Kangaroo goes on lingerie theft rampage in Czech Republic

Benji may look cute but he certainly showed a knack for pinching clothes when he hopped from yard to yard and took only the sexiest items off clotheslines.

The two year-old marsupial, who lives in Prague, was only caught after a woman looked out of her window and saw the creature making off with a pair of her favourite undies.
Police knew Benji was on the loose after his owner contacted them, but when they began to receive calls from residents reporting washing line thefts they didn't put two and two together.
A police spokesman explained: 'We had a call from Benji's owner saying his pet kangaroo had escaped. At the same time we started getting reports of a number of thefts from washing lines,
'We didn't think they could possibly be related until he was caught red-handed.'
Benji's relieved owner Petr Hlabovic, 35, said: 'I'm very relieved to have him back. I've got no idea what he thought he was up to - he certainly didn't pick up the habit from me.'


Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/873087-kangaroo-goes-on-lingerie-theft-rampage#ixzz1VrHHAjfW

It's all white to be a rare sight in the bush

A standout ... one of the albino wallaroos that has been spotted at Wolgan Valley
in the Blue Mountains. Photo: Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa

THAT is not an escaped lab mouse on steroids peering through the grass of the Wolgan conservation area in the Blue Mountains.

Nor is it a giant white rabbit on its way to a tea party.

It is, in fact, a rare albino wallaroo, one of three that have been delighting staff and visitors at the Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa.

"We've had sightings of one mature albino wallaroo on the property since opening 18 months ago, but to have two more spotted on the property is incredibly rare and exciting for us and our guests," the resort's general manager Joost Heymeijer said.

The resort's field guides have noticed the albino wallaroos are more timid and less trusting of humans than their grey brothers and sisters, and wait until it is darker to come out to feed.

The education program co-ordinator at Featherdale Wildlife Park in Doonside, Peter Spradbrow, said albinism is a rare condition where the skin, hair and eyes lack the pigment that gives them colour.

It is observed across many animal species, but in the wild it is difficult for an albino creature to reach adulthood.

''Albino animals are particularly at risk of predation because they stand out from their environment,'' Mr Spradbrow said.

And, to make matters worse, they suffer from skin cancers and other skin diseases because they lack the pigment which protects them from UV radiation.

Albinism often shows up when both parents pass on the albinism gene. Some individuals who look normal carry the gene but are not albino.

Featherdale has albino laughing kookaburras, blue-tongue lizards, common wallaroos and tammar wallabies. ''The weirdest example of an albino that I have ever seen is an albino red-bellied black-snake,'' Mr Spradbrow said.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/its-all-white-to-be-a-rare-sight-in-the-bush-20110416-1dio1.html
(Via Chad Arment)

Woman fighting to keep pet kangaroo

In the season of Peter Rabbit, a woman in Oklahoma is fighting to keep her pet kangaroo by her side.


Christie Carr told KIRO Radio's Ron and Don Show Irwin the kangaroo has been her best friend for over a year now. She helped nurse him back to health as part of a program to battle her own depression. Irwin broke his neck and was paralyzed, but with Carr's help, he can now move around.

"He can do two to three hops before he falls," Carr explained.

She explained that in the area of Broken Arrow, Okla. there are domestic kangaroo farms where the animals are sold for pets. Carr discovered the injured kangaroo at an animal rescue shelter.

When she first brought Irwin home, she couldn't find a city ordinance that applied to her situation. Carr said now the USDA has required her to get an exhibitor's license. In the process of acquiring that license, she found out the city does have an ordinance.

"They can't take him away. His ownership was signed over to me, but they can make me move," Carr said. "The city is trying to get an exemption worked out."

So how do you raise a 25-pound kangaroo?

Carr said she carries Irwin around in a denim pouch or child's car seat. He also has quite a wardrobe.

"He has jeans and t-shirts, two suits, and he had a tuxedo until he grew out of that one," she said.

Irwin eats kangaroo food made by an exotic pet food company, which looks similar to dog food. He also sleeps in Carr's bed.

"He hogs the bed. He stretches out and tries to push me off," she said.

Stephanie Klein, MyNorthwest.com Editor
http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=458247

Kangaroo bounce mechanics illuminated by infrared study

By Jason Palmer

Science and technology reporter, BBC News Watch: Scientists look into kangaroo's bounce. Footage courtesy of Vicon.

The precise details of how kangaroos bounce are now being laid bare, thanks to new technology.

Most animals adopt a more upright posture as their body mass increases, redistributing their weight to allow more efficient movement.

However, kangaroos do not appear to adjust their posture in this way.

Now an outdoor infrared motion-capture approach is showing how the kangaroos' bounds distribute forces along their legs and to the ground.

Motion-capture records movement, registering and analysing reflections from small plastic markers stuck on to the moving entity.

Golf coaches use it to analyse their pupils' swings, and it was used in the Lord of the Rings films to translate the movements of actor Andy Serkis into those of the creature Gollum.

Infrared lights illuminate the subject, and an array of cameras tracks the motion of the markers.

However, such studies are typically not undertaken outdoors, where a great deal of infrared light from the sun is bouncing around.

Now, a team of researchers from the Royal Veterinary College in London, the University of Idaho, the University of Queensland, and the University of Western Australia has been loaned a novel motion capture system from the firm Vicon that is capable of "looking past" the ambient infrared light and focusing on their study subjects: kangaroos.

Boundless energy

"The team is interested in trying to understand how the group of kangaroos change their body posture and hopping mechanics with body size," explained Craig McGowan of the University of Idaho.

"There are a number of species that, as they get larger, adopt more and more upright postures.

Motion capture relies on light bounced from a number of high-reflectivity balls

"That reduces the mechanical demands on the musculature - so it increases their 'mechanical advantage'."

In addition, the team is measuring the forces that the kangaroos' feet exert on the ground - and thus that are transmitted through their legs - using what are known as force plates.

The team also captured the kangaroos' movement using the traditional method of high-speed video - which in the past was analysed frame-by-frame to obtain the same kind of data that the motion-capture system provides automatically.

Taken together, said Alexis Wiktorowicz-Conroy, a researcher at the Royal Veterinary College, the studies will discover why kangaroos do not simply tear themselves to bits as they get up to speed.

"We want to know how are they able to hop fast - even when they are quite heavy - and not change posture," she told BBC News.

"That's important, because these animals get really big, and we can't really explain without this why their bones don't break at high speeds.

"People have started to look at that in ankle joints; we're looking more at joints in hind limbs."

The motion-capture setup is complemented by high-speed video cameras

Dr Wiktorowicz-Conroy thinks that information will shed light on another mystery of roo motion: how they do it in such an evidently efficient way.

"The kangaroos' movement is really neat - at low speeds, they use their tail like a fifth limb, inching along like an inchworm. As they move faster, they start to hop. Humans fatigue very easily when we do this, but the kangaroos don't; they don't expend much energy.

"Certain species of wallaby hop up large hills and don't seem to behave in the same way. There's quite a bit of variation (in the way the marsupials move), but all of them are more economical than you might predict."

The experiments, conducted in Alma Park Zoo in Brisbane, have garnered significant amounts of data that the team is still working to understand.

But Dr Wiktorowicz-Conroy said the outcome was certain to solve some of the biomechanical mysteries of the roo.

"There's a lot we don't know about them, and this is going to help study questions about hopping and animal locomotion in general.

"We hope in the end we can use this in veterinary medicine and for conservation."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12688654

^ link contains video

Kangaroos, wallabies, black panthers and even Bigfoot - could mystery of Cannock Chase stretch back to 1800s?

Mar 10 2011 by Charlotte Lilley

For decades, there have been reports of big cats in the Cannock Chase area.

There have also been sightings of kangaroos, wallabies and even Bigfoot. Strange noises in the night, including piercing howls, and mysterious paw prints in the snow have only created further speculation that something is lurking in this little corner of Staffordshire.

However, one must question where these animals originated from.

During the late 1800s, a resident doctor, renowned zoologist and recognised expert on big cats, lived in Cannock and housed a whole host of animals in his own back garden that stood on the grounds of Cannock’s police station. Dr John Butter was well known for his ‘lair of beasts’ which included giant snakes, elephants, emus, ostriches, a wild ocelot and even a life-sized giraffe which, some neighbours said, regularly peered at them over the garden fence. An obscure character, Butter established a wide reputation. He often made house calls to his patients whilst being carted around the town by a zebra. For those who made it to his surgery, they were greeted in the waiting room by his pet monkey, Antony.

But what became of these animals? Are these the ancestors of the strange beasts spotted on Cannock Chase?

The Boer War showed just how respected Butter was, as the whole town gathered to bid him farewell when he went to do battle. However, it is a well-known fact that during this time, some of his creatures simply disappeared from his home. Were they stolen or did they escape?

At the outbreak of the First World War, further animals appear to have vanished as food supplies became rationed. No records can be found of them being donated to local zoos, to a travelling circus or even being put to sleep. Could it be that the doctor himself released his beloved animals into the wild during the night when nobody was watching? And what became of Antony the monkey? No-one knows.

Perhaps what residents have been witnessing are descendants of the animals that Dr Butter cared for. However, it is also possible the animals found new homes and no documentation of the transactions were ever recorded.

Whatever happened to Butter’s magnificent menagerie, we will never know. The doctor died in April 1920 having suffered from a mystery illness for ten days. Whether he released his creatures into the wild or not, remains a mystery. He took his secrets to the grave.

One thing is for sure - almost 100 years ago, exceptional animals were kept not too far from Cannock Chase, a place where there have been countless reports and sightings of animals and strange creatures not at all native to Britain.

http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2011/03/10/kangaroos-wallabies-black-panthers-and-even-bigfoot-could-mystery-of-cannock-chase-stretch-back-to-1800s-66331-28312945/

Kangaroos invade Hanging Rock races

# AAP
# January 26, 2011 2:59PM

KANGAROOS have forced organisers to abandon the Hanging Rock Australia Day races in Victoria.

The first race was delayed twice and finally cancelled, along with the rest of the day's meeting, after a mob of kangaroos invaded the track.

One roo reportedly bounded down the home straight during the second attempt to run the race.

The Hanging Rock Racing Club holds only two race meetings a year - on New Year's Day and Australia Day - in a tradition going back more than 125 years.

The race track is at the foot of the famous Hanging Rock formation in the Macedon Ranges.

The area is famed as the setting of Picnic At Hanging Rock, a novel and subsequent film about the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and a teacher on an outing at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day 1900.

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/kangaroos-invade-hanging-rock-races/story-e6frfku9-1225994922584

Kangaroos invade Hanging Rock races

# AAP
# January 26, 2011 2:59PM

KANGAROOS have forced organisers to abandon the Hanging Rock Australia Day races in Victoria.

The first race was delayed twice and finally cancelled, along with the rest of the day's meeting, after a mob of kangaroos invaded the track.

One roo reportedly bounded down the home straight during the second attempt to run the race.

The Hanging Rock Racing Club holds only two race meetings a year - on New Year's Day and Australia Day - in a tradition going back more than 125 years.

The race track is at the foot of the famous Hanging Rock formation in the Macedon Ranges.

The area is famed as the setting of Picnic At Hanging Rock, a novel and subsequent film about the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and a teacher on an outing at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day 1900.

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/kangaroos-invade-hanging-rock-races/story-e6frfku9-1225994922584

Kangaroo loves cider, Vegemite - and Skippy

An Australian woman who adopted an orphaned baby kangaroo says he's developing some very human traits.

Julianna Bradley says Beemer loves Vegemite on toast, drinking cider, playing football and watching television.

Ms Bradley, of Glendambo, South Australia, says his favourite television programme - naturally - is Skippy.

"He just stands there and watches it. He relates to it, he loves the theme music and dances to it," she said.

She became Beemer's adopted mum 18 months ago when he was rescued from his mother's pouch after she was killed by a motorcycle.

Kangaroo loves cider, Vegemite - and Skippy

An Australian woman who adopted an orphaned baby kangaroo says he's developing some very human traits.

Julianna Bradley says Beemer loves Vegemite on toast, drinking cider, playing football and watching television.

Ms Bradley, of Glendambo, South Australia, says his favourite television programme - naturally - is Skippy.

"He just stands there and watches it. He relates to it, he loves the theme music and dances to it," she said.

She became Beemer's adopted mum 18 months ago when he was rescued from his mother's pouch after she was killed by a motorcycle.

Mystery kangaroo put down after car collision ... in Germany

Published: 30 Sep 10 14:40 CET

Veterinarians in Lower Saxony were forced to euthanise a kangaroo on Wednesday after the mystery animal bounced in front of a car and suffered a severe broken leg.

A 53-year-old driver in the Lower Saxony town of Haren was startled when the kangaroo bounced into the path of his car on Wednesday. Despite slamming on his brakes, he hit and injured the animal.

With the help of a local resident, the man captured the kangaroo and took it to the nearby Nordhorn zoo. Vets at the zoo established that the animal had a serious leg fracture they were unable to mend. They therefore put the animal down.

Police announced on Thursday that it was still unclear where the iconic Australian animal had come from.

“So far, no kangaroo from a zoo or animal park has been reported as missing,” a police spokesman said.

However, there had been several reports of sightings of a kangaroo in recent weeks.

Oddly enough, it is not the only escaped kangaroo to have made headlines in Germany in the past couple of years. An escaped kangaroo named Toto was caught after being “on the hop” for 15 days from the Serengeti Park Hodenhagen in Hannover.

Zoo staff in that case lured the kangaroo with his favourite food: peanut butter.

DAPD/The Local/dw

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100930-30191.html
(Via CFZ Australia)

Mystery kangaroo put down after car collision ... in Germany

Published: 30 Sep 10 14:40 CET

Veterinarians in Lower Saxony were forced to euthanise a kangaroo on Wednesday after the mystery animal bounced in front of a car and suffered a severe broken leg.

A 53-year-old driver in the Lower Saxony town of Haren was startled when the kangaroo bounced into the path of his car on Wednesday. Despite slamming on his brakes, he hit and injured the animal.

With the help of a local resident, the man captured the kangaroo and took it to the nearby Nordhorn zoo. Vets at the zoo established that the animal had a serious leg fracture they were unable to mend. They therefore put the animal down.

Police announced on Thursday that it was still unclear where the iconic Australian animal had come from.

“So far, no kangaroo from a zoo or animal park has been reported as missing,” a police spokesman said.

However, there had been several reports of sightings of a kangaroo in recent weeks.

Oddly enough, it is not the only escaped kangaroo to have made headlines in Germany in the past couple of years. An escaped kangaroo named Toto was caught after being “on the hop” for 15 days from the Serengeti Park Hodenhagen in Hannover.

Zoo staff in that case lured the kangaroo with his favourite food: peanut butter.

DAPD/The Local/dw

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100930-30191.html
(Via CFZ Australia)

New species discovered in Indonesian mountain region

From the Bloomington (IN) Herald Times: May 18, 2010
By Randolph E. Schmid Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Finding a new animal species is a special moment for scientists and even better when one hops into their mountain camp and volunteers to be discovered.

An international team of researchers was camping in the Foja mountains of Indonesia when herpetologist Paul Oliver spied a frog sitting on a bag of rice in the campsite.

On closer look it turned out to be a previously unknown type of long-nosed frog. The scientists dubbed it Pinocchio. When the frog is calling, its nose points upward, but it deflates when the animal is less active.

"We were sitting around eating lunch," recalled Smithsonian ornithologist Chris Milensky. Oliver "looked down and there's this little frog on a rice sack, and he managed to grab the thing."

"Herpetologists (experts in snakes, lizards etc.) have good reflexes," Milensky observed. "He also caught a gecko; he managed to just jump and grab the thing" off a tree.

And mister long nose isn't all they found.

Overcoming torrential rain and floods, the researchers report finding the smallest kangaroo yet, a big woolly rat, a three-toned pigeon and a gargoyle-like, bent-toed gecko with yellow eyes.

The Foja Mountains are in the western side of the island of New Guinea, a part of Indonesia that has been little visited by scientists over the years.

So the environmental group Conservation International, with the support of the National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution, began investigating the area.

The results of their 2008 expedition were announced Monday.

Milensky said the expedition was incredibly difficult.

"It was extremely wet, heavy downpours every day," he said. "The camp just turned into a complete mud bog."

Kristofer M. Helgen, curator of mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, said one of the most amazing animals the researchers observed was the rare golden-mantled tree kangaroo.

Most people think of kangaroos as creatures that live on the flatlands of Australia, he said, but this one has adapted to forest life.

"It can jump into a tree and scurry right up it," Helgen said. "But on the ground it hops around like any kangaroo."

While that kangaroo had been observed, rarely, before, Helgen also discovered what may be the smallest known member of the kangaroo family, a tiny wallaby that also has adapted to forest life.

New Guinea and Australia were once connected and so have similar life forms, but they have adapted differently in each place, he explained.

The researchers say another big surprise was made by ornithologist Neville Kemp who spotted a pair of new imperial pigeons that have feathers in different parts of their body that appear rusty, whitish and gray. Other finds included a dozen new insects.

The research, which also included Indonesian scientists, was part of Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program, in which teams come together to spend three or four weeks making surveys of the biology of selected areas.

A feature on this expedition appears in the June issue of National Geographic magazine.

"While animals and plants are being wiped out across the globe at a pace never seen in millions of years, the discovery of these absolutely incredible forms of life is much needed positive news," Bruce Beehler, a senior research scientist at CI and participant on the expedition, said in a statement.

"Places like these represent a healthy future for all of us and show that it is not too late to stop the current species extinction crisis," he said.

Photos: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100517/ids_photos_wl/r3095475424.jpg/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100517/ap_on_sc/us_sci_new_species_4

Cat’s all Folks

By NEIL SYSON
Published: 03 Apr 2010



BIG cats like the Beast of Bodmin are NOT prowling Britain's countryside, it was officially declared yesterday.

A ten-year probe funded by taxpayers into sightings up and down the land astonishingly concluded the creatures simply do not exist. Experts at Natural England - the Government's environmental watchdog - were unable to explain why people in EVERY county from Cornwall to Caithnesss claim to have seen them in the wild.

But after following up hundreds of reports - including "paw prints" - not a whisker of concrete evidence was found.

Investigators decreed: "None of the sightings of the big cats has ever been confirmed." The furtive felines had been thought by some experts to be descended from cougars and pumas that fled captivity. Natural England said: "From time to time big cats do escape from zoos and other collections and are usually recaptured very quickly. We are confident there are no breeding populations of big cats in this country.

"It is very unlikely that there are any big cats at large." That includes the mysterious beast feared to stalk Cornwall's Bodmin Moor preying on sheep.

A wallaroo - a kind of kangaroo - was among sightings of other exotic species scoffed at by the investigators. Last night expert Trevor Beer, of Barnstaple, Devon, insisted: "The big cats ARE out there. Natural England are just making fools of themselves."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2918837/Official-No-big-cats-in-the-UK.html#ixzz0k8Nvr1QE

Kangaroo knocks runner unconscious

Posted Sat Mar 20, 2010 12:49pm AEDT

A Canberra vet says a kangaroo that attacked and knocked unconscious a man out jogging was probably acting to protect his territory.

A 25-year-old man from Macgregor was running during his lunch break on Thursday at Mt Ainslie when he was attacked by a kangaroo.

Canberra vet Michael Archinald says the case does not surprise him.

"They get very territorial at certain times of the year as well, they're protecting their flock," he said.

"They get very antsy and of course this guy would have been running and that's quite a threatening thing to a roo and the roo is like, fight or flight, so in it goes."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/20/2851411.htm?section=justin
(Submitted by Matthew Cardier)

Phantom kangaroos spotted in Japan

Posted Tue Mar 9, 2010 1:09am AEDT

It may seem odd, but the locals swear it is true. People in a Japanese mountain region have reported a number of kangaroo sightings, and journalists are now trying to stalk the marsupials.

The descriptions given by the apparent eyewitnesses seem close enough. For years they have spoken of a beige animal with large ears, one to 1.5 metres tall, that stands by the roadside and then hops away.

The sightings were all reported in the Mayama mountain district of Osaki city in Miyagi prefecture, a community of 441 households, located about 350 kilometres north of Tokyo.

The city has received about 30 reports of "kangaroo-like animals", including three cases since December, when the mountain area was often covered in snow, said local official Tetsuya Sasaki.

"People aged in their 40s to their 60s have said they have spotted what looked like kangaroos while travelling to and from work in the early mornings and evenings," said Mr Sasaki.

Rumours about kangaroo sightings started about seven years ago, and television crews and newspapers have set up hidden cameras in the district, but have so far failed to capture an image of a kangaroo.

As a joke, "some people have put up 'kangaroo crossing' signs on their roadside properties," Mr Sasaki said.

Kangaroos are on show at many Japanese zoos and can be imported by individuals.

- AFP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/09/2840119.htm

Up in arms over kangaroo, emu "Coat of Arms" chips

Sat Dec 5, 2009

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Some Australians are up in arms over a new kangaroo and emu flavored chip, horrified that people are encouraged to eat the nation's coat of arms which depicts the iconic Australian animals.

Complaints to Australia's Advertising Standards Bureau said the "BBQ Coat of Arms" chips were degrading for native wildlife and sent the wrong message to Australian children, reported the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

"It implies that it is perfectly OK to kill kangaroos and emus just for fun!" said one complaint.

But the company manufacturing the chips rejected the charge, saying the kangaroo and emu flavored chips celebrated Australia's heritage.

The Advertising Standards Bureau investigated the complaints against the new chips but decided not to take any action.

(Reporting by Amy Pyett; Editing by Michael Perry)

http://in.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idINTRE5B30YI20091205?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=401

Up in arms over kangaroo, emu "Coat of Arms" chips

Sat Dec 5, 2009

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Some Australians are up in arms over a new kangaroo and emu flavored chip, horrified that people are encouraged to eat the nation's coat of arms which depicts the iconic Australian animals.

Complaints to Australia's Advertising Standards Bureau said the "BBQ Coat of Arms" chips were degrading for native wildlife and sent the wrong message to Australian children, reported the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

"It implies that it is perfectly OK to kill kangaroos and emus just for fun!" said one complaint.

But the company manufacturing the chips rejected the charge, saying the kangaroo and emu flavored chips celebrated Australia's heritage.

The Advertising Standards Bureau investigated the complaints against the new chips but decided not to take any action.

(Reporting by Amy Pyett; Editing by Michael Perry)

http://in.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idINTRE5B30YI20091205?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=401

Dog attack kangaroo turned on owner

23/11/2009

An Australian man was in a stable condition in hospital after being slashed across the abdomen and face by a kangaroo that was holding his dog underwater.

An Australian man was in a stable condition in hospital after being slashed across the abdomen and face by a kangaroo that was holding his dog underwater.

Chris Rickard, 49, said he was walking his blue heeler, Rocky, on Sunday morning when they surprised a sleeping kangaroo in Arthur's Creek north-east of Melbourne. The dog chased the animal into a pond but it then turned and pinned the pet underwater.

When Mr Rickard tried to pull his dog free, the kangaroo turned on him, attacking with its hind legs and tearing a deep gash into his abdomen and across his face.

"I thought I might take a hit or two dragging the dog out from under his grip, but I didn't expect him to actually attack me," Mr Rickard told The Herald Sun newspaper. "It was a shock at the start because it was a kangaroo, about five feet high, they don't go around killing people."

Kangaroos rarely attack humans but will fight if they feel threatened.

Dogs often chase kangaroos, which have been known to lead the pets into water and then pin them underwater as a means of defence.

Mr Rickard said he ended the attack by elbowing the kangaroo in the throat, adding Rocky was "half-drowned" when he pulled him from the water.

http://news.uk.msn.com/world/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=151016816
(Submitted by Lindsay Selby)

See also: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,576328,00.html?test=latestnews
(Submitted by Loren Coleman)

Dog attack kangaroo turned on owner

23/11/2009

An Australian man was in a stable condition in hospital after being slashed across the abdomen and face by a kangaroo that was holding his dog underwater.

An Australian man was in a stable condition in hospital after being slashed across the abdomen and face by a kangaroo that was holding his dog underwater.

Chris Rickard, 49, said he was walking his blue heeler, Rocky, on Sunday morning when they surprised a sleeping kangaroo in Arthur's Creek north-east of Melbourne. The dog chased the animal into a pond but it then turned and pinned the pet underwater.

When Mr Rickard tried to pull his dog free, the kangaroo turned on him, attacking with its hind legs and tearing a deep gash into his abdomen and across his face.

"I thought I might take a hit or two dragging the dog out from under his grip, but I didn't expect him to actually attack me," Mr Rickard told The Herald Sun newspaper. "It was a shock at the start because it was a kangaroo, about five feet high, they don't go around killing people."

Kangaroos rarely attack humans but will fight if they feel threatened.

Dogs often chase kangaroos, which have been known to lead the pets into water and then pin them underwater as a means of defence.

Mr Rickard said he ended the attack by elbowing the kangaroo in the throat, adding Rocky was "half-drowned" when he pulled him from the water.

http://news.uk.msn.com/world/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=151016816
(Submitted by Lindsay Selby)

See also: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,576328,00.html?test=latestnews
(Submitted by Loren Coleman)

Local explorer returns to Papua New Guinea

John Lane hopes to discover more new species

By Meredith J. Cooper

John Lane doesn’t take trips, he plans expeditions. His latest obsession: the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. He’s been there four times since 2006, the last one just six months ago, with his wife. This time she’ll stay behind with the kids while Lane ventures once again to the remote island, with the company of a few people from Chico State and a geologist friend from Colorado.

“John puts together some great expeditions, partly because of the unique ability that he has to be able to deal with adversity,” said Jim Reed, by phone from his home in Golden, Colo. “At the last minute there’s always some real big showstopper. But he’ll just jump right over them.”

Lane, principal scientist at Chico Environmental Science & Planning, is a little more modest, but it’s clear from the direct tone of his voice and the passion in his eyes that this is more than just a hobby—it’s a way of life. During this newest trip, which leaves June 29 and will last three weeks, Lane’s biggest goal is to find and trap a tree kangaroo. Sounds a little silly, but it could have a huge payoff.

Back in 2007, when he led a six-week expedition in the area, the team noted the existence of tree kangaroos on the island, along with new species of butterfly, frog, snake and fish. All their findings were compiled into a report submitted to the Nature Conservancy, among other groups. Recently, Lane said, he was told that not only was that tree kangaroo a surprising find, despite the island’s proximity to Australia, but it was likely a new species.

“Finding a new species of mammal—that’s where the publicity comes from,” Lane said. “And it makes you wonder—what else could we find out here? We could even make first contact with other people in those forests.”

If his team is able to capture a tree kangaroo and gather DNA, his project to help preserve the area from loggers and palm-oil encroachment could reach epic proportions. His previous ventures, to Borneo and Sumatra, have yielded everything from getting the areas preserved to creating national-park status. He works primarily with the Nature Conservancy and the United Nations Development Programme.

He’s received some grants, including one from the International Foundation, but has also gotten funding locally from Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Fred Hargesheimer of Nevada City, the man who sparked Lane’s interest in the area back in 2006.

Hargesheimer’s plane had gone down on New Britain decades before and he hoped to locate it. The region Lane and his crew have studied—including a lake and a volcano crater—have been named “Hargy” after the man who lived with the indigenous people until he was well enough to return home.

Beyond finding a tree kangaroo, Lane has two other objectives for this short trip: to discover more species of butterflies, as “butterflies really indicate the health and diversity of an ecosystem,” he said; and to delve deeper into the untouched wilderness and explore more caves—one of his main passions.

Reed explained exploring New Britain as an opportunity to “go back in time.” He related it to the city of Guilin, China, with its unique mountains jutting from the landscape, as both cities are built on a bed of limestone. New Britain also has countless volcanoes, which have formed coral beds surrounding their mouths.

“This is Guilin 2 to 10 million years ago,” Reed said.

Lane suggested that local myths pointed to the possibility of modern-day pterodactyls living in the rainforests. While he’s not optimistic, he’s not quick to rule the possibility out. These regions have never been studied before.

One of the touchy subjects Lane and his cohorts—among his companions Chico State professors Don Miller, a butterfly specialist, and Randy Senock, who will study forest density—are faced with is the implications of their findings. On the one hand, exploring this area will likely lead to future expeditions by other groups. The tradeoff, Reed said, is the preservation of the area from logging and other ecological hazards.

In January, Lane described for the CN&R what it’s like to go where no man has gone before: “People say it’s like walking on the moon—but people have done that. So, it’s not like walking on the moon.”

Reed, whose main objective on this trip is to figure out the geology of the island—how it came to be and what it will become—described the feeling similarly.

“In 2007, we hiked up to a volcano and we got up to the rim,” described Reed. “We were standing there with one of the tribal chiefs and I asked him, ‘Did you ever hear any stories from your grandfather of anyone ever going into this caldera [volcano cave]?’ He said, ‘No.’ How many places can you say that about on this planet?

“Of course there’s the whole Star Trek thing. But until you’re actually there, realizing that you are the first person to ever be in this place—I was surprised at my emotional response. I thought: This is worth dying for.”

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/content?oid=1004993