V-O-L-E spells love
Water voles are being reintroduced to the River Dore on the England-Wales border this weekend. 500 voles, in 50 colonies, are being set-up in vole holes along the side of the river.

Source: BBC News

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 5:33 PM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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Dingo pee: Apparently more useful than you imagined
It turns out wee from a dingo has the ability to do many great things. Assuming you can get hold of some. The key feature is that it repells kangaroos - which in turn can help plantlife re-establish itself. You could use dingo wee to ensure vegetables grown on abandoned mine sites aren't stolen by kangaroos, although if anyone would want to eat them after is debatable.

Source: Reuters

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RIP: Snakes on Skye
Sad news from the Isle of Skye, where an electrical fault has wiped out most of the residents of a building in the Skye Serpentarium, despite the best efforts of the owners:

"My husband turned the electricity off and got a fire extinguisher and I put a wet sheet over my mouth, but I couldn't see or breathe."

Source: BBC News

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 8:30 AM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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Whale saves marriage
We're amused by the way we're all supposed to pretend there's only one Shamu, despite all the branches of Seaworld forcing a mighty killer whale to dance about in a small tank twice daily.

Anyway, apparently you can retrain your marriage using lessons from Shamu's trainers.

Source: New York Times

[Plug: Apparently they do kid's books about Shamu and his, erm, crew in which they clean up the sea and so on, rather than get captured and made to appear at theme parks.]

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 9:57 PM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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RIP: Eddie
Moose, who played Eddie in Frasier and the older Skip in My Friend Skip, has died. He was 16 and a half. Not in dog years.

Help his, um, widow or whatever: Frasier Series 1 Box set
My Dog Skip on DVD

Source: People (oddly enough, what with him not being a people)

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 10:22 AM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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Colorado cats
A big cat refuge in Serenity Springs, Colorado, is feeling the pinch after its co-owner
had a heart attack and lost his source of income.

This year, the bank foreclosed on the Sculac's 8,000-square-foot home. The couple moved into a small house on the sanctuary's already-paid-for 15 acres.

"We're not going to a homeless shelter, and neither are the cats," Karen Sculac said.

The Sculacs, unlike some big cat refuges, don't insist on the lions and tigers which are rehoused with them coming with their own dowry; so far, they haven't made any public appeals for cash.
Source: Rocky Mountain News

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Dogs to the rescue
Kit, a rescue-home dog, saved a thirteen year-old girl when she fell into a diabetic coma. Even though they weren't even in the same room

Relieved Rosie said: "If Kit hadn't woken me Marianne might not be here now. Her body had begun to shut down and she was admitted to hospital where she recovered. Kit is our guardian angel."

Marianne added: "I feel she's looking out for me all the time."

Wait until he chews their slippers.
Source: Daily Mirror

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 8:42 AM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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Hammerfest build a fence
The Norwegian town of Hammerfest is losing patience with the Reindeer which cascade down its streets every year - not least because of the thousands of pounds they have to spend getting rid of the smell of wee from the children's sandpits. So they're going to try building a big fence to keep out their unwelcome visitors.

Source: The Guardian

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 10:31 PM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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Up before the beak
Four pelicans have been tested for flying under the influence in California; the birds are believed to have got drunk on sea-algae before crashing into cars.

The Kennedy family have not issued a statement.

Source: Reuters via YahooNews

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Needlepoint
Twinkle, a disgruntled porcupine, has escaped from Eden Ostrich World in Langwathby, near Penrith, Cumbria. Probably annoyed at not getting above the line billing. Police warn that the porcupine could be dangerous, although they don't sound too sure.

Source: Daily Mirror

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 7:57 AM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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Playing the goat
A regimental goat has been demoted for not showing enough respect to the Queen

Source: BBC news

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 2:21 PM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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It remains dead, however
Scientists have discovred a dodo skeleton in Mauritius. The Quorn hunt are offering to go and shoot it, just in case.

Source: BBC News

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 2:16 PM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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Anarchist peacocks
A peacock - called Roger - in a village in Berkshire has been attacking expensive cars in a fit of class envy.

Source: Sunday Mirror

- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 2:10 PM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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So, what's the big eye deer, then?
This is really just a silly little side-blog I've been thinking about starting for a while as it seems most days there's usually one or two odd animal stories that amuse me enough to send an email to Shawndra while she's at work, and it seems a nice idea to post them to some sort of website as well to build up a collection of them.
- posted by Simon Hayes Budgen- 1:13 PM - permanent link to this post - click the envelope to email to a friend:

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