A Scotsman who jokingly tried to unload his 5-year-old kid over the Internet had some explaining to do. Cops visited Alex Wilson after reading his Web site that read: “Hyperactive kid for sale, good at vacuuming, not great at washing dishes because he’s too short,” said the ad. “Guaranteed to annoy. Five pounds [$8] or nearest offer.” Wilson placed the ad as a joke two years ago to tease his 7-year-old son.
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Talk about a crash diet. Koala, a female elephant in the Rio de Janeiro Zoo, lost about 1,100 pounds in four months after peanuts and bread were taken out of her diet – and her banana ration was sliced to just 120 a day. “She had a huge rear part with excessive fat on the sides,” said biologist Valdir Ramos, who said Koala weighed 5 tons eight months ago and was aiming for a more manageable 4.2 tons.
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Britain is still a nation of eccentrics. Internet analysts say Britons have been on the cyberhunt for odd items, including wood lice, monkey origami and toe wrestling. A quick search of British Internet habits revealed that some users were trolling for items on sausage calories, hedgehog houses, places in the United Kingdom with the letter “z” in their name, info on ham sandwich digestion, black pudding, and the rules of naked petanque.
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The liberal enclave of West Hollywood, Calif., has become the first city in the United States to ban “pet guardians” (a k a pet owners) from removing their cats’ claws. The ban on declawing, which involves the amputation of a cat’s toes and tendons, came into effect after more than a year of campaigning by animal-rights activists who say there are kinder ways to do it.
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A runaway Thai pachyderm on the lam from its animal-show handlers brought chaos and cheers to the streets of Manila. Cops kept back the crowds trying to catch a glimpse of the fugitive hooter as kids ran behind it and egged it on. “He crossed over a fence and just ran away during a practice,” said a staffer at the 10-elephant show. Organizers said a beer delivery truck driver eventually blocked the elephant’s way.
