Leave Giant Squids Alone

Giant SquidDon't mess with them.By Grady HendrixPosted Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, at 1:59 PM ET
U.S. scientists accidentally caught a giant squid in the Gulf of Mexico last week, the first spotted in those waters since 1954. But perhaps we should be more careful about how we treat this terrifying beast. After a Japanese crew snapped hundreds of photographs of the Architeuthis dux in 2005, Grady Hendrix warned that we had "violated our contract with the giant squid" and urged caution. The article is reprinted below.

Is there any doubt that the scariest animal in the world is the giant squid? Just its name paralyzes my heart with fear in a way that "killer whale" or "jumbo shrimp" do not. Most of us first caught a glimpse of this denizen of the deep trying to kill Kirk Douglas in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and we all had the same question: How angry do you have to be to try to kill the recipient of an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement? The answer was instantly branded onto all of our brains: as angry as a giant squid.
The giant squid is an "eat the crew, ask questions later" kind of cephalopod, and motion pictures have rightly depicted it as a very angry animal that's not given to conversation. To see a giant squid is to be attacked by a giant squid, the saying goes. But, like Tom Cruise between movies, the giant squid is camera-shy. And, just like the diminutive actor, Architeuthis dux spends long periods lurking out of sight, surely up to no good, before bursting forth, tentacles flailing, and exercising its alternate belief system. In Mr. Cruise's case, the alternate belief system is Scientology. In the giant squid's case, the alternate belief system is a desire to wrap you in its horrible tentacles and poke you to death with its poisonous beak. There are similarities.
Usually we only see giant squid in artist's conceptions fighting sperm whales (very scary) or washed up dead on beaches (not very scary at all). But now the Japanese have ruined it for everyone. With the aid of a very long string and a bag of mashed shrimp, Tsunemi Kubodera and Kyoichi Mori have taken 500 pictures of the giant squid at home. Stripping all the mystery and dignity from this great beast, they got the not-very-coordinated, 26-foot-long monster to snag itself on their bait bag. No one said the giant squid was very bright, but the fact that it tried to free its tentacle for more than four hours before giving up and tearing the thing off doesn't do much for its reputation. Even the researchers' statement that the giant squid seems "much more active … than previously suspected" comes across as a little condescending.
Kubodera and his crew have taken great pains to emphasize that losing a tentacle hasn't harmed the squid, but if they knew anything about giant squid they'd cut the press conferences short and run home to protect their families from this now-livid cephalopod that almost surely wants revenge. The giant squid hates everything: It hates Kirk Douglas, it hates the crew of the Pequod, and it especially hates scientists who make it look stupid.
If man is to live in harmony with nature we must respect nature's needs, and the needs of the giant squid are simple:
a) three (3) metric tons of small fish per week, or one (1) sperm whale;
b) if giant squid is to make more than two appearances in one day, giant squid must be supplied with a rest area equipped with Bose sound system and six large, clean towels;
c) no flash photography.
We have violated our contract with the giant squid. Will any of us ever feel safe in the water again?

Firefighter Shoots Dogs to Avoide Boarding Them

Ohio Man Faces Jail Time for Killing Dogs

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (July 8) - An Ohio firefighter faces jail time and may lose his job for shooting his two dogs to death rather than pay to board them while he went on a cruise.

Columbus firefighter David P. Santuomo, 43, took Sloopy and Skeeter to his home's basement, suspended them from a pipe near the ceiling and fired at least 11 shots from a .22-caliber rifle fitted with a homemade silencer, Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Ron J. O'Brien said.

Santuomo then wrapped the carcasses in plastic and dumped them in a trash bin behind Firehouse 27, where he worked, O'Brien said.
"This is pretty heinous," said Cheri Miller, spokeswoman for the Capital Area Humane Society, which carried out a search warrant in Santuomo's home. The humane society has limited law enforcement powers in Franklin County.
Santuomo pleaded guilty in June to two misdemeanor counts of improperly killing a companion animal and a felony count of possession of a criminal tool. Santuomo had fashioned a makeshift silencer by taping a 2-liter soda bottle to the end of the rifle. The incident happened in December.
Miller said appalled fellow firefighters turned Santuomo in to authorities.
"There were reports that he was bragging about this," she said.
Santuomo initially told investigators the dogs had ingested antifreeze and he killed them to put them out of their misery, Miller said. However, after necropsies showed the dogs were not poisoned, the firefighter admitted shooting them because he couldn't afford to board them, she said. Public records show Santuomo has twice filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and underwent a home foreclosure in 2003.
The Columbus Division of Fire has received more than 2,000 outraged e-mails and calls from the public, said Battalion Chief David Whiting, the department's spokesman.
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"People are not very happy," he said. "We had people say they should do to him what he's done to the dogs. A lot of people want him fired. They don't want him coming into their house. They're worried about their animals; they're worried about their kids. They'd just as soon let their house burn down if he shows up."
The Division of Fire has concluded an internal investigation, including interviews with Santuomo, Whiting said. The report now goes to Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr., who will schedule a disciplinary hearing. Punishment, if any, could range from a verbal reprimand to firing, Whiting said. With appeals and possible arbitration, the whole process could take a month or more, he said.
In the meantime, Santuomo is working in the division's fire alarm office, "where he is not dealing face to face with the public," Whiting said. If he remains employed with the fire division, he will return to his regular assignment, though that could bring a new set of challenges, Whiting added.
"If someone did this that worked next to you at work, how would you feel about working with him?" Whiting asked. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. ... There are a lot of options."
Santuomo has only minor disciplinary matters, such as tardiness, in his record, Whiting said.

Santuomo was sentenced to 90 days in jail, to be served in 10-day increments over the next two years. He also has to pay $4,500 in restitution, perform 200 hours of community service, stay away from companion animals for five years and write a letter of apology to be published in the local newspaper and the International Association of Firefighters magazine, the humane society's Miller said.
Santuomo's attorney said that his client is remorseful over his actions and that people need to temper their outrage. "It's the same old story. They couldn't care less about people and they love animals," lawyer Sam Shamansky said.
The firefighter, who could not be reached for comment, has no criminal history other than traffic violations, Shamansky said.
"It, of course, was a heinous act, and it's an act for which he's sorry and has accepted responsibility," Shamansky said of the dog killings. "He's been punished appropriately, and I think it's now time for the public to practice what they preach and show a little forgiveness and mercy. Maybe that might be a novel approach."
© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
2009-07-08 16:20:03

PETA and Parenting

PETA launched a new "Sex Talk" commercial Monday drawing a link between unwanted teen pregnancies and animal spaying and neutering...and they're airing it in Jamie Lynn Spears' hometown.

The 30-second ad features parents who encourage their daughters to become sexually active. When one daughter asks her mother, "What if I get pregnant?" she responds with "pop out all the kids you can" and says, "If it has a pulse, you should be wrapped around it!"

The ad will air twice a day through Friday during "Good Morning America" in Kentwood, La., where the Spears family resides.

Click here for the PETA press release on the ad

Spears, the 16-year-old sister of Britney and star of "Zoey 101," sparked controversy last month when she announced she was pregnant.

PETA's president Ingrid E. Newkirk said in a statement, "Just as Lynne Spears is under scrutiny because of her underage daughter's pregnancy, people who fail to spay and neuter their animals should also be feeling the heat."

The commercial concludes with, "Parents shouldn't act this way. Neither should people with dogs and cats. Always spay or neuter."

On its Web site, PETA points out the reason for the human-animal link, stating "one female cat can create 420,000 cats in just seven years, and an unneutered male cat can father limitless litters of kittens.

"Unwanted dogs and cats who never make it to animal shelters are abandoned and left to fend for themselves on the streets, where they are often subjected to cruelty and suffer from starvation, diseases, or injuries."

You are my swan true love

Published: 27 Nov 2007

PETRA the swan’s found a partner that floats her boat — a plastic PEDALO.

It was love at first flight for the bird who has swum by the swan-shaped boat’s side for the past year.

I lake you ... love-struck Petra and pedalo

Park staff at Aasee lake in Germany decided not to separate the pair in winter when pedalos are put in storage.

Instead they set up a mini-shelter for Petra and her ‘partner’. Sounds like a perfect love nest!

Fat Pig

Woman claims pet-sitter made her pig fat

Tue Oct 30, 10:22 PM ET

WINONA, Minn. - A woman wants abuse charges filed against an acquaintance who was pet-sitting for her potbellied pig and allowed the animal to get fat.

Michelle Schmitz said her pig, Alaina Templeton, weighed 50 pounds when Schmitz left her with a co-worker who offered to care for the animal in February, when Schmitz went on medical leave to recover from ankle surgeries.

Nine months later, the pig weighed 150 pounds and it took veterinarians 4 1/2 hours to surgically remove the animal's collar, the Winona Daily News reported. Officers are investigating whether Alaina was abused by the sitter's neglect and overfeeding.

Investigator Jeff Mueller of the Winona County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday that no charges had been filed against the pig sitter, whose name was not released.

Schmitz, 22, said she bottle-fed Alaina when she was just 11 days old and kept her on a strict diet to keep her weight at about 50 pounds.

When she tried to recover the pig in April, Schmitz said the co-worker wouldn't return her calls. She said that she didn't know where the woman lived and that when she finally found the woman's farm Saturday, she discovered that Alaina's neck had grown around her collar and that the pig had trouble breathing.

The pig now wears bandages and is healing from a pressure wound and neck infection.

Schmitz said she cried for three days after she discovered her pet's weight problem.

"That pig is my life," said Schmitz, who has a tattoo of Alaina's name.

Dog Graffitti

Sick yobs daub pen on Precious

By ALEX PEAKE

Published: Today

SICK yobs daubed graffiti all over a DOG after it was left tied up outside a shop.

Furious owner Dawn Lavall found felt-pen scribble on the head and back of her pet American bulldog Precious.

Cuddle ... Dawn and pet

Gary Stone

A smiley face was scrawled on a leg. Dawn, 43, said: “Whoever did this is sick. I’d only left her for ten minutes while I was in the shop.

“When I came out I was horrified to find that someone had drawn over her.

“It will take me ages to get it all out.”

Animal-lover Dawn, of Fulham, West London – who also has ten cats and two guinea pigs – added: “I just hope it doesn’t have any long-term effect.

“She had a lovely nature, but now gets frightened when anyone goes near her.”

Dawn rescued Precious after she had been mistreated by a previous owner.

She said: “The moment I saw her I fell in love and had to have her.

“She is my baby. It makes my blood boil that someone could be so cruel.

“I can’t see how they can get any sort of pleasure from drawing all over a defenceless animal.”

The RSPCA is investigating.

Chief veterinary officer Steve Cheetham said yesterday: “This would have caused Precious distress.”

Too Cute

Mini pigs are big success on farm

TV presenter Jonathan Ross has bought two of the pigs

A Devon fun farm is reaping the rewards of a nine-year breeding programme for miniature pigs.

The pigs, which are about a fifth of the size of ordinary pigs, have been a hit with visitors at Pennywell Farm.

TV celebrity Jonathan Ross bought two of the pint-sized porkers as pets at £150 each and there have even been offers from as far away as Australia.

The pocket pigs are a variant of the rare kune kune breed, which are found in New Zealand.

Chris Murray, co-owner of the farm near Buckfastleigh, began cross-breeding the pigs nine years ago and believes he has the perfect pet pig.

Off menu

He said: "Pigs are very cute when they are young, but they outgrow a home environment and can be aggressive when they get older.

"These pigs are just at home indoors or outdoors."

Some pet pigs, such as the Vietnamese pot-bellied variety, have in the past been bought for their cuteness.

But they fell out of fashion when it became clear how big they grow.

The world's smallest pig is thought to be the 28in-long wild pygmy hog, an endangered species which lives in wildlife sanctuaries in Assam, India.

Mr Murray said: "They are easy to house train and have a good temperament.

"A sow would normally snap at you if you picked up one of her litter, but these are amazingly content."

Mr Murray doubts if they will be appearing on restaurant menus.

"They are too small, he said.

"It would be uneconomic so it's unlikely they will be used for meat and there is already a huge amount of different pig meat available."

LOLCats

Some internet trends are destined for greatness: movie spin-offs and billion-dollar sponsorship deals. But not all of them. As you read this, hundreds of geeks are hunched over laptops wasting their valuable young brain cells making LOLcats. It’s very simple. Find a picture of a cat (or other cute creature). Add a stupid caption in large white text. Post the image on a message board. The name comes from LOL – Laugh Out Loud.

Why? Why? While their pre-history is unclear, LOLcats first appeared in online forums such as SomethingAwful.com (the site contains a lot of very juvenile humour and bad language) in 2006. These forums are like huge chat rooms where internet memes are born and evolve. Their users adopt and reject new in-jokes all the time. By January 2007, the now hugely popular LOLcat blog “I Can Has Cheezburger” was launched. By June 2007, LOLcats should be dead, having gone the way of the Hamster Dance (warning: very irritating site).

Linguistic analysis: In April, ICHC posted a helpful guide to speaking LOLcat: “Step three: Misspell everything. There’s no wrong way to do this.” Text-message style abbreviations are essential: “OK, thank you, goodbye” can be reduced to KTHXBAI. Other blogs have attempted to explain the intricacies of LOLcat syntax. Anil Dash writes: “The evolution of these grammars online can be very difficult to track down.” David McRaney has written an even longer and more fun-sucking explanation of the Lolcat phenomenon: "The great thing about all of this is how we can see new languages forming out of a new medium, and since the pace is abnormally fast, we can watch it evolve over weeks instead of decades."

Build your own: Things got easier for the LOLcat generation in April, when LOLcat Buildr appeared – a super-simple web page which lets anyone turn any picture into a LOLcat. There’s even a button to send your creation to ICHC.

Why cats? Most of the cats come from Cute Overload, a blog which collects all kinds of (unadorned) cute animal pictures. Everyone likes cute animals, right?

Update: Since this story was written, Lolcats have taken over teh internets. Blogger Stephen Granade recreated the Star Trek 'Trouble with Tribbles' episode as a series of Lolcat images. Then Gawker created Lolgays (warning: men in glittery thongs). There are also, inevitably, plenty of LolGerbils (warning: several misspelt references to gay sex).


Personal JR Notes: I think the cats are cute and have been sending them out on myspace for some time.

Gore Gone Gobbler

Gore's message loses bite

By Rebecca Keeble

July 18, 2007 12:00am

ONLY one week after Live Earth, Al Gore's green credentials slipped while hosting his daughter's wedding in Beverly Hills.

Gore and his guests at the weekend ceremony dined on Chilean sea bass - arguably one of the world's most threatened fish species.

Also known as Patagonian toothfish, the species is under pressure from illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities in the Southern Ocean, jeopardising the sustainability of remaining stocks.

The species is currently managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources, the body which introduced a catch and trade documentation scheme as an attempt to tackle illegal poaching of this species.

Working with non-government organisations, the Humane Society International's focus is now on pursuit of illegal fishing operators who, in the rush to cash in on the highly valued species, plunder stocks with no regard for sustainability.

It has been estimated that more than 50 per cent of toothfish traded is illegally caught, and includes juveniles vital to the ongoing toothfish population.

For many years HSI has expressed concern over the huge numbers of seabirds that die each year on the hooks of illegally set demersal longlines, threatening the long-term viability of those populations.

Yet, while legal operators in the Southern Ocean are obliged to follow strict environmental rules, illegal operators undermine the sustainability of their fishing operations.

Recently, HSI petitioned the US Government asking that they certify and sanction Spain for allowing Spanish nationals known to engage in pirate fishing operations to continue to harvest toothfish in a declared conservation area.

Success would allow the US Government to embargo Spanish toothfish imports until such time as Spain demonstrates compliance of its nationals with international law and agreements.

As we await a response from the US, thousands of endangered seabirds die, while the sustainability of the Patagonian toothfish and the legal fishing industry inches closer to the brink of extinction.

A strong and concerted effort by Governments, the fishing industry, the conservation community and by the public which drives consumer demand, is required to put an end to pirate fishing operations in the Southern Ocean - otherwise the ecological sustainability of the toothfish is at risk.

And Al Gore could choose something else to eat.

* Rebecca Keeble is program manager for Humane Society International.

DESTIN, Fla. -- A fight between two Destin friends ended painfully for one man when he was stabbed with a fish.

Police said one of the men threw a catfish at his 22-year-old friend Monday during the argument.

The fins went in about three-quarters of an inch and stuck in the unidentified man's back.

Lifeguards cut the fish away and the victim was taken to a hospital. His condition was not reported.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Ratz! Getting Drunk off Illegal Booze

Rats! Look who's getting tipsy on illegal booze

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Rats are gnawing at beer cans and making holes in caps of whisky bottles stored in police storehouses in eastern India and apparently getting drunk, authorities said on Wednesday.

The rodents' love for liquor has the police department in Bihar state stumped as it tries to store hundreds of bottles seized from illegal sellers from across the state in Patna, the state capital, said Kundan Krishnan, a senior officer.

"We are fed up with these drunk rats and cannot explain why they have suddenly turned to consumption of alcohol," he said.

The problem costs revenue as the seized liquor is usually sold through auctions, he said.

Rats were also attacking people near the police buildings, nibbling at their toes, although it was not clear if they were under the influence, officials and witnesses said.

Man Eating Fish caught by Boy

CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio -- Kyle Owens has a fish tale straight from the waters of the Ohio River.

The 10-year-old Chilo boy went fishing for catfish this past weekend but caught something he was not expecting.

"I thought it was like a 10-pound catfish, reeling it in," said Owens. "I thought, 'It's a big blue gill,' and I was about to stick my thumb into its mouth and then I saw its teeth."

In fact, the fish Owens caught had two rows of teeth, top and bottom.

"I didn't know what the heck it was," said Owen. His neighbors were at a loss as well.

"I didn't know what to think," said Brian Thornberry. "I thought I was in a scene from Jaws."

Owens and his father had another idea.

"It was my first piranha I ever caught in my life," said Owens.

But local exotic fish store employees told Owens that he had probably caught a cousin of the piranha called a Pacu, a native to the Amazon. Officials with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said someone likely dumped the fish when it got too big.

Wherever the fish came from, Owens said he has big plans for his big catch.

"We're going to stuff it," he said.

Owens' parents tried to get the Cincinnati Zoo or Newport Aquarium to take the fish, but neither would accept it.

Jaws for PETA

Shark catch reels in media

But the wife of the man who helped catch the bull shark isn't happy about it.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published June 5, 2007

---

An eight-foot-eight-inch bull shark, estimated at around 600 pounds, rests dead on the sea wall with fishermen (from left) Chuck Moyer, Ed Maloney, and his cousin Frank Maloney
	[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Dirk Shadd] An eight foot eight inch bull shark, estimated at around 600 pounds, rests dead on the sea wall with fishermen (from left) Chuck Moyer, Frank Maloney, and his cousin Ed Maloney Photos View photos, submit your shark pictures Watch BayNews9 video Breaking News Video

ST. PETERSBURG - Frank Maloney loves to fish. But his wife, Denise, is so devoted to protecting animals, she belongs to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"A card-carrying member," Frank Maloney says.

Little surprise, then, that she's less than pleased with his weekend catch and kill of a mammoth bull shark behind their Venetian Isles home.

Maloney, his cousin Ed and friend Chuck "Tuna" Meyer caught the 9-foot bull shark, which they estimate at more than 600 pounds, after a three-hour struggle that ended at about 1 a.m. Sunday.

"She gave me a hard time," Maloney, 45, said Monday. "She's pretty vocal when it comes to animals."

Vocal, but not vocal enough to speak to reporters.

Instead, Frank Maloney did the interviews Monday, a day after the St. Petersburg Times initially reported on the catch. And there were plenty of them. He said radio stations from as far away as Iowa started calling him at 8 a.m. TV crews showed up at the house. Newspaper reporters called him.

Times readers posted online reactions ranging from "Awesome catch" to "What senseless destruction of life."

And Maloney's Venetian Isles neighbors, whose homes back up to the water, re-evaluated all their kayak trips and weekend swims.

"If I wanted to go swimming before, I wouldn't now," said Gary Lukoski, 54. He moved to Venetian Isles in 1999 with wife Joy Boulenger, 51. "That's a little scary."

University of Florida professor George H. Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack file, said large sharks of all sorts are not unusual for Tampa Bay.

While most varieties are not so aggressive as to attack humans, "I'm more concerned about the bull shark in Florida than any other species," Burgess said.

"If it does decide to attack, the bull sharks in general are fairly aggressive," Burgess said. "And once they start an attack, they are likely to continue an attack."

In 2000, a bull shark killed 69-year-old Thadeus Kubinski after he jumped from a dock into Boca Ciega Bay.

Still, Burgess said large sharks like the bull are overfished "badly" and should not be killed.

"Catch and release is the way we want to go," he said. "Their populations are on decline."

Maloney, a real estate developer, said he has been shark fishing just about every weekend since last summer. He and his friends have caught 14 sharks, most of them no bigger than 300 pounds. Always, they posed for a picture with the sharks and released them back into the water.

But this time, he said, the shark died after the three-hour struggle. It wasn't intentional, he insists.

"This is the first casualty we had," he said. "We're not fishing to kill sharks. We're fishing because it's good entertainment."

But his wife of 14 years doesn't think fishing is entertaining, Maloney said.

"She doesn't come out and enjoy the fishing. She thinks we're hurting them."

Saturday night, she woke to the sound of her husband, cousin and Meyer struggling to reel in the shark.

Maloney recalls that before his wife went back to bed, she urged him: "Make sure you release it! Make sure you release it!"

Sunday, he released the shark's carcass back to the ocean. He plans to keep the jaws.

If I had wings

Britain allows animal-human hybrid embryos

TIM CASTLE

Reuters

May 17, 2007 at 9:41 AM EDT

LONDON — Britain cleared the way on Thursday for scientists to conduct experiments using hybrid animal-human embryos after the government bowed to protests from researchers who said a proposed ban could hurt their work.

Scientists want to use the hybrid embryos to find cures for illnesses such as Parkinson's, stroke and Alzheimer's.

The Department of Health said it would accept a recommendation from Parliament's Science and Technology Committee that interspecies embryos could be created for research.

In December, the government had proposed a ban on creating the hybrid embryos over what it called "considerable public unease," but with the door left open for later regulations that could allow such research under licence.

Britain is one of the leading states for stem-cell research, attracting scientists from round the world with a rules that allow embryo studies within strict guidelines. The proposed ban was seen as putting that at risk.

The change in the government's position comes after sustained pressure from scientists and politicians who argued that the hybrid embryos would help overcome a shortage of human eggs for research.

Researchers currently rely on human eggs left over from fertility treatments, but these are in short supply.

The hybrid embryos, which would be destroyed within 14 days, would be more than 99-per-cent human but would contain a small amount of animal DNA.

Scientists say that any imposition of a ban would see research in other countries, such as China and Canada, overtake Britain.

Scientists in China, the United States and Canada have already carried out similar work, the same technique used to create Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal.

But U.S. President George W. Bush has vetoed an increase in federal funding for stem-cell research, saying U.S. taxpayers who object to such work should not have to pay for it.

The British government's draft legislation as written still bars the creation of inter-species embryos, with the government leaving it to a committee of MPs due to scrutinize the bill to find the best way of allowing the research.

Hunters kill one of last Amur Leopards

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Hunters in Russia's Far East have shot and killed one of the last seven surviving female Amur leopards living in the wild, WWF said on Monday, driving the species even closer to extinction.

Last week environmentalists said there were only between 25 and 34 Amur leopards -- described as one of the most graceful cats in the world -- still living in the wild.

At least 100 are needed to guarantee the species' survival which depends upon female leopards breeding. There are more male leopards in the wild than female because cats tend to breed males when under stress, WWF said.

"Leopard murder can only be provoked by cowardice or stupidity, in this case most likely by both," Pavel Fomenko, WWF's biodiversity coordinator in Russia's Far East said in a statement.

A hunter shot the leopard through the tail bone. It tumbled over and was then beaten over the head with a heavy object, WWF said. Amur leopards have not been know to attack humans.

Environmentalists have urged the Russian government to introduce tighter controls on its national parks in the Far East to crack down on leopard hunting.

They also want more done to protect the animal's natural environment and food supply, which they say is being destroyed by human development.

A local wildlife watchdog received an anonymous tip-off that a leopard had been killed. State wildlife officers found the dead animal after a day of searching. The leopard died on either April 15 or April 16, WWF said.

On The Cat-Walk

Paw thing on the catwalk
By ERIN PARKE - The Dominion Post | Thursday, 19 April 2007
Dogs, rabbits and guinea pigs took to the catwalk in an annual animal beauty show that featured one wee problem.

The beautiful and the bizarre were on display at Animates store at Kaiwharawhara, Wellington, yesterday, with the pets sashaying down the runway to the strains of pop star Christina Aguilera. Maybe it was nerves but the only hiccup was some contestants, who would not have won a prize for toilet training.

As entrants slugged it out for the best dressed and pet-owner lookalike categories, there were high hopes for french bulldog Gucci, who wore a stylish tiara. Her owner, Ruby Perigo-Blackburn, 8, of Melrose, said it was the most fun she had had in the school holidays, though Gucci was overlooked by the judges.

Laura Neal, 6, of Karori, wanted to bring her pony, but ended up taking her collie Jessie down the catwalk. "Jessie doesn't like cats so it's lucky there are none here.'

Lizzie Deane-Jackson entered pet rat Popcorn in the lookalike category. The five-year-old from Karori says her cat is her best friend "even though he doesn't eat popcorn".

Hillside Rabbit

Somewhere, on a hillside in Artesina, Italy, lies an enormous pink knitted bunny, on its side, and with some of its insides coming out. The rabbit has been on the hill since September and now lies under snow, bits of pink peeking out. The rabbit is the brainchild of Austrian artist collective Gelitin (formerly known as Gelatin), as well as many helpers and crew, and is stuffed with straw. The rabbit is expected to occupy its Piemonte site for the next twenty years. Viewers are encouraged to climb all over it.

Artist: Gelitin
+ gelitin.net

The rabbit, which looks as though it had been dropped from a giant aircraft, mouth wide open in pain and shock, is 200 feet in length and 20 feet in height. Gelitin is keen on watching it decay over time. Before the winter bits of grass had already started to push their way up through the rabbit’s stitches.

Can monster pill stop an ill wind?

March 21 2007 at 03:20AM

Berlin - German scientists have developed a pill that stops cattle breaking wind.

Methane emissions from cattle are responsible for four percent of harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and any reduction would be a major contribution to reducing global warming.

Scientists at the University of Hohenheim in Germany say they have now tested a pill which in combination with a special diet and strict feeding times should make cattle less harmful to the climate.

The pill, which is still being tested, breaks down the methane in the cows' stomachs, and also has health benefits for the cattle.

Winfried Drocher, head of the faculty for animal nutrition at the university, said: "It will make this energy available for the cows' metabolism. The cattle can use the methane to produce glucose instead of just passing it out and it will enable them to produce more milk."

The only problem at the moment is that the pill is about the size of a fist, which is hard to persuade the cows to swallow.

"It needs to be this big as it dissolves slowly, releasing active ingredients over several months. Our aim is to increase the well-being of the cows and to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses," said Drocher. - Ananova.com

Chic-fil-a Field Day

Holy Cow! Meat-loving calf eats Indian chickens

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - When dozens of chickens went missing from a remote West Bengal village, everyone blamed the neighbourhood dogs.

But Ajit Ghosh, the owner of the missing chickens, eventually solved the puzzle when he caught his cow -- a sacred animal for the Hindu family -- gobbling up several of them at night.

"We were shocked to see our calf eating chickens alive," Ghosh told Reuters by phone from Chandpur village, about 240 km (150 miles) northwest of capital Kolkata.

The family decided to stand guard at night on Monday at the cow shed which also served as a hen coop, after 48 chickens went missing in a month.

"Instead of the dogs, we watched in horror as the calf, whom we had fondly named Lal, sneak to the coop and grab the little ones with the precision of a jungle cat," Gour Ghosh, his brother, said.

Local television pictures showed the cow grabbing and eating a chicken in seconds and a vet confirmed the case.

"We think lack of vital minerals in the body is causing this behaviour. We have taken a look and have asked doctors to look into the case immediately," Mihir Satpathy, a district veterinary officer, said by phone.

"This strange behaviour is possible in some exceptional cases," Satpathy said.

Hundreds of villagers flocked to Chandpur on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Lal, enjoying his bundle of green grass for a change.

"The local vets said the cow was probably suffering from a disease but others said Lal was a tiger in his previous birth," Ajit added.

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Cyborg Pigeon

No, this isn't a punk rock pigeon with a crimson mohawk. Rather, the bird now can receive computer commands through electrodes in its brain from the device attached--rather cumbersomely, it seems--atop its head.

Scientists from the Robot Research Center at the Shandong University of Science and Technology in Qingdao, China, performed the work, which enables them to direct the pigeon's flight (take off, hover, fly forward, turn right or left) by remote control. The researchers said that the pigeon was under anesthesia when the device was attached and that it doesn't feel pain at the head. Somehow that seems unlikely to mollify animal rights activists.