Animals - Odd Spot

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Alexander and the alligator

September 16th 2010 05:49

"You have to be kidding me. Is this story for real?"

Being an animal lover can hurt. Just ask Alexander Alcantare, of Florida.

Some time ago Alcantare noticed a bird's nest dangerously close to a power line. He climbed the tree to try to move the nest, slipped and fell against the power line.

Rescue service workers had to perform CPR to save his life, and doctors had to amputate half the arm which had come into contact with the cable.

Fast forward to earlier this week and Alcantare noticed another animal in distress. This time it was a 2.5 metre (eight foot) alligator which had been shot in the head with an arrow.

The arrow was still lodged in the alligator so Alcantare did what any committed animal lover would do - he called the authorities.

No wait, that's not what he did. He decided to pull the arrow out of the alligator himself.

Then the croc turned and bit him - on his good arm.

"I couldn't really handle him too good," Alcantare said. "The guy I asked to help me, he got scared and let go of the rope and since I couldn't secure his mouth, he got me."

They treated his arm and Alcantare will be okay. For now.

aolnews.com

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animals, North America, US, Odd Spot

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Best nest

February 23rd 2009 19:37

Black-billed magpie

In what may be a first in the bird world, two magpies have constructed a nest using metal sticks.

The nest, built in a tree among the high-rises in Hong Kong's Tuen Mun district, was built from more traditional materials plus about 40 metal sticks apparently pilfered from a nearby construction site.

Cheung Ho-fai, of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, said it was the first time he had heard of a nest being built with metal.

The magpie is already renowned as the only non-mammal known to be able to recognise itself in a mirror. It just added metallurgy and construction engineering to its résumé.

Magpie facts: pairs stay together year-round and for life unless one dies, in which case the remaining magpie finds another mate; they nest once a year, but will re-nest if their first attempt fails; the female lays up to nine eggs, but the average clutch size is between six and seven; only the female incubates, for 16 to 18 days, the male feeding the female throughout incubation; the young fly three to four weeks after hatching, feed with adults for about two months, and then fly off to join other juvenile magpies; the life span of a magpie in the wild is four to six years.

news.com.au, en.wikipedia.org

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animals, Hong Kong, Odd Spot

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Sexpert needed

December 2nd 2008 04:38

Much of the news in northern Japan recently has been concerned with the poor record of local officials in the area of polar bear sexing.

The municipal zoo in Kushiro, Hokkaido prefecture, brought in a polar bear cub three years ago. He was named Tsuyoshi, after popular baseball outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo.

Zoo staff then waited patiently until Tsuyoshi reached reproductive age. The big day came about three months ago, and he was introduced to long-time zoo resident, an 11-year-old female named Kurumi.

But no little polar bears eventuated. Tsuyoshi, it was noted, was not even doing the amorous advance thing.

In early November, zookeepers put young Tsuyoshi under anaesthesia to get to the bottom of the matter. What they discovered is that he is a she.

In their defence, zoo officials say it is no simple matter to identify a polar bear's sex. "Their long hair makes it difficult to distinguish," said zookeeper Masako Inoue.

The zoo is now combing the area for another male.

www.reuters.co.uk, www.cnn.com, www.theregister.co.uk

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animals, Odd Spot

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Shrek's hard luck story

November 26th 2008 22:42

Warning: do no read this post if you are offended by references to parrots or feather hats or sleeping women named Jackie.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animals, Odd Spot, Sex

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Water bears conquer space

October 24th 2008 17:23

There are creatures indigenous to this planet called tardigrades and they are in the news because it has just been discovered that they can live in space. Outer space. Vacuum territory. The place where, it has previously been believed, the only things that can survive are some of the hardier forms of cosmic dust.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animals, Odd Spot, Science

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