GINA COBB

Norwegian Hedgehog Rescue -- I'm Serious

By DemocracyRules

h/t AftenPosten

Well, hedgehogs are people too, you know!

"Extinct" Jack Rabbit Still Hopping in Yellowstone; What Can We Learn From This?

Here we go again, with another "extinct" animal turning out to be -- oops! -- alive and well.

This time it was the white-tailed jack rabbits in Yellowstone.  They were claimed to be extinct in February . . .

. . . but were observed hopping around just fine in Yellowstone as recently as last week.

Penguin Baby Care

A cool picture from the Daily Mail, via Hot Air.  The brown chicks are corralled into large groups by their parents to keep them warm.

From the sky, it looks like a giant swirling frothy coffee.

Yet this scene shows an extraordinary community at work - thousands of king penguins instinctively herding their recently born young into giant huddles to stop them freezing to death.  . . . .

Crocodile Hunter's Son Scores His First Snake Bite

Gee, I don't know whether congratulations are in order, but the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's four-year old son has received his first snake bite.

STEVE Irwin's son Bob has copped his first snake bite - with pride.

His mother, Terri Irwin, said the four-year-old was not alarmed when he was bitten by a baby boa constrictor recently but did ask mum if it was poisonous.

"He picked one of them up and it bit him on the finger, and he was so proud to have copped his first hit," Mrs Irwin said, the Associated Press reported.

"He said, 'I hope it wasn't venomous', so I assured Robert I wouldn't actually let him play with venomous snakes," she said.

Bob's nine-year-old sister Bindi was first bitten by a snake when she was 18 months old,  Mrs Irwin said.

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin died in 2006 after he was pierced by a stingray's barb during an underwater documentary shoot. He was 44.

They grow up so fast!

No word of where to send congratulations, but the Australia Zoo should work.

Seriously, he looks like a happy kid.

Floral Baskets Laid before Kim Il Sung's Statues

Via DemocracyRules

Pyongyang, February 7 (North Korean News Agency) -- Floral baskets were laid before the statues of President Kim Il Sung Thursday, the lunar New Year's Day.
    An endless stream of servicepersons, working people, school youth and children and overseas compatriots visited his statues in Pyongyang and different areas of the country.
    Floral baskets were laid before his statue on Mansu Hill.
    Seen before the statue was a floral basket sent by General Secretary Kim Jong Il.
    Floral baskets were placed before the statue in the name of the party and armed forces organs, ministries, national institutions, KPA units, organs, enterprises, factories, farms and schools at all levels in Pyongyang, the Pyongyang mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, etc.
    Written on the ribbons of the floral baskets were letters "The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung Will Live Forever," "The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung Will Always Be with Us," etc.
    The crowds paid homage to the President in humble reverence.

Drunken Moose Terrorizes Family

Via DemocracyRules

From AftenPosten First published: 24 Nov 2005

A Swedish family is being plagued by a fairly common Norwegian problem, the drunken moose.  Laila von Scheele no longer dares let her children out of the house, for fear of an unfortunate encounter with the plastered visitor that frequents their garden.

Related stories:

Drunken moose alert in southern Norway - 29.11.2002

Angry moose chases joggers - 08.11.2005

Moose attacked moose statue - 17.10.2005

Moose rings twice - 04.03.2005

Moose attacks laundry rack - 20.12.2004

Moose breaks into grocery store - 12.08.2004

'Dead' moose attacked hunter - 16.10.2003

Flying moose lands on car's roof - 24.02.2003

Hungry moose head to town - 10.01.2003

Moose move proves fatal - 25.09.200

"I am terrified. It can be dangerous when it's drunk," von Scheele told Swedish newspaper Expressen.

The last five nights in a row the same moose has entered their property in Ekerö, west of Stockholm. It helps itself to the fallen fruit from the family's ten apple trees.

As frequently is the case in Norway, the decomposing fruit have begun to ferment, and the result is a tipsy moose. The animal eats all it can, stumbles around the yard and finally falls asleep.

"It stays there until sunrise," von Scheele said.

The family has tried in vain to frighten the animal off, but so far has instead been forced to stay indoors.

"I have three children, a cat, a grown dog and six puppies. I don't want any of them to be trampled or injured by the moose," von Scheele told the paper.

Dog Robs Gas Station

Via DemocracyRules
From Norway's Aftenposten, First published: 30 May 2003

A hungry bull terrier with a sweet tooth left his home to make a night raid on a gas station. The Statoil outlet's security cameras recorded the dog's stealthy hunt for his favorite type of chocolate, and a security guard busted the pooch without incident, newspaper Adressavisen reports.

Conan arrives around dawn, looking for something to satisfy his habit. PHOTO: Adresseavisen Conan makes a thorough search - he won't settle for just anything. PHOTO: Adresseavisen Is that the chocolate covered rice crisp? PHOTO: Adresseavisen

Terrier Conan, aged 7, ended up behind bars and according to his owner the dog is a repeat offender.

"He is incredibly fond of food in general and sweets in particular. He has run off a few times before, and he always heads for food stores," owner Liss-Hege Jeremiassen told Adresseavisen.

Conan snuck out the door Wednesday night and headed straight for only place open, a nearby Statoil station. The cameras picked him up sniffing around the candy shelves, poking his nose into the containers of sweets sold by loose weight, and snubbing all of these treats in search of his personal favorite, chocolate covered rice crisp. Here he stopped and devoured the contents of the container.

"When he was finished he let out this enormous burp," said Elisabeth Roel, who had the night shift at the station.

She tried to chase Conan out but the dog growled at this attempt to interrupt his chocolate raid. Roel then called the police, who turned the job over to Falken security.

"He's really a nice dog, but he doesn't have looks on his side. He spent the night next to a pit bull, but that went well. He's calm and friendly," said security guard Otto Olsen, who apprehended the hound.

Roel said she wouldn't have been worried if she had recognized Conan, but since he had escaped without his collar, she wasn't sure and wasn't about to take chances.

Stranded Dog Plucked Off Mountain Side

By DemocracyRules

In Norway, 1 1/2 year old Leon is safe and sound after being stranded on a mountain cliff face for 8 days.  The 110 lb Great Pyranees ran away in Nordfjord in central Norway on New Year's Eve.  He may have been frightened by fireworks. On Tuesday he was airlifted out by Norway’s Air Ambulance.

How to Entertain an Octopus

In our continuing effort to bring you the most helpful, useful, relevant information around, here it is right off the presses:  How to entertain an octopus.

Try Mr. Potato Head.

Tiger Escapes S.F. Zoo; Kills a Man

Strange news for Christmas Day:  A tiger escapes from its pen at the San Francisco zoo and kills a man and injures two others before being shot dead.

The tiger, a female Siberian named Tatiana, is pictured at the right in a more peaceful moment.

This is the second time the tiger has shown notable aggression toward humans:

SAN FRANCISCO - A tiger that mauled a zookeeper last year escaped from its pen at the San Francisco Zoo on Tuesday, killing one man and injuring two others before police shot it dead, authorities said.

The three men were in their 20s; they were together and were not zoo employees, San Francisco Police spokesman Steve Mannina said.

They were attacked just after the 5 p.m. closing time outside the zoo's Terrace Cafe on the east end of the 1,000-acre grounds.

It was unclear how the tiger escaped or how long it was on the loose. The Siberian tiger, named Tatiana, attacked a zookeeper last December during a public feeding, according to the zoo's director of animal care and conservation.

The zoo, which is open 365 days a year, was evacuated immediately after the attack was reported.

Police arrived to find the tiger on top of a victim. The tiger then started moving toward a group of approaching police officers, and they opened fire with handguns, Mannina said.

The two injured men were in critical but stable condition at San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lt. Ken Smith said.

We Brake for Cute

Yes, I know this is a Serious Blog -- but we brake for cute!

What is it, you ask?

It's a long-eared jerboa.

It's never been photographed before.  So if you think you've seen this little creature before, you're probably mistaken.

It lives in the deserts of Mongolia and China.

It hops like a tiny kangaroo.  (Brief video here.)

Suddenly, it's what every small child wants for Christmas -- or will, if you let them see this!

Death by Monkey

For all of India's recent modernization, life remains very different from life in most Western democracies.

Just a Reminder

Only 20 days left . . .

. . . until Hedgehog Day.

Or some holiday like that.

More cute hedgehogs and other critters at Cute Overload. 

13-Year Old's Science Project Helps Find Cure for Dog Cancer

You may think you're kid's latest science project was pretty cool, but did she help discover a cure for dog cancer?

A 13-year old California girl could have a lasting impact on future medical breakthroughs. Her science fair project could help find a cure for canine cancer.

When 13-year-old Allison Reed was deciding on a topic for her science fair project, she was inspired by her Golden Retriever, Sassy, who died from bladder cancer at the young age of three.

Allison said, "I wanted to know why she died of cancer. So last year, I looked at her p53 gene and it's the stop gene, and then this year I looked at her gmcsf gene, which is her immune gene."

"Allison's the type of child that's always, why did this happen and how can we help our puppies and future puppies," said her mother Rebecca Reed.

For about a year, Allison worked on her project by first extracting the mutated cancer genes from her dog's tumor, and then isolating the cancer-fighting gene.

Finally, she was able to clone that gene with the hope it can be useful in creating a vaccine for dogs.

Allison's step-father, John Levy said "It's an opportunity I wish that all students had."

Levy is not only Allison's step-father, but also her science project sponsor.

Most of Allison's work was done at a biotech company where Allison's step-father and her mother are scientists, working on cancer treatments.

"We're expecting great things from Allison," said Levy.

Allison, you've made us all proud of you, but you've also set an awfully high bar for this year's science projects all across America and around the globe.

Now, I am a pretty smart person myself, but here was my elementary school science project:

Take three kernels of corn.  Put one kernel in each of three baby food jars.  Water them all.  One corn kernel gets no soil.  One kernel gets no light.  One kernel gets no air (except what was in the jar -- I didn't have access to vacuum-packing machinery).

Wait a week or two, add a few explanatory labels, and take the pitiful results to school.

Granted, that was my second grade project, but they didn't get much better from there.

Clearly there is only one solution if our kids are to have a chance to shine in their science fairs this spring.  We need to hire them out as lab assistants to research scientists.

Mule vs. Mountain Lion

An amazing and apparently true mule story (it doesn't go well for the mountain lion).

Don't underestimate herbivores.

Scientists Solve Mystery of Where Juvenile Sea Turtles Go

Biologist think they have solved the mystery of where juvenile sea turtles go in their "lost years":

Once sea-turtle hatchlings hit the surf, they vanish for up to five years. Where the half-dollar-size tots spend these "lost years" while ballooning to the size of dinner plates has been a mystery, until now.

New research, published today in the online edition of the journal Biology Letters, indicates the green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) hide out in the open ocean, where they feast on jellyfish and other marine creatures.

Not only did the researchers spot their short-lived sea homes, but they discovered that these reptiles, thought to be lifelong vegetarians, are actually meat eaters as juveniles.

The results help to solve a 50-year-old mystery about the hideouts. “This has been a really intriguing and embarrassing problem for sea-turtle biologists, because so many green-turtle hatchlings enter the ocean, and we haven’t known where they go,” said study team member Karen Bjorndal, a zoologist and director of the University of Florida's Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research.

It's an interesting discovery.  It also seems to rule out the possibility that all those teenage turtles were hiding out in the New York City sewer sytem.