Showing posts with label News Update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News Update. Show all posts

Monday, January 24, 2011

Captain Hook's revenge: The poor crocodile who swallowed a mobile phone... that can be heard ringing in its belly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sum595Mv4Gsendofvid

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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Unhappy: Poor Gena the crocodile, who is now listless and appears in pain after swallowing the Nokia mobile phone


The crocodile in Peter Pan happily went 'tick-tock' after swallowing an alarm clock.
But a crocodile in Ukraine has been a little less fortunate.

Zookeepers at an aquarium in the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk did not believe one visitor when she claimed Gena, a 14-year-old crocodile, had eaten her mobile phone.

But then they heard the phone begin ringing - inside the croc's belly.

'The sound was coming from inside our Gena's stomach and we understood she wasn't lying,' said aquarium employee Alexandra.

Now Gena is refusing food and acting listless.

Rimma Golovko, a new mother in her 20s, admits the accident was her fault. She stretched out her arm to snap a photo of Gena opening his mouth and dropped her Nokia phone into the water.


It's my fault: Rimma Golovko, who has confessed to dropping her phone while trying to take a photo of Gena



'This should have been a very dramatic shot, but things didn't work out,' she said.
Ms Golovko is resigned to losing her phone, but still wants its SIM card back since that has her precious photos and contacts.

The mishap has caused bigger problems for the crocodile, which has not eaten or had a bowel movement in four weeks and appears depressed and in pain.

'The animal is not feeling well,' said Alexandra.

'His behaviour has changed, he moves very little and swims much less than he used to.'

Doctors tried to whet the crocodile's appetite this week by feeding him live quail rather than the pork or beef he usually gets once a week.

The quail were injected with vitamins and a laxative, but while Gena smothered one bird, he didn't eat it.

He also won't play with three fellow African crocodiles, despite being the leader in the group. Crocodiles can live up to 100 years.

'He is the biggest and the oldest, perhaps he went for the phone to protect his group,' Alexandra said.

Dnipropetrovsk chief veterinarian Oleksandr Shushlenko said the crocodile will be taken for an X-ray next week if he continues to refuse food.


Never smile at a crocodile: In the tale of Peter Pan, as shown here by Disney, Captain Hook could always hear the crocodile coming from the ticking of an alarm clock it had swallowed (though sometimes he wasn't quick enough)


Surgically removing the phone would be a measure of last resort, he said, since incisions and stitches usually take at least three weeks to heal in reptiles and the procedure is dangerous for the animal and the vets.

'Everything will depend on where the foreign body is located,' Shushlenko said.
'We don't have much experience working with such large animals.'

The crocodile in 'Peter Pan' with the ticking stomach was on the hunt for Captain Hook after getting a taste for the pirate's flesh from eating one of his hands.
But luckily for Hook, he could always hear the crocodile coming.


Crocodile Eats Mobile Phone, Now Not Eating



source: dailymail [endtext]

Friday, January 21, 2011

He'll always be on the ball now: Paul the Octopus receives permanent memorial in honour of World Cup predictions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL_7B4e--T0endofvid

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By LEWIS BAZLEY

On the ball: Paul the Octopus's monument is unveiled at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen today


He'll go down in history as one of the faces of 2010 but now three months after his death, Paul the Octopus today received a permanent memorial.

The cephalopod shot to fame last summer after correctly predicting the results of several matches in the football World Cup in South Africa.

And after he passed away in his sleep in October, Paul's former carers at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, decided the octopus should be given a shrine to mark his seemingly expert predictions.


The ashes of the tentacled creature are contained in a golden octopus urn visible through a see-through screen


Golden moment: The urn of a sculpture of Paul inside the ball


The tentacled creature correctly predicted the outcome of eight matches at the 2010 World Cup, including Germany's thrashing of England and Spain's victory over the Netherlands in the final.

He cost bookmakers thousands after floating languidly towards boxes of mussels draped in the colours of competing teams in the South African tournament last year.

The aquarium where Paul lived first mooted the idea of erecting a memorial to the octopus after his death last year and now the soothsayer's legacy has been enshrined with the permanent monument.

The statue is around 1.80 metres high with Paul straddled on top of a football, with a see-through window displaying a goden urn containing the octopus's ashes.


World Cup star: Paul the Octopus predicted the results of all seven of Germany's matches at the 2010 World Cup, as well as the final


Predictive Paul: The octopus oracle has been honoured with a shrine after his death at a German aquarium


A successor to Paul, a French octopus named Paul II, was unveiled at the aquarium on November 3 after spending two months in quarantine.

He has yet to attempt to follow his predecessor's fortune-telling but it is thought the Sea Life Centre may tempt him with flag-covered mussel treats for the 2012 European Championships in Ukraine and Poland.

After the original Paul's death last year, Stefan Porwoll, manager of the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre, said: ‘Paul delighted people from all continents with his seven consecutive correct predictions for the matches of the German national team and for the final.


Guessing game: Paul shot to world renown after selecting mussel boxes emblazoned with the flags of the World Cup teams that would go on to win the matches in question


‘He was dear to all our hearts and we will sorely miss him. It is a comforting thought that he had a good life with us with the best possible care delivered by a committed team.

‘His success made him almost a bigger story than the World Cup itself.'


Object of affection: Photographers surround the monument of Paul


Memorial to World Cup Predicting Octopus Opens


source: dailymail [endtext]

Monday, January 17, 2011

Cat summoned for jury service in the U.S. and court says he 'must attend'

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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Not guilty, your honour: Sal has been summoned for jury duty from March 23 - and his owner has been told he is not exempt from serving


A pet cat has been summoned for jury duty in the U.S. - and has been told by courts he 'must attend'

Despite owner Anna Esposito's protestations that a mistake has been made, a jury commissioner has ruled that Sal must attend the court.

She wrote that Anna was 'unable to speak and understand English' - and included a letter from her vet saying that the animal was a 'domestic short-haired neutered feline'.


Amazed: Sal's owners Anna and Guy Esposito are preparing to take their pet to court after a jury commissioner turned down their request to have the animal exempted from service


Bizarrely, the court ruled the animal must report to the courtroom. If the matter is not resolved he will have to report to Suffolk Superior Crown Court in Boston, U.S. on March 23.

Anna wrote her Sal's name under 'pets' on the last census - she crossed out 'dogs' and said he was a cat.

She said: 'When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - miaow?

'Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last Census form under pets but there has clearly been a mix up.'


Case closed? Sal's details were recorded when there was a Boston state census - and he appears to have been mistakenly identified as a human when the forms were processed


Husband Guy added: 'I said, Sal, what's this? I was shocked. He likes to sit on my knee and watch crime shows with me but even so he's still under qualified for jury duty if you ask me.'

There are ten statutory disqualifications preventing people from serving on a jury - and Mrs Esposito said Sal was not suitable because he could not understand the language.

However, jurors are 'not expected' to have a perfect command of the English language.
The other exemptions did not apply because Sal was not ill, too old or a convicted felon.

It is thought he accidentally ended up on the juror list when paperwork was misread at the last census.




source: dailymail [endtext]

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