, in place of his less catchy scientific label, M13.
A spokesman for Tyrolean state police said: "This is an ongoing investigation, so I cannot give more information, other than to say we consider the bear to be innocent." The man has been identified as Peter Hilber, 40, who was known to move in criminal circles, according to the police. M13 and his brother, M12, have been living in the border region between Austria, Switzerland and Italy for several weeks.
M13 has wreaked havoc in some areas, overturning beehives and killing a goat. Both animals come from a repopulation programme in Trentino, northern Italy. The whereabouts of M12 and M13 are being monitored by a GPS tag around their necks which sends text messages to the authorities every seven hours. M13 was also in a collision with a Swiss train on Monday night but was not believed to have been seriously injured.
Woman escapes punishment for squeezing boyfriend's penis in hair straightener
A woman who placed her ex-boyfriend's penis in a piping-hot hair straightener and squeezed is not guilty of assault, a Swedish court has ruled. The episode unfolded in January 2011 when the 31-year-old man got drunk with his ex-girlfriend and another female acquaintance in a flat in Halmstad in western Sweden. As his ex-girlfriend sat on the couch straightening her hair, the man suddenly asked to have his penis "straightened", wanting her to place the hair iron around his sex organ. "Do it, do it, do it," the man said, according to the woman's statement to police.
While the woman at first resisted, she eventually grew tired of the 31-year-old continually grabbing his penis and waving it around in the air and decided to give the man's member a scorching squeeze with her warmed-up flat iron. Following the "stupid" stunt, the 31-year-old simply laughed and asked the other woman for some ice. He later testified in court, however, that having his penis pressed in a scalding-hot hair iron left him suffering in pain for nearly three weeks after the incident.
A few hours following the sex-organ squeeze, the drunken 31-year-old then got in an argument with his ex-girlfriend, who eventually slapped him, prompting the man to head-butt her so hard she tumbled down to the floor. He then proceeded to hit her repeatedly in the face, resulting in an assault charge also being filed against him. The man claimed that violent reaction to the slap was simply a reflexive response.
He explained that his hard life had required him to develop such survival instincts, without which he'd likely be dead. In issuing its ruling on the case, the court found that since the man had asked the woman to put his penis in the hair iron in the first place, she could hardly be culpable. While the court acquitted the hot-iron wielding woman, it found the man guilty of assault for the vicious head-butt which took place later in the evening.
While the woman at first resisted, she eventually grew tired of the 31-year-old continually grabbing his penis and waving it around in the air and decided to give the man's member a scorching squeeze with her warmed-up flat iron. Following the "stupid" stunt, the 31-year-old simply laughed and asked the other woman for some ice. He later testified in court, however, that having his penis pressed in a scalding-hot hair iron left him suffering in pain for nearly three weeks after the incident.
A few hours following the sex-organ squeeze, the drunken 31-year-old then got in an argument with his ex-girlfriend, who eventually slapped him, prompting the man to head-butt her so hard she tumbled down to the floor. He then proceeded to hit her repeatedly in the face, resulting in an assault charge also being filed against him. The man claimed that violent reaction to the slap was simply a reflexive response.
He explained that his hard life had required him to develop such survival instincts, without which he'd likely be dead. In issuing its ruling on the case, the court found that since the man had asked the woman to put his penis in the hair iron in the first place, she could hardly be culpable. While the court acquitted the hot-iron wielding woman, it found the man guilty of assault for the vicious head-butt which took place later in the evening.
140 people injured when balloons explode at Armenian rally
More than 140 people were injured when gas-filled balloons exploded at a governing party campaign concert in the Armenian capital.
The Armenian emergencies ministry said that 144 people suffered burns when several promotional balloons exploded at a showpiece concert staged by President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican party in Yerevan's central Republic Square ahead of parliamentary polls later today.
"The balloons exploded and caught fire after people holding the bunches released them from their hands into the air," an eyewitness who asked to remain anonymous said.
YouTube link.
It was not immediately clear what caused the incident. "All the victims had either medium or light injuries. Now doctors are trying to revive them from shock," Health Minister Harutiun Kushkian said. The promotional balloons were decorated with the governing party's election slogan "Let's believe in change".
The Armenian emergencies ministry said that 144 people suffered burns when several promotional balloons exploded at a showpiece concert staged by President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican party in Yerevan's central Republic Square ahead of parliamentary polls later today.
"The balloons exploded and caught fire after people holding the bunches released them from their hands into the air," an eyewitness who asked to remain anonymous said.
YouTube link.
It was not immediately clear what caused the incident. "All the victims had either medium or light injuries. Now doctors are trying to revive them from shock," Health Minister Harutiun Kushkian said. The promotional balloons were decorated with the governing party's election slogan "Let's believe in change".
Widower fulfills wife's dying wish to have a Viking funeral
A heartbroken widower has fulfilled his wife’s dying wish to have a traditional Viking funeral. Devoted Francis Mulcahy took Karine’s ashes two miles out to sea on a replica longship that he built himself. He then set fire to the 3ft-long vessel and watched it sink.
Photo from SWNS.
Karine, 59, was Scottish but insisted on the unusual send-off because her grandparents were Scandinavian. Francis, 50, said: “I loved her very much. She wished for that sort of funeral, so that’s what she got. I wanted to give her everything I possibly could in my power.” Karine, who lived in Tavistock, Devon, died from a blood clot which spread to her lungs on September 15 last year.
Photo from SWNS.
Francis then set about fulfilling her dying wish and bought a £120 flatpack replica Viking longboat – intended as a collector’s model. He spent five days building the wooden boat and even added a Saltire sail. Her ashes were then placed into two small cabins on the boat’s deck.
Photo from SWNS.
Last week, Francis and 70 mourners sailed out from Plymouth Sound on a friend’s fishing boat. When they were two miles out, he used a blowtorch to ignite firelighters on the longship. He said: “We just watched it as it burnt. After that, we turned the boat around and went to a pub where we had a good eat and a good drink together and just simply celebrated her life.”
With more photos.
Photo from SWNS.
Karine, 59, was Scottish but insisted on the unusual send-off because her grandparents were Scandinavian. Francis, 50, said: “I loved her very much. She wished for that sort of funeral, so that’s what she got. I wanted to give her everything I possibly could in my power.” Karine, who lived in Tavistock, Devon, died from a blood clot which spread to her lungs on September 15 last year.
Photo from SWNS.
Francis then set about fulfilling her dying wish and bought a £120 flatpack replica Viking longboat – intended as a collector’s model. He spent five days building the wooden boat and even added a Saltire sail. Her ashes were then placed into two small cabins on the boat’s deck.
Photo from SWNS.
Last week, Francis and 70 mourners sailed out from Plymouth Sound on a friend’s fishing boat. When they were two miles out, he used a blowtorch to ignite firelighters on the longship. He said: “We just watched it as it burnt. After that, we turned the boat around and went to a pub where we had a good eat and a good drink together and just simply celebrated her life.”
With more photos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)