Wednesday, July 27, 2005
wednesday weirdness version 11.0
Nothing weirder than the cruelty of the wild (because it is hard for us, humans, to see the Order in all that Chaos; we do not see it in our own "civilized chaos", so...) - and today we will learn of one particularly bizarre eco-tragico-twist; one of the worst ever to occur anywhere... at any time. Again, man's hand in this can be traced back as the origin of the problem - of course. What a surprise, hmm? If anyone reading this travels to the South Atlantic area - stop by the Gough Island... and do not forget to bring RAT TRAPS (you may also bring your cats - but don't leave them there now! That would only be replacing one problem with another...).
More creatures of all shapes and sizes now, in this decidedly special installment of weirdness wednesday; the cretinous critters edition!
Seen "The Village" yet? A village in Croatia must be feeling like it is the one the movie might be about - after a Croatian Cow killed her owner... A form of protest, was it...? The bovine creature meant it when she mooed and looked at him with that look in her eyes that said "don't touch my mammaries to milk me dry today, old man, or I'll sit on you!" - and she did.
The next study-case is one of the strangest animals of all - the Texan. The male of the species, of course. This one -astonishingly enough- is even dumber than Dubya! One will be led to believe that Texas has a triple crown of sorts then - the biggest state... the fattest... and the dumbest! Hmm...
Next - a creature similar enough to the meat and potato eating Texan; only smarter and... hairier (because of the winter!) - yes, I do mean the Sasquatch! Face it, folks; he simply has to be a whole lot smarter than most of you give him credit for - because he has eluded us all for so long! To the point that we are still not sure if he exists or not! Hmm... that would be what another critter has managed to accomplish too - the Devil! Could they be one and the same? The Truth is out there... (yes - a tired old x-phile reference! I know - we are in the CSI era now; it is mentioned too in the sasquatch report! Really! Look for yourself!).
And, finally, the noisiest and most annoying critters of all - brats! See how they handle them now in the wild outback - aka oz - aka Australia! Yep - they had it coming... fear not, though, dingos and tasmanian devils are not employed!
ALL and I do mean ALL the details are - in the luminous cornucopia of comments (and evidently much more) section!
More creatures of all shapes and sizes now, in this decidedly special installment of weirdness wednesday; the cretinous critters edition!
Seen "The Village" yet? A village in Croatia must be feeling like it is the one the movie might be about - after a Croatian Cow killed her owner... A form of protest, was it...? The bovine creature meant it when she mooed and looked at him with that look in her eyes that said "don't touch my mammaries to milk me dry today, old man, or I'll sit on you!" - and she did.
The next study-case is one of the strangest animals of all - the Texan. The male of the species, of course. This one -astonishingly enough- is even dumber than Dubya! One will be led to believe that Texas has a triple crown of sorts then - the biggest state... the fattest... and the dumbest! Hmm...
Next - a creature similar enough to the meat and potato eating Texan; only smarter and... hairier (because of the winter!) - yes, I do mean the Sasquatch! Face it, folks; he simply has to be a whole lot smarter than most of you give him credit for - because he has eluded us all for so long! To the point that we are still not sure if he exists or not! Hmm... that would be what another critter has managed to accomplish too - the Devil! Could they be one and the same? The Truth is out there... (yes - a tired old x-phile reference! I know - we are in the CSI era now; it is mentioned too in the sasquatch report! Really! Look for yourself!).
And, finally, the noisiest and most annoying critters of all - brats! See how they handle them now in the wild outback - aka oz - aka Australia! Yep - they had it coming... fear not, though, dingos and tasmanian devils are not employed!
ALL and I do mean ALL the details are - in the luminous cornucopia of comments (and evidently much more) section!
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DIDN'T I SEE THIS ONCE... IN A HORROR MOVIE... RRRRRRRRATS?!?
Rare island birds threatened by 'super mice' - Jul 26, 10:05 AM (ET)- By Ed Stoddard
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - "Monster mice" are eating three-foot-high albatross chicks alive, threatening rare bird species on a remote south Atlantic island seen as the world's most important seabird colony. Conservation groups say the avian massacre is occurring on Gough Island in the South Atlantic, a British territory about 1,000 miles southwest of Cape Town and home to more than 10 million birds. "Gough Island hosts an astonishing community of seabirds and this catastrophe could make many extinct within decades," said Dr Geoff Hilton, a senior research biologist with Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
"We think there are about 700,000 mice, which have somehow learned to eat chicks alive," he said in a statement.
The island is home to 99 percent of the world's Tristan albatross and Atlantic petrel populations -- the birds most often attacked. Just 2,000 Tristan albatross pairs remain.
"The albatross chicks weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb) and ... the mice weigh just 35 grams; it is like a tabby cat attacking a hippopotamus," Hilton said.
The house mice -- believed to have made their way to Gough decades ago on sealing and whaling ships -- have evolved to about three times their normal size.
This is a common phenomenon on island habitats -- for reasons much debated among scientists -- where small animal species often grow larger while big species such as elephants display "dwarfism" and become smaller.
In the case of the mice of Gough Island, their remarkable growth seems to have been given a boost by a vast reservoir of fresh meat and protein.
AGONISING DEATH
The rapacious rodents gnaw into the bodies of the defenseless and flightless chicks, leaving a gaping wound that leads to an agonizing death. Scientists say once one mouse attacks the blood seems to draw others to the feast.
While predation by oversized mice is unusual, birds on small islands are especially vulnerable to extinction from human activities such as the introduction of alien species.
This is because many birds that have evolved on isolated islands with no predators have become what biologists term "ecologically naive" -- meaning they do not recognize danger from other animals.
Flightless species -- or chicks that cannot yet fly -- are especially at risk. The predatory nature of the mice was confirmed by researchers from the RSPB and the University of Cape Town.
The ground-nesting Gough bunting, a small finch found nowhere else in the world, is also at risk.
Gough Island is the most southerly of the Tristan da Cunha group. There are 22 bird species nesting on the island of which 20 are seabirds.
Rare island birds threatened by 'super mice' - Jul 26, 10:05 AM (ET)- By Ed Stoddard
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - "Monster mice" are eating three-foot-high albatross chicks alive, threatening rare bird species on a remote south Atlantic island seen as the world's most important seabird colony. Conservation groups say the avian massacre is occurring on Gough Island in the South Atlantic, a British territory about 1,000 miles southwest of Cape Town and home to more than 10 million birds. "Gough Island hosts an astonishing community of seabirds and this catastrophe could make many extinct within decades," said Dr Geoff Hilton, a senior research biologist with Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
"We think there are about 700,000 mice, which have somehow learned to eat chicks alive," he said in a statement.
The island is home to 99 percent of the world's Tristan albatross and Atlantic petrel populations -- the birds most often attacked. Just 2,000 Tristan albatross pairs remain.
"The albatross chicks weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb) and ... the mice weigh just 35 grams; it is like a tabby cat attacking a hippopotamus," Hilton said.
The house mice -- believed to have made their way to Gough decades ago on sealing and whaling ships -- have evolved to about three times their normal size.
This is a common phenomenon on island habitats -- for reasons much debated among scientists -- where small animal species often grow larger while big species such as elephants display "dwarfism" and become smaller.
In the case of the mice of Gough Island, their remarkable growth seems to have been given a boost by a vast reservoir of fresh meat and protein.
AGONISING DEATH
The rapacious rodents gnaw into the bodies of the defenseless and flightless chicks, leaving a gaping wound that leads to an agonizing death. Scientists say once one mouse attacks the blood seems to draw others to the feast.
While predation by oversized mice is unusual, birds on small islands are especially vulnerable to extinction from human activities such as the introduction of alien species.
This is because many birds that have evolved on isolated islands with no predators have become what biologists term "ecologically naive" -- meaning they do not recognize danger from other animals.
Flightless species -- or chicks that cannot yet fly -- are especially at risk. The predatory nature of the mice was confirmed by researchers from the RSPB and the University of Cape Town.
The ground-nesting Gough bunting, a small finch found nowhere else in the world, is also at risk.
Gough Island is the most southerly of the Tristan da Cunha group. There are 22 bird species nesting on the island of which 20 are seabirds.
REVENGE OF THE MAD COW - DON'T HAVE A COW NOW...
Farmer killed by falling cow - Jul 26, 10:03 AM (ET)
ZAGREB (Reuters) - A Croatian farmer was killed when a cow he was about to milk fell and crushed him, local media reported Tuesday.
The unfortunate 61-year-old farmer, from the village of Cadjavacki Lug in central Croatia, went into the stable where his family keeps nine cows, as he had every morning for the past 20 years, the Vecernji List newspaper reported.
"I think he slipped, grabbed the milking machine and knocked it over. That must have frightened the cow, which slipped and fell on top of him," his distraught daughter-in-law, who was in the stable with him, told the daily.
"It took me and the rest of the family almost three minutes to get the cow off him."
She said the cow, named Lara, had been very meek and that even children could milk her without fear. The newspaper did not say what had become of the cow.
Farmer killed by falling cow - Jul 26, 10:03 AM (ET)
ZAGREB (Reuters) - A Croatian farmer was killed when a cow he was about to milk fell and crushed him, local media reported Tuesday.
The unfortunate 61-year-old farmer, from the village of Cadjavacki Lug in central Croatia, went into the stable where his family keeps nine cows, as he had every morning for the past 20 years, the Vecernji List newspaper reported.
"I think he slipped, grabbed the milking machine and knocked it over. That must have frightened the cow, which slipped and fell on top of him," his distraught daughter-in-law, who was in the stable with him, told the daily.
"It took me and the rest of the family almost three minutes to get the cow off him."
She said the cow, named Lara, had been very meek and that even children could milk her without fear. The newspaper did not say what had become of the cow.
AS A TEXAN ONCE TOLD ME - THEM BLOKES SURE ARE NOT THE BRIGHTEST BULBS IN THE FIELD, EH... OOPS... WRONG PERSON TO QUOTE NOW - AS THE NEXT STORY IS ABOUT A TEXAN WHO CLEARLY IS MISSING MORE THAN A FEW BASIC FEATURES UP THERE IN THE OL' COCONUT...
What do you suppose he thought would happen? - Jul 26, 10:01 AM (ET)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man was arrested on Monday after calling police to complain about the theft of his marijuana, authorities said.
Stephen Knight, 17, said three men had broken into his apartment, hogtied him with Christmas lights and stole some marijuana, along with a plasma screen television, police said.
Police are looking for the suspects. In the meantime, they arrested Knight after finding several marijuana plants growing under heat lamps in the apartment, four grams of harvested marijuana and a tablet of ecstasy, Officer Chad Ripley said.
Knight said the men barged into his home early on Monday morning demanding, "Where's the weed?," according to San Antonio police.
What do you suppose he thought would happen? - Jul 26, 10:01 AM (ET)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man was arrested on Monday after calling police to complain about the theft of his marijuana, authorities said.
Stephen Knight, 17, said three men had broken into his apartment, hogtied him with Christmas lights and stole some marijuana, along with a plasma screen television, police said.
Police are looking for the suspects. In the meantime, they arrested Knight after finding several marijuana plants growing under heat lamps in the apartment, four grams of harvested marijuana and a tablet of ecstasy, Officer Chad Ripley said.
Knight said the men barged into his home early on Monday morning demanding, "Where's the weed?," according to San Antonio police.
OF COURSE THE SASQUATCH REALLY DOES EXIST - IT'S MY NEIGHBOR!
Lab to test 'sasquatch' hair - Jul 26, 10:02 AM (ET)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The debate over the existence of sasquatch, aka Bigfoot, an ape-like creature said to haunt the wilderness of western Canada has entered the world of modern DNA testing.
A laboratory will test hair samples that several residents of Teslin, Yukon, say were left when the large, but so-far mythological creature made a late-night run through their community in early July.
University of Alberta wildlife geneticist David Coltman, who agreed to do the tests as a favor to a colleague, said on Monday that scientists have cataloged the DNA of nearly all large animals in the Yukon such as bears and bison.
"So we'll compare it to all of that, and if it doesn't match anything, then it's potentially interesting," said Coltman, who suspects the hair was actually left behind by a much more mundane Yukon bison.
"If sasquatch is indeed a primate, then we would expect the sample to be closer to humans or chimpanzees or gorillas," Coltman said.
The legend of a large, hairy, two-legged creature lurking in the mountains of western Canada and the United States dates back to before Europeans settled the continent. This was the second report of the creature near Teslin in just over a year.
In the latest sighting, a group of Teslin residents told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. they heard branches cracking and saw a large human-like creature run by a house. It left behind large footprints, they said, and the hair tufts that were given to wildlife officials.
Coltman expects to have his results on Thursday and said that even if the hair turns out not to be from a sasquatch, the process should serve as good way to get students interested in the field of DNA testing.
"It's sort of like a wildlife CSI story," he said.
Lab to test 'sasquatch' hair - Jul 26, 10:02 AM (ET)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The debate over the existence of sasquatch, aka Bigfoot, an ape-like creature said to haunt the wilderness of western Canada has entered the world of modern DNA testing.
A laboratory will test hair samples that several residents of Teslin, Yukon, say were left when the large, but so-far mythological creature made a late-night run through their community in early July.
University of Alberta wildlife geneticist David Coltman, who agreed to do the tests as a favor to a colleague, said on Monday that scientists have cataloged the DNA of nearly all large animals in the Yukon such as bears and bison.
"So we'll compare it to all of that, and if it doesn't match anything, then it's potentially interesting," said Coltman, who suspects the hair was actually left behind by a much more mundane Yukon bison.
"If sasquatch is indeed a primate, then we would expect the sample to be closer to humans or chimpanzees or gorillas," Coltman said.
The legend of a large, hairy, two-legged creature lurking in the mountains of western Canada and the United States dates back to before Europeans settled the continent. This was the second report of the creature near Teslin in just over a year.
In the latest sighting, a group of Teslin residents told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. they heard branches cracking and saw a large human-like creature run by a house. It left behind large footprints, they said, and the hair tufts that were given to wildlife officials.
Coltman expects to have his results on Thursday and said that even if the hair turns out not to be from a sasquatch, the process should serve as good way to get students interested in the field of DNA testing.
"It's sort of like a wildlife CSI story," he said.
AND FINALLY - THE FIERCEST CRITTERS OF ALL OUT THERE... BRATTY KIDS!
Noisy school kids have mouths taped - Jul 26, 10:03 AM (ET)
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian educational authorities are investigating claims that noisy school children had had their mouths taped shut to keep them quiet, officials said Tuesday.
Police said the children, from a Catholic primary school at Wollongong, about 50 miles south of Sydney, had been at rehearsals for a school concert when a volunteer working in the school hall asked them to be quiet.
When the noise continued, the unidentified volunteer then cut up 20 pieces of masking tape and told the children to put them on their mouths.
Police investigated the incident after the parents of one of the children complained but said it was unlikely they would take any further action.
The New South Wales (NSW) state Catholic Education Office is conducting its own investigation, NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt said.
"If the incident occurred as it is reported, it is very, very concerning," Tebbutt told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Noisy school kids have mouths taped - Jul 26, 10:03 AM (ET)
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian educational authorities are investigating claims that noisy school children had had their mouths taped shut to keep them quiet, officials said Tuesday.
Police said the children, from a Catholic primary school at Wollongong, about 50 miles south of Sydney, had been at rehearsals for a school concert when a volunteer working in the school hall asked them to be quiet.
When the noise continued, the unidentified volunteer then cut up 20 pieces of masking tape and told the children to put them on their mouths.
Police investigated the incident after the parents of one of the children complained but said it was unlikely they would take any further action.
The New South Wales (NSW) state Catholic Education Office is conducting its own investigation, NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt said.
"If the incident occurred as it is reported, it is very, very concerning," Tebbutt told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
awwwwww the poor baby birds!! I love birds. I hand raised two cockatiels, so I know how vulnerable baby birds are. Although my baby birds were only half the size of my thumb when first hatched, not 3 feet high.
I sure hope that a solution can be found, and quickly to save those birds from extiction. If nothing else maybe some of the birds left can be taken to a safe place. Like in a sort of sanctuary, where they can raise their young in peace.
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That is a tragic accident. I hope the cow wasn't put down for that accident. It isn't as if she kicked him in the head or bit his ear off or something. It probably scared her pretty bad to fall like that too.
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That 17 year old, must have been high when he called the cops about being robbed of his marijuana! Who in their right mind, that has marijuana in their house would call the cops if it was stolen! That is just crazy! lol I guess he got what he deserved in the end for growing marijuana in his house!
Dude, what where you thinking calling the cops! Of course they would arrest you! Duh, marijuana is ileagal! *knocking on his head* "Any body home in there?" ROFLMAO
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Unlike most people, I do believe in the existance of the sasquatch!
I Believe! Just like Fox Mulder's poster says!
I believe they are a species of unknown animal, not the missing link!
So this is exciting to me, that they found tuffs of hair from the sasquatch.
I hope they really find in the DNA that it isn't anything they have ever seen before! It will be a great day for Sasquatch reserchers if the hair turns up not to belong to any animal ever known before!
In a way, I don't want the Sasquatch to ever be found! If one ever is captured, it will be treated like a lab animal, or put in a zoo. It deserves to live free, not be in some lab or zoo. Probably hunters would go looking for others that might be in the area one might be found in. I don't want that to happen. I would rather them stay a mystery, and free, than become a known fact, and be hunted down, or captured!
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Yes Bratty kids can be a pain in the butt to deal with, but that is on reason to put tape on their mouths.
Although when I was growing up, It was something that happened often. As well as washing kids mouths out with soap!
I remember one time having tape put over my mouth, and being taped to my desk! The tape that was used on ME was duck tape, so it hurt much worse than masking tape when they finally allowed it to come off!
Also on another occation at a daycare one of the workers washed my mouth out with soap. I am not sure what I did. I never did swear until I was a teen, and even then only a little.
Nowadays though, This kind of behavior from adults to children is seen for what it is, abuse!
It is too bad that not any kind of punishment was given to the substitute teacher! That was totaly un-called for! I know how it feels!
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Luciano,
I absolutely loved this edition of weirdness wednesday! I love creatures large and small, and this was right up my alley! :)
Thanks so much!
Have a Great Day! ()O()
((HUGS))
Countess
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I sure hope that a solution can be found, and quickly to save those birds from extiction. If nothing else maybe some of the birds left can be taken to a safe place. Like in a sort of sanctuary, where they can raise their young in peace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That is a tragic accident. I hope the cow wasn't put down for that accident. It isn't as if she kicked him in the head or bit his ear off or something. It probably scared her pretty bad to fall like that too.
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That 17 year old, must have been high when he called the cops about being robbed of his marijuana! Who in their right mind, that has marijuana in their house would call the cops if it was stolen! That is just crazy! lol I guess he got what he deserved in the end for growing marijuana in his house!
Dude, what where you thinking calling the cops! Of course they would arrest you! Duh, marijuana is ileagal! *knocking on his head* "Any body home in there?" ROFLMAO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unlike most people, I do believe in the existance of the sasquatch!
I Believe! Just like Fox Mulder's poster says!
I believe they are a species of unknown animal, not the missing link!
So this is exciting to me, that they found tuffs of hair from the sasquatch.
I hope they really find in the DNA that it isn't anything they have ever seen before! It will be a great day for Sasquatch reserchers if the hair turns up not to belong to any animal ever known before!
In a way, I don't want the Sasquatch to ever be found! If one ever is captured, it will be treated like a lab animal, or put in a zoo. It deserves to live free, not be in some lab or zoo. Probably hunters would go looking for others that might be in the area one might be found in. I don't want that to happen. I would rather them stay a mystery, and free, than become a known fact, and be hunted down, or captured!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes Bratty kids can be a pain in the butt to deal with, but that is on reason to put tape on their mouths.
Although when I was growing up, It was something that happened often. As well as washing kids mouths out with soap!
I remember one time having tape put over my mouth, and being taped to my desk! The tape that was used on ME was duck tape, so it hurt much worse than masking tape when they finally allowed it to come off!
Also on another occation at a daycare one of the workers washed my mouth out with soap. I am not sure what I did. I never did swear until I was a teen, and even then only a little.
Nowadays though, This kind of behavior from adults to children is seen for what it is, abuse!
It is too bad that not any kind of punishment was given to the substitute teacher! That was totaly un-called for! I know how it feels!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luciano,
I absolutely loved this edition of weirdness wednesday! I love creatures large and small, and this was right up my alley! :)
Thanks so much!
Have a Great Day! ()O()
((HUGS))
Countess
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