Pig Abduction

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/us/midwest-farmers-on-alert-as-pig-thieves-strike.html

New York Times 24 September 2011Midwest Farmers Are on Alert Against Pig Thieves
By MONICA DAVEY

LAFAYETTE, Minn. - Here in pig country, the pigs are vanishing."Hundreds of pigs don't just disappear," said Marc Chadderdon, asheriff's investigator in Nicollet County.This month, 150 pigs - each one weighing more than an average grownman - disappeared from a farm building in Lafayette despite deadboltson its doors.

Read on..

Walkers spot missing bald eagle Pilgrim in Perthshire

Pilgrim has a 7ft wingspan and was hand-reared in captivity

3 May 2011

Fears are growing for a bald eagle, described as a "big softie", who has been missing from a falconry in Perthshire since Saturday.

Nine-year-old Pilgrim has been sighted by walkers in the Sherriffmuir hills, a few miles from his home at Phoenix Falconry, near Auchterarder.

He was chased from there at the weekend by a pair of wild buzzards.

Staff at the centre have been unable to catch him and said it was now "a race against time" to rescue the eagle.

Pilgrim, who has a 7ft (2.1m) wingspan, was hand-reared in captivity and does not know how to hunt and feed himself in the wild.

It was feared that he had flown hundreds of miles away but several sightings over the weekend suggest he has remained closer to home.

Head falconer Adrian Hallgarth said: "Some walkers spotted him on Sunday on Sheriffmuir, and we had several reliable sightings on Monday evening.

"On each occasion these people were alerted by him being beaten up by buzzards.

"In the air he presents a large target for these aggressive birds, so he'll be driven to ground to keep a low profile and that's making it harder to find him. It is a race against time now."

Mr Hallgarth said he was convinced Pilgrim remained in the area and said he was worried the bird of prey could be mobbed to death by other birds, killed on a road or even shot.

He added: "He can't hunt and my greatest fear is that in desperation he will go for road kill on the nearby A9 and be run over. Or he could be shot by someone trying to protect their sheep.

"It is also possible he could be mobbed to death as buzzards and crows are protecting their nests at this time of year and will see him as a threat."
Tracking equipment

This is the third time Pilgrim has gone missing from the Perthshire falconry.

Tracking equipment used to locate him after previous escapes failed to register anything over the weekend.

The eagle is used to being handled by hundreds of visitors at the falconry, but inexperienced members of the public were warned not to approach him.

Staff at the centre are continuing their search.

Mr Hallgarth added : "I am his 'dad'. If he sees me he will come straight to me. I just hope it is not too late."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-13268112

Sabi the Australian sniffer dog found after 14 months lost in Afghanistan

An Australian sniffer dog has been found alive and well nearly 14 months after going missing in an intense firefight in war-torn southern Afghanistan.

Published: 7:00AM GMT 12 Nov 2009

"Sabi", a black labrador who is trained to search out roadside bombs for Australia's Special Forces, appeared unharmed by her ordeal after being returned by an unknown Afghan man.

"I nudged a tennis ball to her with my foot and she took it straight away. It's a game we used to play over and over during her training," her trainer said of their reunion. "It's amazing, just incredible, to have her back."

Sabi went missing in September last year when Taliban militants ambushed Australian, US and Afghan forces in Uruzgan province, wounding nine people including her handler.

SAS Trooper Mark Donaldson was in January awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour in Britain and the Commonwealth, for rescuing a wounded interpreter during the battle under heavy machine-gun fire.

"She's the last piece of the puzzle," Mr Donaldson said.

"Having Sabi back gives some closure for the handler and the rest of us that served with her in 2008. It's a fantastic morale-booster for the guys."

The dog was recovered last week at a remote patrol base in northeastern Uruzgan by a US soldier, before being returned to Australian troops.

Special forces had made several attempts to find out what happened to Sabi, who will undergo quarantine and medical tests before returning to Australia.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6549124/Sabi-the-Australian-sniffer-dog-found-after-14-months-lost-in-Afghanistan.html

See also: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/12/2740514.htm

Sabi the Australian sniffer dog found after 14 months lost in Afghanistan

An Australian sniffer dog has been found alive and well nearly 14 months after going missing in an intense firefight in war-torn southern Afghanistan.

Published: 7:00AM GMT 12 Nov 2009

"Sabi", a black labrador who is trained to search out roadside bombs for Australia's Special Forces, appeared unharmed by her ordeal after being returned by an unknown Afghan man.

"I nudged a tennis ball to her with my foot and she took it straight away. It's a game we used to play over and over during her training," her trainer said of their reunion. "It's amazing, just incredible, to have her back."

Sabi went missing in September last year when Taliban militants ambushed Australian, US and Afghan forces in Uruzgan province, wounding nine people including her handler.

SAS Trooper Mark Donaldson was in January awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour in Britain and the Commonwealth, for rescuing a wounded interpreter during the battle under heavy machine-gun fire.

"She's the last piece of the puzzle," Mr Donaldson said.

"Having Sabi back gives some closure for the handler and the rest of us that served with her in 2008. It's a fantastic morale-booster for the guys."

The dog was recovered last week at a remote patrol base in northeastern Uruzgan by a US soldier, before being returned to Australian troops.

Special forces had made several attempts to find out what happened to Sabi, who will undergo quarantine and medical tests before returning to Australia.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6549124/Sabi-the-Australian-sniffer-dog-found-after-14-months-lost-in-Afghanistan.html

See also: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/12/2740514.htm