Zoo cuts bananas out of monkey diets

England - A British zoo said its monkeys have been put on a banana-free diet because the fruits are too sweet and sugary. Officials at the Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon, England, said the facility weaned its monkeys off of fruit and onto a more vegetable-focused diet because it is healthier for the primates. "People usually try to improve their diet by eating more fruit -- but fruit cultivated for humans is much higher in sugar and much lower in protein and fiber than most wild fruit because we like our fruit to be so sweet and juicy. Giving this fruit to animals is equivalent to giving them cake and chocolate," said Amy Plowman, the zoo`s head of conservation and advocacy. and an expert in animal nutrition. More

Triple-dog dare? Girl gets tongue stuck to flagpole

New Hampshire – In a scene straight out of “A Christmas Story,” a New Hampshire girl got her tongue stuck to a flagpole after licking it during a blizzard.

And it wasn’t even a triple-dog dare.

Maddie Gilmartin, 12, of East Kingston, said she was helping her dad clean up outside last week when an idea popped into her head to stick her tongue on a flagpole.

Gilmartin thought her tongue would come right off, but it didn’t, WMUR reports.

“I see her standing at the flagpole, her arms are waving,” said Maddie’s dad, Shawn Gilmartin.  ”I’m not sure what’s going on until I got closer.” More

Soon animals will be able to sue owners

Switzerland – The reason is that the country has an extraordinary set of animal protection laws that closely define the obligations of pet owners and farmers. Now it is about to go a step farther: a national referendum will decide whether to allow animals official legal representation. More

Study: Elephants Can Suffer From Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome

LONDON (CBS Atlavnta) – African elephants are suffering from mass killings that took place decades ago, says a new study.

While they may appear normal to the average human, the experts say these elephants show clear signs of social disorders, similar to post-traumatic stress.

Wildlife officials often used culling as a management tool from the 1960s to the 1990s.

The managers worried that too many elephants would overrun and destroy the preserve.

Park officials would then send young male survivors to other facilities.

“Some of these elephants ended up in Pilanesberg National Park,” in South Africa’s North West Province where part of the new study was carried out, says Graeme Shannon, a behavioral ecologist at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and the lead author of the new study. More

Scientists upbeat on development of invisibility cloak

China – Mainland scientists are increasingly confident of developing the world’s first invisibility cloak, using technology to hide objects from view and make them “disappear”.

The central government has funded at least 40 research teams over the past three years to develop the idea, which until now has largely been the stuff of science fiction and fantasy novels like the Harry Potter series.

The technology would have obvious military uses such as developing stealth aircraft, but Beijing believes the research could lead to wider technological breakthroughs with broader uses, scientists involved in the research said.

The main approaches are developing materials that guide light away from an object, creating electromagnetic fields to bend light away from what one is trying to hide and copying nature to make hi-tech camouflage materials. More