Bizarre animals

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Giant cat-sized rats discovered in Papuan 'lost world'

By RICHARD SHEARS
17th December 2007

When the large furry creature first scuttled into their jungle camp looking for its supper, the scientists assumed it was a cat. But after several further visits, when it tamely allowed itself to be picked up, they realised they were actually holding a giant rat. The monster rodent was the most spectacular discovery in a remote area of Indonesia which experts are describing as a "lost world" of hitherto-unknown animals and plants.

At the other end of the size scale was a pygmy possum thought to be one of the world's smallest marsupials - creatures which carry their young in a pouch. "These are two animals which were totally unknown to science and we're absolutely thrilled to have discovered them," said one of the explorers who ventured into the thick jungles of Indonesia's Papua province.

It was in 2005 that the team first visited the Foja Mountains where, it is believed, no modern human had ever stepped. On that first visit, scientists discovered dozens of new plants, birds, butterflies and frogs. On their second they were excited to find more, along with the giant rat and the pygmy possums. "It's comforting to know that there's a place on Earth so isolated that it remains the absolute realm of wild nature," said Bruce Beehler, vice-president of the U.S.-based wildlife group Conservation International. The giant rat is the biggest known in the world by far and weighs 3lb; about five times as much as a typical city rat. It is 2ft long, plus tail, and shows no fear of humans.

As they travelled through the forest, the scientists heard the calls of birds they could not identify and were convinced there were many more creatures yet to be discovered. They are planning a third expedition next year. Foja has been described as wildlife's last frontier, where exotic creatures live without any threat from mankind, mainly because there are no roads or tracks and the nearest native villages are scores of miles away.

Papua has 104 million acres of tropical rainforest and some of the richest biodiversity in the world. But it is under threat from illegal logging and clearing for palm oil plantations.

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Remember that bit from Robin Williams about the Falkland Islands?

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Vets remove 11lbs of hair from matted dog

28th December 2007

Okay, so the coat's not all it might be. And the physique is definitely not going to win any prizes in the Afghan hound Hunk of the Year awards. But does this scrawny, raggedy canine called Aflie care? Not a bit. This is the first time he has been able to move easily for years after four vets spent three hours shaving and cutting away more than 11lb of filthy, matted hair while he was under a general anaesthetic. Afghans are known for their beautiful long hair. But Alfie's coat had been neglected for so long that when he was found abandoned in Bradford he was barely able to walk.

RSPCA inspector Rachel Oprysk could not believe the level of neglect he had suffered. She said: "I was horrified at what state he came to us in. He was struggling to walk and cock his leg, because of the weight of his coat. He's probably not been groomed for months - if not years. The extent of the matting is the worst I have ever seen in a dog. Dogs like Alfie, with long hair, need a lot of attention to keep their coats healthy. It can be quite high-maintenance. The weight of the matting must have been painful - it would have been like having his hair constantly pulled. His skin had been infected from the constant drag and the dirt."

Alfie, who is thought to be between two and four years old, is now almost bald in places, but is making a strong recovery. "You can tell he's much more comfortable now," said Miss Oprysk. "He'll be on antibiotics for another week to get rid of his skin infections, but he's already a lot happier. He is bounding about and having fun, he must feel so much lighter. He can move around. He looks a bit dishevelled but as time passes, his coat will grow back just like human hair."

Alfie is recovering at the Animal Home and Clinic in Bradford, where he is kept indoors as much as possible so that he does not feel the cold. Miss Oprysk is urging his owners to come forward. She has asked anyone who has any information to contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.

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The poor bugger! But, it's great to see they sorted him out.

[Bat]

Bit like me when I shaved my beard off a few years ago, I could jump, hop, skip AND ride a bicycle ALL after one day of grooming. But, fuck this poor dog's "parents" for leaving him in this state. Lovely chap now eh? him, not me by the way.

[maycm]

Weird Amphibians

[Griffo]

[Lostinthestates]

Funny looking thing!!

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Lisa the GEEP

8th February 2008

Leaping into the air, she looks like something from the funny farm. But this curious creature is making scientists do a double-take. Meet Lisa the geep... a cross between a goat and a sheep. She was born after an unscheduled amorous encounter on the farm of Klaus Exsternbrink, in Schwerte, in northern Germany's Ruhr Valley. One of his young billy goats leapt over a fence and had a passionate liaison with a ewe.

The result a month ago was Lisa - resembling a lamb in shape and stature, but with the colouring and agile back legs of a goat. Her mother seems unfazed by her unusual offspring and has raised her happily so far. Now Lisa is booked into a specialist animal medical school in Hanover for genetic tests to determine her hybrid status. "These whims of nature are extremely rare," said the school's Professor Karl-Heinz Waldmann.

So far, it's unclear whether the geep will produce the milk of a goat or a sheep - but the farmer thinks it will be drinkable. "We will find out what the milk and cheese tastes like in the autumn," he said. Sadly, however, Lisa won't be basking in a proud paternal gaze down on the farm. Two goats were recently slaughtered there and Mr Exsternbrink is unsure which was which. "But one of them was Lisa's father."

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[Lostinthestates]

Pretty cool!!

[Aja]

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Court convicts a bear of stealing honey - and fines it £1,700
13th March 2008

A Macedonian bear who was just as fond of the sweet treat has been found guilty of stealing honey. A court convicted the beast of theft and damage for stealing honey from a beekeeper who fought off the attacks with thumping "turbo-folk" music.

The Bitola city court found the bear guilty, and since it had no owner and belonged to a protected species, ordered the state to pay the 140,000 denars (£1,700) for the damage it caused to the hives. The bear did not attend court to plead its case and there was no information on the whereabouts of the bear.

"I tried to distract the bear with lights and music because I heard bears are afraid of that," Zoran Kiseloski told a Macedonian newspaper after the year-long case of The Bear vs. The Beekeeper ended in the beekeeper's favour. "So I bought a generator, lit up the area and put on songs of (Serbian 'turbo-folk' star) Ceca."

The bear stayed away for a few weeks, but came back when the generator ran out of power and the music fell silent, Kiseloski said, adding, "it attacked the beehives again."

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Bears are always getting in the news!

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Good fishie! The amazing moment a man pats a Great White Shark
14th March 2008

This is the amazing moment a man pats a monstrous Great White Shark off the coast of Australia after attracting it with chunks of bait. The image was originally taken to demonstrate the powers of the Shark Shield, an electronic device designed to keep sharks away from surfers. But after one Great White bit right through such a device, and in a separate incident a student died in a horrifying shark attack, scientists began to wonder if the devices do not repel sharks so much as they attract them.

Jarrod Stehbens, 23, was on a University diving trip when he was taken by a shark at Glenelg in Adelaide, Australia in August 2005. At the inquest into his death, staff from Adelaide University questioned whether shark shields should be used at all. The university was worried that the devices attracted sharks before deterring them, and posed a health risk, especially to pregnant women or anyone with heart problems.

The Shark Shield's website claims the device utilises a technologically advanced three dimensional electronic wave form to repel sharks by inducing spasms in their snouts. The electronic waves work from about eight metres away. The closer the shark gets, the site claims, the more intolerable the spasms become. It says the product is tried and tested and does not attract sharks but repels them.

www.sharkshield.com

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Giant stingray kills sunbathing woman by leaping onto boat and impaling her through the neck
21st March 2008

A woman sunbathing on the deck of a boat was killed after a stingray leapt out of the water and impaled her through the neck with a poisonous barb. Judy Zagorski, 57, was on holiday with her family on the boat when the bizarre incident happened. It was not immediately clear if she was killed by the barb of the 6ft spotted eagle ray or whether she suffered a fatal injury when she banged her head.

The incident off the Florida Keys was reminiscent of the freak death of Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin who was killed by a different type of ray while filming on Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 2006 when its barb pierced his heart. Spotted eagle rays can grow up to 17 feet in length and weigh up to 35 stone. They are known to occasionally jump out of the water, but are not aggressive.

"It's a bizarre accident," said Jorge Pino, an agent with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Mrs Zagorski and her familym from Michigan on an early Easter break, were aboard a boat in the Atlantic Ocean, off the city of Marathon in the Florida Keys, he said. "A large ray jumped out of the water and collided with the victim and somehow the barb penetrated some part of her body, which caused her to fall back and hit her head on some portion of the vessel," Pino said. "We don't know exactly which one of those things caused her death." Her father who was driving the boat " had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously," Pino said.

Eagle rays are common in warm or tropical waters and are often seen near coral reefs. The spotted creatures can have two to six short, venomous barbs near the base of their whip-like tails. The rays often swim near the water's surface and can leap out, especially when pursued, but are generally shy of humans.

"All rays leap out of the water from time to time but certainly to see one collide with a vessel is extremely unusual," Pino said. "Rays jump to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites," said Lynn Gear, supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. "They do not attack people."

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This is why I think boats are unnatural!

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NZ man 'used hedgehog as weapon'

A man in New Zealand has been charged with using a hedgehog as a weapon, the New Zealand Herald has reported. Police said William Singalargh, 27, had hurled the hedgehog about 5m (16ft) at a 15-year-old boy. "It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," said Senior Sgt Bruce Jenkins, in the North Island town of Whakatane.

It was unclear whether the hedgehog was still alive when it was thrown, though it was dead when collected as evidence. The police spokesman said the suspect was arrested "for assault with a weapon, namely the hedgehog." Mr Singalargh is due to appear in court on 17 April. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

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Here's hoping the judge isn't as prickly...

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Mop-top mutt set to wipe the floor with the other pups
By SARA NELSON
25th April 2008

Crowds at a dog show made a double take when they witnessed what looked like an escaped mop-head leaping hurdles and bounding through an obstacle course. But this is no mop - it is in fact a pedigree Hungarian sheepdog named Fee, who will be making a bid for stardom at an international dog show in Germany, next week.

The mutt's rastafarian tresses obscure most of its face, but that hasn't stopped him sweeping through the course without a hitch. Fluffy Fee will take on 6,000 other dogs at the Dortmund show next week and owner Eva Meyer says she is confident he will wipe the floor with the competition.

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Orangutan attempts to hunt fish with spear
26th April 2008
A male orangutan, clinging precariously to overhanging branches, flails the water with a pole, trying desperately to spear a passing fish. It is the first time one has been seen using a tool to hunt.

The extraordinary image, a world exclusive, was taken in Borneo on the island of Kaja, where apes are rehabilitated into the wild after being rescued from zoos, private homes or even butchers' shops. "Orang hutan" means "forest man" in one of Indonesia's many languages and our long-armed cousins do indeed show a remarkable ability to mimic our behaviour. This individual had seen locals fishing with spears on the Gohong River. Although the method required too much skill for him to master, he was later able to improvise by using the pole to catch fish already trapped in the locals' fishing lines.

The image is part of a series taken for a new book, The Thinkers Of The Jungle, which also includes the first photograph of an orangutan swimming. Thinkers Of The Jungle, by Gerd Schuster, Willie Smits and Jay Ullal, is published by Ullmann Publishing on May 5.

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