Chip_Unicorn's stories

Monkey walks on two legs...
Sat 24 Jul 2004 - 13:13

According to China's Xinhanet, a young monkey at an Israeli zoo has started walking on two legs after a near-death experience. The link includes a picture of the monkey.

3 comment(s) – read more

Do not pet the animals!
Mon 24 May 2004 - 19:02

Man Pets Jaguar, Pays with His Finger

Don't mistake the jaguar for a 'pretty kitty'.

1 comment(s) – read more

Pig-human chimeras contain cell surprise
Wed 14 Jan 2004 - 20:17

According to New Scientist, cells from pig-human chimeras show unusual cells: cells with DNA that were created by both human and pig parents. These cells are sensitive to both pig and human diseases, and they could be a way for diseases to pass between species.

2 comment(s) – read more

Why humans and their fur parted ways
Wed 20 Aug 2003 - 14:17

According to Why Humans and Their Fur Parted Ways (N. Y. Times, registration may be required), "Humans lost their body hair, they say, to free themselves of external parasites that infest fur — blood-sucking lice, fleas and ticks and the diseases they spread." Oddly enough, although the article dates our loss of fur about 1.2 million years ago, we've only been wearing clothes for about 42,000 to 72,000 years.

4 comment(s) – read more

Steve Irwin's secret!
Tue 10 Jun 2003 - 12:59

Steve Irwin, known as The Crocodile Hunter, has a deep secret: his wild showmanship is a front for his intelligence and deep commitment to species conservation.

5 comment(s) – read more

Happy Furry Day!
Wed 7 May 2003 - 23:11

The town of Helston in Cornwall, England celebrates May 8 as Furry Day.

So strict is the observance of this day as a general holiday, that should any person be found at work, he is instantly seized , set astride on a pole, and hurried on men?s shoulders to the river, which he is sentenced to leap over a wide place, which he, of course, fails in attempting, and leaps into the water. A small contribution towards the good cheer of the day easily compounds for the leap.

So, what are you doing for Furry Day?

2 comment(s) – read more

Andre the Seal granted fishing license
Fri 25 Apr 2003 - 18:39

Andre the seal accidentally found himself in the Scottish River Leven and Loch Lammond. He had been eating salmon stocks worth thousands of British pounds. The town tried to capture him, but failed. In the end, they did the only thing they could: they granted him a fishing license.

1 comment(s) – read more

Funeral Home Dioramas
Fri 14 Mar 2003 - 20:51

San Sanfillippo is a funeral home director. He said that the old people didn't know what to do at funerals. So he started an unusual hobby: stuffing and posing dead animals.

1 comment(s) – read more

Lion Rips Woman's Arm Off
Fri 31 Jan 2003 - 07:14

Source: Lion Rips Woman's Arm Off

MADRID (Reuters) - A lioness in a Spanish animal sanctuary ripped the right arm off a British tourist after the 54-year old woman clambered up a barrier and stuck her fingers inside the cage, local media reported.

5 comment(s) – read more

Malaysian Man goes missing with tiger
Mon 13 Jan 2003 - 18:06

Wildlife authorities in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah are searching for a man who is reported to have gone missing with his family and his pet tiger.

. . .

The missing businessman was photographed on Saturday driving around his home town with a full-grown tiger in the back of his jeep.

The man, Haji Zaitun Arshad, told reporters that the animal had been brought in from Thailand where it had been caught in a trap.

. . .

However, a neighbour later said that Haji Zaitun had disappeared with his family and the tiger, after learning that the authorities wanted to speak to him.

If convicted of keeping a tiger without a licence, he faces a $4,000 fine, or up to five years in prison.

The full story can be found at the BBC.