Maria, the goose, is Mario

A Los Angeles goose famous for flying alongside a frequent visitor’s motor scooter has been renamed from Maria to Mario. The Los Angeles Zoo, which took custody of the bird ahead of a two-year renovation project at Echo Park Lake, said its experts determined Maria the Goose was actually Mario the Gander. “He’s Mario now. But I’ll call him Maria if he doesn’t respond to Mario,” said Dominic Ehrler, 65, whose daily visits to the park included riding his scooter side-by-side with the flying goose. More

Tiny spy planes could look like birds, insects

Nutty News Washington DC - The Pentagon has poured millions of dollars into the development of tiny drones inspired by biology, each equipped with video and audio equipment that can record sights and sounds. They could be used to spy, but also to locate people inside earthquake-crumpled buildings and detect hazardous chemical leaks. One type is the hummingbird and engineers in the growing unmanned aircraft industry are working on drones that look like insects and the helicopter-like maple leaf seed. Researchers are even exploring ways to implant surveillance and other equipment into an insect as it is undergoing metamorphosis. They want to be able to control the creature. More

2 black bears trash Ford Taurus

Nutty News Florida - When Ford’s ad agency came up with the slogan “Built Ford Tough,” they may not have anticipated one of their vehicles having a run-in with two Florida black bears. Seminole County resident David Swerdlow, 63, awoke to find two Florida black bears had wreaked havoc on his 2004 silver Ford Taurus, caving in the roof and puncturing a tire. Swerdlow’s neighbor saw two bears cuddling up to the car. The neighbor saw one bear climb on top of the car, and the other lean against it. Swerdlow said there was no food inside. More

Roof collapse blamed on bird poop

Nutty News California - Vacaville Fire Department officials are blaming pigeons for the collapse of a gas station awning that nearly struck a woman who had just finished filling her tank. Vacaville resident Chris Doss had stopped at Quick Way Gas when a quarter of the station’s metal roofing came thundering down next to her under the weight of several inches of bird droppings. “It just went ‘boom’ and then it all came down,” said Doss, who had just finished putting gas in her car. She had just gotten back into her car on one side of the island and hadn’t even had a chance to put the key in the ignition when the entire roofing section on the other side of the island collapsed, giving way to an avalanche of bird droppings. More

Man sues neighbours over rude bird

Nutty News Taiwan - The offensive squawks of a pet bird so enraged a Taiwanese man that he sued its owners — his neighbours — for inflicting emotional stress and injuries. Wang Han-chin accused five neighbours of teaching their mynah, a parrot-like bird, to curse at him as revenge after he complained to the police that they were too loud. More

Cell phone keeps ringing after eaten by crocodile

Nutty News Ukraine - Gena, a 14-year-old crocodile at the Dnipropetrovsk Oceanarium, has been refusing food and acting listless after eating a cellphone dropped by a woman trying to photograph him last month. The phone kept ringing inside the crocodile for some time. Phone owner Rimma Golovko says she wants her SIM card back as it contains her photos and contacts. More

Bus-riding dog reunited with owner

A dog that boarded a Scottish bus in frigid temperatures and refused to leave has been reunited with its owner. The Cairn terrier boarded the bus at the Dumbarton Road stop in Glasgow. Witnesses said the canine had icicles hanging from his fur and refused to budge from a warm spot on the vehicle. The dog was taken to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ building in Glasgow. More

bear facts

One of the things that makes Alaska so special is that all three species of North American bears flourish here. There is a chance that you may be lucky enough to see a bear. But even if you don't you will never be far from one, because Alaska is bear country.
Brown/grizzly bears are found from the islands of southeastern Alaska to the arctic. Black bears inhabit most of Alaska's forests. Polar bears frequent the pack ice and tundra of extreme northern and western Alaska.
Bears are curious, intelligent and potentially dangerous animals, but undue fear of bears can endanger both bears and people. Many bears are killed each year by people who are afraid of them. Respecting bears and learning proper behavior in their territory will help so that if you encounter a bear, neither of you will suffer needlessly from the experience. More

Trained bears go into hibernation during road trip

Four trained bears with a touring circus went into hibernation during a road trip to a venue in the Russian Far East. It took us eight days to cover the distance because the truck broke down on the way. The situation was further aggravated by extremely low temperatures, which forced the trainer to give the dormant bears large quantities of strong tea and chocolate candies to stop them from falling asleep.

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World’s Smartest Dog Knows 1,022 Words

A border collie named Chaser has learned the names of 1,022 individual items — more than any other animal, even the legendary Alex the parrot. But it’s all in a day’s work for these researchers. Psychologists Alliston Reid and John Pilley of Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., wanted to test if there was a limit to the amount of words a border collie could learn. More

Racing pigeon gets lost, ends up 5,200 miles away

Nutty News Panama City - The 10 month-old bird had been undertaking a six hour race from Guernsey to Dudley, West Midlands in the UK more than five weeks ago. But it failed to arrive and its owner Darren Cubberly, 45, had give up hope the bird would return from the 224 mile trip. He was surprised to get a phone call this week from Panama City, where the bird had ended up. It is thought she landed on a ship travelling to the area. More

Firefighters save 18-foot snake in home fire

Nutty News Rhode Island - Firefighters often have to rescue people from burning homes, sometimes even a dog or cat. But the 18-foot Bermese python that firefighters had to drag out of a burning Rhode Island home may have been a first. Acting Chief Peter Henrikson said that it took two firefighters to carry out the python with a diameter like a “Frisbee” in the middle. More

Harry Potter Ride

Nutty News Florida - Universal Orlando is tweaking an attraction to ensure even guests with butterbeer bellies can enjoy the park’s most popular Harry Potter ride. After taking heat from ride critics and guests too big to squeeze in, the company said it has started tinkering to make “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” more accessible. Workers are adjusting the overhead harnesses that keep guests in place while a robotic arm flings them through a chaotic sequence in the boy wizard’s life. More

Man calls police because of cat

Nutty News UK - A panicked man called a police emergency line for help because there was a cat in his kitchen in just one of thousands of inappropriate calls. The call to Britain’s 999 line starts with the man, saying: “There’s a cat in my kitchen I don’t know how to deal with him.” The bemused operator asks “You’ve got a what in your kitchen?”, and the man responds: “A cat, cat, cat.” More

Chimpanzees throw rocks at people

Nutty News Jerusalem - With officials long worried that a serious injury, or even death, is just waiting to happen, a multimillion-shekel barrier is under construction in the capital to separate loud, unruly crowds from frequent rock-throwers. Sound like another security hot spot? Try the chimpanzee exhibit at the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem, popularly known as the Biblical Zoo. “It’s kind of embarrassing to be stoned by a chimp,” said zoo director Shai Doron. More

Camel milk coming to Europe

DUBAI - Hard on the hooves of cow’s and goat’s milk, European grocery shelves may soon be invaded by milk from that proverbial ship of the desert, the camel. An animal famous for bad breath and ill humour might seem an unlikely source of liquid to lubricate a bowl of breakfast cereal or froth up a latte, but promoters from the United Arab Emirates say it is healthy — and almost like mother’s own. “People with lactose intolerance can drink it with no problem, unlike cow’s milk, it doesn’t cause protein allergies, and it’s high in insulin,” said Ulrich Wernery, the scientific director of Dubai’s Centre for Veterinary Research Laboratory. more

Man broke into zoo and climbed onto the back of a crocodile

PERTH, Australia - A man ejected from a pub in Australia broke into a zoo and climbed onto the back of a crocodile named Fatso, which bit him on the leg but then let him go. Police say they’re surprised the croc didn’t inflict worse damage. The 36-year-old man, who police said had just been thrown out of a pub for being drunk, told officials he scaled the barbed wire fence surrounding the Broome Crocodile Park in remote northwest Australia because he wanted to give the 16-foot (5 meter) Fatso a pat. more

Man spends seven years doing 5,000 piece puzzle

UK - It had cluttered up Jack Harris’s dining table for almost eight years. Nevertheless, the 86-year-old was determined to finish his five-foot long, 5,000-piece jigsaw. And when he thought the painstaking process was complete, he stood back to admire his work - only to find a dog may have eaten the final piece. more