animals

If I go to China I think that I’ll skip the zoo.

BEIJING (Reuters) – A tiger devoured a mentally ill man who entered the animal’s zoo cage in northeast China, local media reported on Friday.

Zhang Yachun disappeared from his home in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, on March 24 and five days later police told his parents he had been eaten by a tiger in a nearby zoo, the China news service reported, citing a Harbin newspaper.

“Only two legs and his skull were left,” the report said.

Zhang’s grieving parents said their 37-year-old son suffered mental illness and “especially loved tigers”.

China has a poor record of keeping people away from dangerous zoo and circus animals.

In February, a circus lion ripped a 10-year-old boy’s arm off after grabbing him through the bars of its cage.

Last year, 16 government officials were sacked after a boy was eaten alive at a crocodile enclosure in southern China. And a zoo tiger attacked a 6-year-old girl waiting to have her picture taken with the animal, biting her head and killing her.

How could I not cover this.

“It might sound like the punchline to a bad joke, but we’re not joking.

Workers at Preuss Pets in Lansing say a woman stole a snake, and how she did it– well, it’s one for the books.

“We’ve got some great pictures,” says longtime employee Jayzun Boget. “It shows her taking the snake out, shoving it down her pants– it’s been the source of endless jokes here.”

The video is a little difficult to see, but shop owner Rick Preuss say it’s clear she’s reaching into the cage and stuffing the snake down her pants. He says the woman had been in the store for some time, staking out the cage.

“In some ways, I wish it were this really big snake going down her pants [so you could see it better]. Instead what you see is a quick view from the camera” of the snake pattern, he says.”

Why did the alligator cross the road? Cops don’t know, but authorities collared the nine footer Tuesday morning after a half-hour standoff that slowed traffic to a crawl on U.S. 441.

The gator was spotted about 7:15 a.m. at U.S. 441 and Bailey Road. The reptile was seen by construction workers, who called 911, bringing the Broward Sheriff’s Office to the scene.

”This is the Broward’s Sheriff’s Office,” a deputy said into a bullhorn. “Get back into the canal!”

The alligator defied orders.

The deputy continued: “Move back! Move back!”

The alligator didn’t exactly obey, although it did eventually meander about 100 feet or so. It migrated from the pavement of U.S. 441 to the sidewalk along the busy road. Traffic was reduced to one lane as the alligator stood its ground.

Am I the only one who is disturbed by the idea of a deputy using a bullhorn to try and scare the gator back into the canal.

“Listen Wally, this is Deputy Barney Fife, a duly declared lawman of the Broward County Sheriff’s department. If you fail to heed my order I am going to have to take you in…”

Sounds to me like the deputy should be working with Mr. Ranger at Jellystone.

My Israeli friends and family have a ton of stories about trips they took after finishing their initial run with the army, but I can’t say that I remember any of them mentioning almost being eaten by a crocodile.Credit for the photo and accompanying news story can be found here.

“I began playing with it for a photo,” Mr Mashiah said. “I was pointing at it when it suddenly jumped up at me – I didn’t realise that crocs were so aggressive.”

“I was shocked – the animal clearly wanted to kill me,” Mr Mashiah, from Tel Aviv, told the Northern Territory News.

“One minute I was leaning over the boat teasing it for a picture. The next minute it burst out of the water with incredible speed … its jaws fully open. I was shaking,” he said.”

I suppose he has never been to Hamat Gader. I don’t remember Chazal saying anything about there being any special benefit to becoming croc food. Not very smart.

Sujoy Chaudhuri, an ecologist who co-authored a report by prominent primatologists and conservationists that was submitted recently to the federal and state governments, said the plan would make the monkey problem worse.

“It is a ridiculous idea and what is worse, it will do nothing to contain the problem and probably make it worse,” Chaudhuri said. “Can you imagine what having badly sterilized monkeys running around will do to the levels of aggression?”

Maybe they should try sending them to Fantasy Island. For Better or for worse the monkeys are taking over the world.