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oddlyenough

Sunday, 02 December 2018 | Agencies

oddlyenough

Ape gives birth at San Diego Zoo despite birth control

The San Diego Zoo said the birth of a siamang ape came as a surprise to zookeepers — especially since the mother was on birth control. The zoo said Eloise, a 37-year-old siamang, a type of gibbon, had been on chemical contraception for several years after having six babies with her mate, Unkie. The zoo said the surprise baby was the first siamang born at the zoo in more than 12 years. Officials said they had no idea Eloise was pregnant until she gave birth earlier this month.

“We’re not certain why birth control didn’t work in this case, but as with humans, it is not uncommon for contraceptive failure to happen from time to time,” animal care manager Jill Andrews told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Still, we are overjoyed — because any birth of an endangered species is a reason to celebrate.” Officials said an examination will be performed in the next few months to determine the baby’s sex.

(UPI)

US State trooper helps deliver baby

Here’s one way to get out of speeding ticket: A North Carolina state trooper helped deliver a baby on the side of the road after pulling over a speeding van on the highway. WRAL-TV reports that State Highway Patrol Sgt. Brian Maynard pulled over a van going 85 mph late Saturday. The couple in the van, Jimmy and Laura Baker, were headed to the hospital so she could give birth, but the baby had other plans and started coming before they could get there. Maynard helped deliver the baby at roadside, calling the experience both “scary” and “rewarding.” Baby Halyn was later taken to a hospital. Jimmy Baker says his wife and their newborn are both doing well.

(AP)

Bears break into car, eat 49 candy bars

A North Carolina teenager captured video of a family of bears that broke into her Toyota Prius and ate 49 chocolate bars she was selling for a fundraiser. Lilly Thurmond, 16, said she was at her Asheville home Sunday evening when she saw the mother bear and three cubs walk up her driveway. Thurmond said she noticed moments later that the animals had opened the door to her car. “I turned my head, and I saw the car door is open,” Thurmond told WLOS-TV. “I could hear growling and stuff.”

Thurmond filmed as the bears pigged out on the fundraiser chocolate in the vehicle. She said the bears ate 49 of the candy bars, leaving only a single dark chocolate bar untouched.

(UPI)

Man uses airboat to work in snow

An Alaska man was caught on video by a neighbor outsmarting the recent snowfall by going to the store in his airboat. The filmer said they were watching TV at their home in Kotzebue when they heard a loud noise that sounded like a “plane landing outside.” The resident captured video of the sound’s true cause — a neighbor using an airboat to glide across the surface of the freshly fallen snow. “He was heading to the store in his airboat,” the filmer wrote.

(UPI)

Town throws birthday party for wild monkeys

A village in Thailand filled picnic tables with snacks and sweets for the wild monkeys as part of what’s become an annual “birthday party” for the creatures. The town of Lopburi marked the annual Monkey Party by putting out picnic tables filled with fruit, candy, ice cream and juice for the monkeys, which live in and around the town’s Buddhist temple. The tradition is a mass birthday party for the locally loved animals, residents said. Footage from the event shows the monkeys visiting with members of the crowd and even climbing on some spectators’ heads.

(UPI)

Scientist names beetle after Jose Bautista

Jose Bautista has a new namesake buzzing around. Entomologist Bob Anderson of the Canadian Museum of Nature has dubbed a newly discovered species of beetle Sicoderus bautistai after the former Toronto Blue Jays star. Anderson decided to name the insect — known as a weevil for its long snout — after Bautista because of the bat-flip home run that propelled Toronto to the 2015 American League Championship Series. “It was one of those moments in Toronto baseball sort of lore where he hit this big home run,” Anderson said Thursday. “And I thought what a great way to kind of recognise his contributions to Blue Jay baseball and to Canadian baseball, really, as a whole.”

The 38-year-old Bautista played for Toronto from 2009 to 2017. He’s a free agent after splitting last season with the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. The Sicoderus bautistai is a tiny black weevil that is found in Bautista’s native Dominican Republic. Anderson has named about 120 weevils over his career. “One of the nice things about this is that you have some latitude to do something kind of quirky,” Anderson said. “(Naming) sort of builds on a history and the names tell little stories.”

(AP)

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