Missing cat comes home after four years

The owners of a cat that went missing four years ago got a late surprise Christmas present when they were reunited with her the day after Boxing Day.

Willow, who is now 10 years old, disappeared after being let out to play from her home in Princetown, Devon, in 2007.

The black cat was one of three that vanished from the same close in the town on Dartmoor within months of each other.

While one of them turned up in Taunton, Somerset, Willow was finally found in Plymouth.

"It's really only sinking in now, but it's the best Christmas present ever," owner Cristel Worth said.

"How she managed to stray from Princetown to, about 20 miles away, to get to Elburton, I have no idea. It's a long journey right across the moors."

Willow was taken in six months ago by a family from the Elburton area of Plymouth until a space became available at a nearby animal rescue centre.

But it was not until last week that the Gables Farm Dogs' and Cats' Home in Plymouth finally identified her thanks to an implanted microchip.

Worth, 32, said she was with her husband, Mark, 31, and their two young daughters when she received the call from the charity last Tuesday.

"We had almost given up hope that we would ever find her again and it was a really wonderful experience to know that she had finally come home," she said.

"I wish she (Willow) spoke, as all we know is that for the last six months she's been living in Elburton, but the previous three and a half years are a mystery."

Worth said the cat, which she had rehomed from an RSPCA centre, was now doing well but had seemed timid on the first night she was home.

She added that her six-year-old daughter, Izzy-May, was able to remember Willow, but the cat was a "delightful" new addition for two-year-old Olivia-Rose.

"Izzy-May has been feeding her special treats and giving her extra attention during feeding time and she's now met our second daughter.

"Izzy-May is extremely excited as she used to see her in the photo albums and didn't quite understand why she went, but she now has her back, which is wonderful.

"I'm not sure what has happened to her during the last four years but she does seem a lot more timid than before she left our family … She's now getting lots and lots of TLC, lots of cuddles and more cats' toys than you could imagine."

Worth said she also wanted to send a huge thankyou to the family who took Willow in looked after her until a place became available at the Gables.

Katie Barkell, from the Gables, said: "It's so difficult to match cats up with their owners, especially when the cat's been missing for four years … so having them microchipped is fantastic as we can get them straight back in contact.

"It was just brilliant to be able to tell them their cat is home … They rushed in and she [Mrs Worth] was just lost for words, she said it was just the best Christmas present they could have hoped for."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/02/missing-cat-home-four-years

Lone wolf outfoxes hunters in 1,000km quest for mate

A young wolf has become a US celebrity while evading capture – dead or alive – in an epic search for a mate.
The animal has traced a zigzag path across 1,200km (730 miles) of mountains, deserts and highways, from Oregon to the California border.
He left his home turf on September 10 just before state officials issued a death warrant on members of his pack – including his alpha male father – for killing cattle.
The fear is that the wanderer, known only as OR-7, may be the target of a poacher, rancher or government hunter.
His progress has been tracked thanks to a GPS collar he was fitted with by a state biologist last February.
His appearance startled lodge owner Liz Parrish who locked eyes with him on the edge of Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon. ‘I was stunned – it was such a huge animal. We had a stare-down, then he just evaporated into the trees,’ she said.
But her neighbour, cattle rancher Nathan Jackson, said: ‘We worked hard to exterminate wolves 50 years ago or so. They don’t seem so beautiful and majestic when they are ripping apart calves and colts.’
While wolves are state protected in Oregon, federal protection has been lifted in the east of the state.
One government hunter shot at but missed him before conservation groups won a stay-of-kill order.
OR-7 is following a well-worn instinct to strike out alone when reaching the age of two in the search for empty territory and a mate.
His meandering route from home has taken him across numerous county lines and each time he enters a new area, he makes it on to the local news.
Oregon wolf co-ordinator Russ Morgan said he was surprised by the way the public and media have embraced the wolf. ‘People have taken a shine to him,’ he said.
However, not everyone feels the same way, so a competition has been launched to change his name to something more people-friendly – and make him too famous to be shot.
The first entry, from a little girl in OR-7’s home territory, is already catching on: Whoseafraida.


Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/883181-lone-wolf-outfoxes-hunters-in-1-000km-quest-for-mate#ixzz1fBk67tKF

Kidnapped dog finds its way home

A Polish woman could not believe her eyes when her pet dog found its way home - after being dognapped 30 miles away.

Edyta Kowalska, 44, from Sochaczew, had gone to the capital Warsaw for the day with her two-year-old Dachshund, Cherry.

But as they walked down the road a car suddenly pulled up and three masked men jumped out. The trio bundled the dog inside a car and sped off.

"It was terrifying. They leapt out of their car and ran over towards me. I thought they were going to attack me, but instead they grabbed Cherry, jumped back in the car and drove off," said Edyta.

"I went to the police and filed a report, but I don't think they took it very seriously.

"But I was beside myself with grief, and just couldn't understand why they had taken Cherry and what they would do to her."

For five days, Edyta fretted until she looked out of her kitchen window to see Cherry trotting up the garden path.

"I couldn't believe it. She was a bit thin and bedraggled, but she had made it home," she said.

"I'll never know what happened and why they took her, but now she's back and that's all that matters."

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Kidnapped_dog_finds_its_way_home

Pit bull rescues blind cocker spaniel from freezing to death

Volunteer Alan Borland's daily walk with Nala, a pitbull-lab mix from the Humane Society of Redmond, took a strange turn early this month. The usually well-behaved Nala began looking south and pulling — hard.


"This is the first time she ever refused to stop pulling," says Borland, 55, a retired policeman. " I finally gave in and let her pull me into a ditch. It's a deep and brushy, about four feet deep and 15 feet across."


What they found at the bottom was a black and white ball of fur curled up, with baseball-sized balls of snow covering his feet. "I thought it was dead at first," says Borland, who immediately knew it was a dog. "As I bent down I saw it was breathing, but it didn't move."

Borland sought help from the Humane Society and its veterinary facility, just 200 yards away.

And then, an incredible realization.

The dog, a 10-year old blind and mostly deaf Cocker Spaniel, had been a resident of the shelter. The month before, a woman with a soft spot for disabled animals adopted him. Named Chadwick, he moved two miles from the shelter but wandered away and travelled for a week through miles of heavy snow back to the Humane Society.


"I was pretty surprised," says Chris Bauersfeld, the shelter's manager. "We knew that Chadwick was lost, but we never expected him to manage his way back here. I think he heard the other dogs barking and his bearings took him this way."

Did Nala, a shelter resident since April, recognize the scent of her former shelter neighbor?

"Several dogs walked by that morning on their morning walk and didn't alert to him at all," says Bauersfeld. "On a daily basis, these dogs do something that makes me just stand in awe."

Once Chadwick was rehydrated and warmed up, his distraught owner — searching for him since he disappeared seven days before — picked the pup up. Bauersfeld does not know how Chadwick escaped from his new home.

Nala, however, still needs a home. Great with humans, she doesn't get along with many other dogs. "Alot of other people have offered to adopt her," says Bauersfeld, "we haven't found the right situation for her."

When Freekibble.com heard the story they were so inspired by Nala's rescue they jumped in to donate 10,000 meals of Halo Spot's Stew to the Redmond Humane Society.

"We just happen to live in a neighboring town, and when we heard of Nala rescuing this brave but scared little Cocker Spaniel, we wanted to help out with a large donation of good food in Nala's honor," says Freekibble's Kelly Ausland. "She saved her friend, she's a hero!


http://www.halopets.com/freekibble/donation8.php

Pit bull rescues blind cocker spaniel from freezing to death

Volunteer Alan Borland's daily walk with Nala, a pitbull-lab mix from the Humane Society of Redmond, took a strange turn early this month. The usually well-behaved Nala began looking south and pulling — hard.


"This is the first time she ever refused to stop pulling," says Borland, 55, a retired policeman. " I finally gave in and let her pull me into a ditch. It's a deep and brushy, about four feet deep and 15 feet across."


What they found at the bottom was a black and white ball of fur curled up, with baseball-sized balls of snow covering his feet. "I thought it was dead at first," says Borland, who immediately knew it was a dog. "As I bent down I saw it was breathing, but it didn't move."

Borland sought help from the Humane Society and its veterinary facility, just 200 yards away.

And then, an incredible realization.

The dog, a 10-year old blind and mostly deaf Cocker Spaniel, had been a resident of the shelter. The month before, a woman with a soft spot for disabled animals adopted him. Named Chadwick, he moved two miles from the shelter but wandered away and travelled for a week through miles of heavy snow back to the Humane Society.


"I was pretty surprised," says Chris Bauersfeld, the shelter's manager. "We knew that Chadwick was lost, but we never expected him to manage his way back here. I think he heard the other dogs barking and his bearings took him this way."

Did Nala, a shelter resident since April, recognize the scent of her former shelter neighbor?

"Several dogs walked by that morning on their morning walk and didn't alert to him at all," says Bauersfeld. "On a daily basis, these dogs do something that makes me just stand in awe."

Once Chadwick was rehydrated and warmed up, his distraught owner — searching for him since he disappeared seven days before — picked the pup up. Bauersfeld does not know how Chadwick escaped from his new home.

Nala, however, still needs a home. Great with humans, she doesn't get along with many other dogs. "Alot of other people have offered to adopt her," says Bauersfeld, "we haven't found the right situation for her."

When Freekibble.com heard the story they were so inspired by Nala's rescue they jumped in to donate 10,000 meals of Halo Spot's Stew to the Redmond Humane Society.

"We just happen to live in a neighboring town, and when we heard of Nala rescuing this brave but scared little Cocker Spaniel, we wanted to help out with a large donation of good food in Nala's honor," says Freekibble's Kelly Ausland. "She saved her friend, she's a hero!


http://www.halopets.com/freekibble/donation8.php

Poisonous snake discovered in box of grapes

A poisonous snake has been discovered in a box of grapes in a factory in County Armagh.


The 10" long adder was found during a quality check by a worker at Orchard County Foods in Craigavon.

The grapes were imported from Spain.

The staff member did not panic and raised the alarm with management.

The USPCA was called to the scene and took the snake away to a specialist reptile shop in Belfast.

Wayne Hull from City Reptiles says he is sure the snake is an adder but has yet to distinguish the exact species.

He said: "The order came from Spain so I need to identify it as a European species. I can't really say much about it until I have properly identified it.

Venomous glands
"He is a baby. He is about 10 inches and will probably grow to around 18 inches.

"This is the first time we have had this kind of snake brought in to us. We get a couple of stray snakes because of inadequate housing and people not looking after them. But this is a first."

Wayne said the reptile is poisonous and dangerous to anyone who is allergic the bee stings.

He added: "You can tell that it is some sort of adder because of the shape of its head.

"It turns into a diamond shape when it gets annoyed. This is because it has venomous glands on either side."

Wayne says the snake is currently feeding on small mice.

A spokesman for the USPCA said the finding has now been reported to the Environment and Heritage Service.

He added: "Discoveries like this do happen, more commonly with spiders. This is the first time we have seen that species of snake.

"As it is not a native species it cannot be re-homed here. I suspect it will go to one of the Environment and Heritage Service' s facilities in England and then possibly back to Spain."

Orchard County Foods said it did not want to comment on the discovery other than to say it has launched an internal investigation to find out how the snake got to Northern Ireland.

Poisonous snake discovered in box of grapes

A poisonous snake has been discovered in a box of grapes in a factory in County Armagh.


The 10" long adder was found during a quality check by a worker at Orchard County Foods in Craigavon.

The grapes were imported from Spain.

The staff member did not panic and raised the alarm with management.

The USPCA was called to the scene and took the snake away to a specialist reptile shop in Belfast.

Wayne Hull from City Reptiles says he is sure the snake is an adder but has yet to distinguish the exact species.

He said: "The order came from Spain so I need to identify it as a European species. I can't really say much about it until I have properly identified it.

Venomous glands
"He is a baby. He is about 10 inches and will probably grow to around 18 inches.

"This is the first time we have had this kind of snake brought in to us. We get a couple of stray snakes because of inadequate housing and people not looking after them. But this is a first."

Wayne said the reptile is poisonous and dangerous to anyone who is allergic the bee stings.

He added: "You can tell that it is some sort of adder because of the shape of its head.

"It turns into a diamond shape when it gets annoyed. This is because it has venomous glands on either side."

Wayne says the snake is currently feeding on small mice.

A spokesman for the USPCA said the finding has now been reported to the Environment and Heritage Service.

He added: "Discoveries like this do happen, more commonly with spiders. This is the first time we have seen that species of snake.

"As it is not a native species it cannot be re-homed here. I suspect it will go to one of the Environment and Heritage Service' s facilities in England and then possibly back to Spain."

Orchard County Foods said it did not want to comment on the discovery other than to say it has launched an internal investigation to find out how the snake got to Northern Ireland.

Humpback travels from Brazil to Madagascar – Breaks whale distance record

October 2010. When Norwegian tourist Freddy Johansen snapped a photograph of a diving humpback whale in Madagascar, he had no idea that his holiday snap would lead to an important scientific discovery. Researchers from College of the Atlantic's Allied Whale saw the image on the internet and found that the same whale had also been photographed in the waters off Brazil. Not only did this journey take the whale a quarter of the way around the globe - further than that recorded by any mammal, ever - the whale moved between two different breeding groups, a rare occurrence for this species. This finding has implications for understanding and managing whale populations worldwide say College of the Atlantic (COA) scientists.


Remarkable distance and destination
According to Peter Stevick, an Allied Whale research associate, this whale's journey is remarkable for both its distance and its destination. It is nearly twice as far as the passage typically made by humpbacks in their annual north-south migration between winter breeding grounds in warm tropical waters and the nutrient-rich colder waters where they feed in summer. This whale has travelled across the Atlantic Ocean, around Africa and well into the Indian Ocean. Humpback whales seldom move between breeding areas, so the breeding groups or stocks are thought to be isolated from one another. Even more unusual, this whale is a female. Usually it is the males who are the long-distance travellers.

Says Stevick, a COA alumnus, "While the journey of this one whale is extreme, her example shows us that we should pay attention; whales may not always do what we expect, or remain in tidy groups. The picture of their behaviour is messier, and their east-west movement could well be more important than we have previously recognized. Because of that, our management focus needs to be more expansive."


New understanding
Humpback whales were hunted to exceedingly low numbers in past centuries, and those in the Southern Hemisphere were particularly devastated. Some 200,000 were killed before hunting was outlawed in the 1960s. While humpbacks have recovered well in some places, they remain scarce in others. Discovering how they move between regions helps scientists understand the way in which their populations respond both to the end of hunting and to ongoing human impacts such as ship strikes or fishing gear entanglements.

Distinct markings
The connection between the two distant sightings of this wandering female was made possible thanks to pioneering work in the 1970s by researchers and students at COA, proving that the humpback whales have distinctive tail markings. Like human fingerprints, these markings distinguish individual animals. This revolutionary discovery enables scientists to follow individual whales with a camera and telephoto lens.

Whale ID catalogue
Allied Whale, COA's marine mammal research program, has been curating extensive photographic catalogues of humpback whales for more than 30 years, projects that depend upon international collaboration and the willingness of scientists and individuals to share data. The catalogues consist of photographs from breeding and feeding areas throughout the humpback's range in both northern and southern hemispheres, providing a unique clearinghouse for scientific analysis of humpback movements.

First seen off Brazil

This whale was first identified by scientist Mariana C. Neves who studies whales off Brazil through the Instituto Balaie Jubarte. Johansen, who took the matching photograph just over two years later, represents the hundreds of tourists, tour guides, and other non-scientists who have contributed photographs to the effort. Other non-specialists, including students and volunteers, assist scientists in matching diverse images. The two sightings of this whale were matched by long-time Allied Whale associate and volunteer Gale McCullough, an avid citizen scientist in Hancock, Maine.

College of the Atlantic
Founded in 1969, College of the Atlantic is a small college of some 345 students on the coast of Maine fostering interdisciplinary approaches to complex environmental and social problems. The academic program encourages hands-on, experiential learning and asks students to view the world as an interactive whole by bringing together traditional disciplines through the unifying perspective of human ecology.

This finding was published in the United Kingdom's Royal Society scientific journal Biology Letters.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/humpback-migration626.html

Humpback travels from Brazil to Madagascar – Breaks whale distance record

October 2010. When Norwegian tourist Freddy Johansen snapped a photograph of a diving humpback whale in Madagascar, he had no idea that his holiday snap would lead to an important scientific discovery. Researchers from College of the Atlantic's Allied Whale saw the image on the internet and found that the same whale had also been photographed in the waters off Brazil. Not only did this journey take the whale a quarter of the way around the globe - further than that recorded by any mammal, ever - the whale moved between two different breeding groups, a rare occurrence for this species. This finding has implications for understanding and managing whale populations worldwide say College of the Atlantic (COA) scientists.


Remarkable distance and destination
According to Peter Stevick, an Allied Whale research associate, this whale's journey is remarkable for both its distance and its destination. It is nearly twice as far as the passage typically made by humpbacks in their annual north-south migration between winter breeding grounds in warm tropical waters and the nutrient-rich colder waters where they feed in summer. This whale has travelled across the Atlantic Ocean, around Africa and well into the Indian Ocean. Humpback whales seldom move between breeding areas, so the breeding groups or stocks are thought to be isolated from one another. Even more unusual, this whale is a female. Usually it is the males who are the long-distance travellers.

Says Stevick, a COA alumnus, "While the journey of this one whale is extreme, her example shows us that we should pay attention; whales may not always do what we expect, or remain in tidy groups. The picture of their behaviour is messier, and their east-west movement could well be more important than we have previously recognized. Because of that, our management focus needs to be more expansive."


New understanding
Humpback whales were hunted to exceedingly low numbers in past centuries, and those in the Southern Hemisphere were particularly devastated. Some 200,000 were killed before hunting was outlawed in the 1960s. While humpbacks have recovered well in some places, they remain scarce in others. Discovering how they move between regions helps scientists understand the way in which their populations respond both to the end of hunting and to ongoing human impacts such as ship strikes or fishing gear entanglements.

Distinct markings
The connection between the two distant sightings of this wandering female was made possible thanks to pioneering work in the 1970s by researchers and students at COA, proving that the humpback whales have distinctive tail markings. Like human fingerprints, these markings distinguish individual animals. This revolutionary discovery enables scientists to follow individual whales with a camera and telephoto lens.

Whale ID catalogue
Allied Whale, COA's marine mammal research program, has been curating extensive photographic catalogues of humpback whales for more than 30 years, projects that depend upon international collaboration and the willingness of scientists and individuals to share data. The catalogues consist of photographs from breeding and feeding areas throughout the humpback's range in both northern and southern hemispheres, providing a unique clearinghouse for scientific analysis of humpback movements.

First seen off Brazil

This whale was first identified by scientist Mariana C. Neves who studies whales off Brazil through the Instituto Balaie Jubarte. Johansen, who took the matching photograph just over two years later, represents the hundreds of tourists, tour guides, and other non-scientists who have contributed photographs to the effort. Other non-specialists, including students and volunteers, assist scientists in matching diverse images. The two sightings of this whale were matched by long-time Allied Whale associate and volunteer Gale McCullough, an avid citizen scientist in Hancock, Maine.

College of the Atlantic
Founded in 1969, College of the Atlantic is a small college of some 345 students on the coast of Maine fostering interdisciplinary approaches to complex environmental and social problems. The academic program encourages hands-on, experiential learning and asks students to view the world as an interactive whole by bringing together traditional disciplines through the unifying perspective of human ecology.

This finding was published in the United Kingdom's Royal Society scientific journal Biology Letters.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/humpback-migration626.html

Lost racing pigeon turns up in Panama

A British racing pigeon called Houdini got lost on her first race - and ended up 5,200 miles away in Panama City.


The 10 month-old bird was supposed to be in a six hour race from Guernsey to Dudley, reports the Daily Mirror.

But she 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.

He was told the bird was alive and healthy despite her mammoth trip. It's thought she landed on a ship travelling to the area.

The bird had been taken in by Gustavo Ortiz after she landed on his roof. Mr Ortiz rang Mr Cubberly after noticing contact numbers on it.

"I was gobsmacked. I didn't even know where Panama was," said Mr Cubberley.

"I've no idea how Houdini got there - I can only assume she hitched a lift on a ship across the Atlantic."

He believes she must have been fed on the boat as she appeared to be in "perfect shape".

The pigeon, now reportedly learning Spanish, will stay with her new family in Panama as it's too expensive to ship her home.

Lost racing pigeon turns up in Panama

A British racing pigeon called Houdini got lost on her first race - and ended up 5,200 miles away in Panama City.


The 10 month-old bird was supposed to be in a six hour race from Guernsey to Dudley, reports the Daily Mirror.

But she 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.

He was told the bird was alive and healthy despite her mammoth trip. It's thought she landed on a ship travelling to the area.

The bird had been taken in by Gustavo Ortiz after she landed on his roof. Mr Ortiz rang Mr Cubberly after noticing contact numbers on it.

"I was gobsmacked. I didn't even know where Panama was," said Mr Cubberley.

"I've no idea how Houdini got there - I can only assume she hitched a lift on a ship across the Atlantic."

He believes she must have been fed on the boat as she appeared to be in "perfect shape".

The pigeon, now reportedly learning Spanish, will stay with her new family in Panama as it's too expensive to ship her home.

Tiger cub found in bag at airport

Authorities at Bangkok's international airport found a tiger cub that had been drugged and hidden alongside a stuffed toy tiger in the suitcase of a woman flying from Thailand to Iran, an official and a wildlife protection group said.

The woman, a Thai national, had checked in for her flight and her overweight bag was sent for an X-ray which showed what appeared to be a live animal inside, according to Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring group.

The woman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport before boarding her flight. The cub, estimated to be about three months old, was sent to a wildlife conservation centre in Bangkok.

"The cub arrived at our unit on Monday," said Chaiyaporn Chareesaeng, head of the Wildlife Health Unit at the Department of National Parks' Wildlife and Plant Conservation Centre, where the animal was put under close supervision.

"He appeared exhausted, dehydrated and couldn't walk, so we had to give him oxygen, water and lactation," said Chaiyaporn. "We have monitored him closely. As of today, he looks better and can walk a little now."

A DNA test was expected to provide details about the cub's origin, said Chaiyaporn.

"I was a bit shocked because an animal isn't supposed to be treated like this," said Nirath Nipanant, chief of the airport's wildlife checkpoint. "Had the animal passed the oversize baggage check and gone through four to five hours of travel, its chances of survival would have been slim."

The woman, identified as Piyawan Palasarn, 31, faces up to four years in prison and a 40,000 baht (£820) fine for two wildlife smuggling-related charges, police said.

She denied the luggage with the cub belonged to her and said another passenger had asked her to carry it for them, said Adisorn Noochdumrong of the Thai Wildlife Protection Department.

The cub could have fetched about 100,000 baht (£2,000) on the black market in Iran, where it is popular to have exotic pets, Adisorn said. He said he did not know what the woman allegedly intended to do with this particular cub. He said his office wanted the law amended so the maximum prison term was increased to 10 years.

http://news.uk.msn.com/world/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=154513083&ocid=today

Rabbit stowed away in car engine for 300-mile journey home... but then met a tragic end

A STOWAWAY rabbit, who thought it had made a great escape from its home in picturesque Devon, met a tragic end after an epic 300-mile journey.


The wild rabbit had hitched a lift with a Halifax family returning home from their holiday in Devon but was caught in the jaws of a neighbour's cat before it could adjust to its new life in Calderdale.

The Brown family from Pippin Court, Ovenden, Halifax, had been to the Haven holiday camp in Devon, when they returned to their home in the family car - a Ford Mondeo.

After they unloaded their car and unpacked their suitcases, seven-year-old daughter Maisie saw a rabbit pop out from under the car.

Father-of-three Rod Brown said: "There were lots of rabbits everywhere. We came home on Friday night and my daughter spotted a rabbit running about.

"It ran around the car and then it was gone, back into the engine."

Mr Brown called the RSPCA, who dispatched an officer on August 8 to try to get the rabbit out.

"She couldn't get into the engine so she gave me a net to try to catch it. It ended up with me and about 12 kids standing in the street trying to catch it if it came out," said Mr Brown.

Andy Robbins, from the RSPCA, said the officer did not have the right equipment to dismantle the engine.

"As the rabbit didn't appear to be injured and in urgent need of assistance, she left a net with the car owner if he saw the rabbit and was able to catch it."

He said it was "remarkable" the pet made the cross-country trip.

He added the rabbit was lucky it was a new car. "Modern car engines also don't heat up like old engines, so it is possible for animals to stow away without coming to harm," said Mr Robbins.

The rabbit's freedom was short-lived. On one of its excursions from the engine, it met a grisly end at the jaws of the neighbour's cat - putting an end to his dreams of a new life in Halifax.


By Ruth Mosalski