'Drunk' crash driver hunting a possum, court told

A court has heard a bar manager crashed through cemetery gates while on the hunt for a fossilised possum.


Shadow's nightclub bar manager, Bradley Williams, pleaded guilty to crashing through the gates of Mount Gambier cemetery and into a nearby fence last February.

A court in the south-east of South Australia heard he and friends had been looking for the fossilised animal they had heard was in the graveyard.

The hearing was told Williams, 26, was drunk at the time of the accident.

Defence lawyer Tony Passin told the court Williams was unable to have a blood alcohol reading taken because he collapsed and stopped breathing.

He was later resuscitated in hospital.

Williams will be sentenced next month after taking part in a road safety program.

'Drunk' crash driver hunting a possum, court told

A court has heard a bar manager crashed through cemetery gates while on the hunt for a fossilised possum.


Shadow's nightclub bar manager, Bradley Williams, pleaded guilty to crashing through the gates of Mount Gambier cemetery and into a nearby fence last February.

A court in the south-east of South Australia heard he and friends had been looking for the fossilised animal they had heard was in the graveyard.

The hearing was told Williams, 26, was drunk at the time of the accident.

Defence lawyer Tony Passin told the court Williams was unable to have a blood alcohol reading taken because he collapsed and stopped breathing.

He was later resuscitated in hospital.

Williams will be sentenced next month after taking part in a road safety program.

Chupacabra-like animals turn up in Hood County

by JONATHAN BETZ
WFAA
Posted on July 11, 2010 at 12:27 AM
Updated Monday, Jul 12 at 1:45 AM

HOOD COUNTY — A small North Texas community is getting stirred up about some mysterious animals roaming around.

Two creatures have been killed in three days, near farms, only a few miles apart. Some are calling them chupacabras; even animal control officers are unsure what they are.

In his 25 years, David Hewitt has seen plenty of varmints running around, but nothing like the animal he shot on Friday.

"I had no idea what it could be," he said.

He shot it when it came too close to his cattle."From a distance, he looked like a hairless chihuahua, only much bigger," Hewitt said.

His only conclusion?"From all indications, it seemed to be a chupacabra."

Chupacabra is an exotic name for a mythical blood-sucking creature.

"The claws, toenails, nothing like I've seen on a coyote. Skinny, pointed tail; sure looks like a possum to me," Hewitt said. "Never seen any kind of animal that doesn't have hair on it."

It's actually the second supposed chupacabra spotted in Hood County over the past four days. It may look odd, but always turns out to be quite normal.

Sightings are becoming common in Texas, but often they turn out to be something else. Still, the creatures are getting plenty of attention.

Another one which recently made front-page news reportedly even puzzled animal control officers and folks like Bill James had to get a look for themselves.

He described it as an "unusual animal."

In January, another unusual creature was found in Wise County on the Runaway Bay golf course. Experts said it was a hairless raccoon that had lost its coat due to a congenital defect — not disease.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/entertainment/pets/Chupacabra-like-animals-turn-up-in-Hood-County-98174199.html
(Submitted by Mark North)

'Drunk' man tried to revive roadkill

A US man has been charged with public drunkenness after he tried to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to roadkill.

Police arrested Donald Wolfe, 55, after witnesses reported seeing him trying to revive a long dead possum, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

One reported seeing Mr Wolfe kneeling before the animal and gesturing as though he were conducting a seance.

Another reported seeing him give mouth to mouth resuscitation to the carcass on a highway north-east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

State police trooper Jamie Levier said the animal had been dead a while.

Trooper Levier says the Brookville man was "extremely intoxicated" and "did have his mouth in the area of the animal's mouth, I guess".

A possum is about the size of a domestic cat. The animals are known for feigning death when threatened, hence the phrase "playing possum".

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3728510.html?menu=news.quirkies