IN TIMES of great crisis when all is doom and relentless gloom, the only solution is to seek solace (and a giggle) in the company of animals. So here goes . . . Grey squirrels could be put on the pill in a bid to prevent them from threatening red squirrels on the Welsh island of Anglesey, it is claimed. Reds are thriving, it seems, after greys were culled in a conservation drive launched 11 years ago.
But greys in mainland Wales are now using bridges to cross the water and re-invade the island. Conservation group Friends of Anglesey Red Squirrels has offered to trial a contraceptive drug to be placed in bait.
Spokesman Dr Craig Shuttleworth said: “If we can prevent the squirrels breeding there then this would be a good long-term solution for reducing numbers and be more publicly acceptable than culling.”
The technique involves treating squirrels with a drug, fed to them through bait, that would trigger the females’ immune systems to reject the males’ sperm.
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AUSTRALIAN POLICE have arrested a crocodile and locked it up after it was found loitering in a town. Locals at Arrkuluk Camp in the Northern Territory called out the police after the seven-foot saltwater crocodile turned up.
Officers said they found it loitering near a fence "trying to look innocent", reports the Northern Territory News. Sgt Adam Russell said: "I wanted to jump on it Steve Irwin style but the rangers wouldn't let me."
Instead, the crocodile was bound and bundled into the back of a pick-up truck, and taken to the police cells. She was held for three days until experts from a crocodile farm picked her up.
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A CAT that went missing on the Isle of Wight has turned up more than 300 miles away – in the north Yorkshire resort of Whitby. Cindy and Tim Whitbread believe their pet, named Geoffrey, must have stowed away in the luggage compartment of a tourist coach.
He had been missing for three weeks when they got a call to hear that Geoffrey had been found safe and well.
Mrs Whitbread said: “All-in-all he must have been travelling for about 10 hours – it’s 326 miles.
“On the day he disappeared he had his breakfast and then wandered off as usual – he often goes to the local cafe because they give him titbits to eat. We feared the worst because he doesn’t even have a collar. He looks a little bit thinner, but he looks okay. We are so pleased to have him back.”
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AWAY FROM animals for a mo, a group of elite SAS-style commandos has apologised after blowing up the wrong house in a training exercise.
The squad – from neutral EU member state Sweden’s K3 elite cavalry division – were supposed to attack an unoccupied home bought by the military for attack drills.
Instead they launched a terrifying night assault on another home 200 yards away from their target in Rojdafors, Sweden. “They were extremely lucky that the couple who own the property were out or they could have been killed,” said one neighbour.
The K3 troops blew out both front and back doors and every single window before they realised their mistake. An army spokesman said: “We’ve already cleaned up after ourselves and we have, of course, contacted the owner. There’s no hard feelings between us.”
Phew! Thank goodness Coir didn’t find out about that one. Just imagine the poster...
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AND IF animal antics make you giggle uncontrollably, go to YouTube and search under “Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog” . . . And finally, as a gesture to the week’s more serious matters, there’s a great mock-up advertisement and fake endorsement by John O’Donoghue doing the rounds in cyberspace. It appeared during the week in another newspaper but if you use this link – http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheehanpaul/3987364772/sizes/o/ – you can see it for yourself!